Frequently asked questions

Any type of stone or brick wall, whether solid or containing a cavity, insulated or not, is eligible for the SmartDry DryBricks. They are designed in such a way that we are able to adapt our installations to the specifics of your walls.

The drying out process starts directly after installation, but you will have to wait a bit before seeing results. Bear in mind that the walls of your property may have been saturating with moisture over decades. The first results will be noticed after a couple of months, depending on the type of wall. See our product page for more info.

To ensure that all the humidity is equally divided between all the external walls, it is important that the system is always installed on all external walls. If you would not do so, the sections of where the system is installed will only receive more humidity than it already does and might therefore not solve the problem. Therefore, the system always needs to be installed on all external walls.

Each person produces between 4 and 6 litres of water every 24 hours, some of this humidity is ventilated to the outside in a natural way by opening doors and windows etc., the rest is ventilated to the outside of the property by the natural breathability of the walls themselves. Normally, cooler walls of the property receive more humidity than the warmer walls because humidity is always attracted to the coldest spot (imagine a cool can of soda freshly taken from the fridge). In the case where a wall receives more humidity than it is able to cope with, the wall becomes saturated and visible damp problems begin to appear. Our DryBrick system creates a slightly cooler spot on the external walls to purposefully attract the humidity so that our DryBricks can ventilate this humidity to the outside. Therefore, it is important that the system is always installed on all external walls so that all the humidity that is created inside the property is equally divided in between all the external walls, ensuring that all walls are able to cope with the humidity that it must expel and they do not become saturated. When it’s partially installed the humidity will not be expelled equally through all external walls and therefore some walls could become saturated, therefore our system must be installed on all external walls.

It is important to understand that a large part of the ventilation in a property goes through the walls themselves. A property is largely composed of external walls, as these walls are often slightly cooler than any other walls of the property, small amounts of condensation will always occur on the external walls during peak moments. As the walls will absorb this humidity, it will then in time be expelled to the outside naturally. If you use unbreathable products on the external walls the humidity will not be able to escape naturally and you will then create an effect of living in a plastic bag- the humidity levels within the property will rise which will in turn cause damp problems like condensation and mould will grow. This then creates an unhealthy living environment, also known as the sick building syndrome. IMPORTANT: There is a difference between breathable materials, for example, if you fill a balloon with air, the air will eventually escape, whereas if you fill the same balloon with water, the water will not escape the balloon. Some would consider the balloon to be breathable, however, for damp purposes, it is not. For this reason, we always advise to test any product before using them on the walls, even if they are advertised as a “breathable” product.

Apart from providing us with water and electricity, it’s not necessary for you to be at home during the entire duration of the installation of our DryBricks. Please note, however, that we will need access to the interior of the property for the installation of airbricks as these are fitted to the interior wall of your property.

We can provide the DryBricks in six standard colours. If you’d like a specific colour, it is always possible to have the DryBricks painted.

The main body of the DryBricks aligns with the face of the exterior wall, and the air inlets protrude 2 cm out of that wall. The depth is different for each type of wall and is customised on site.

Our products are completely maintenance free, however we do recommend cleaning the external DryBricks once a year and checking that the air can flow freely through them.

We have an office in Spain from where we cover the whole South of Europe including Portugal, the Canaries, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. We can always negotiate possibilities for different countries. Contact our UK office for more information.

Yes, we can arrange for a professional damp specialist to perform a Gravimetric Moisture Test and create a damp report for your property. This has a cost of £275,00 (inc. VAT)

It is not required to re-plaster to install our System as it is installed from the outside, so the interior walls are left untouched; please note that sometimes we have seen that the previous or current plasterer has decided to use a waterproof or unbreathable plaster where a lime based plaster should’ve been used. In these instances, we always advise you to use a lime-based, breathable plaster.

When it’s safe to redecorate will always depend on the initial damp readings, we suggest you wait at least a year before redecorating, although you may be able to redecorate sooner. Please ask one of our specialists before redecorating. Also, it’s important to note that when redecorating you must use breathable materials, like lime based plaster, breathable paints (such as clay paint) and breathable wallpapers. If you use a waterproof plaster, polymer paints or vinyl wallpapers, all materials which prevent the walls from breathing, these will block the system and consequently void the guarantee.