A holistic survey of dampness in a three bedroom residential bungalow in Kumasi, Ghana

•A two-stage approach to damp investigation was used to identify areas in a three bedroom bungalow affected by dampness.•Symptoms such as blistering of paints, flaking of mortar, surface efflorescence and in some cases mold growth were found to be associated with the walls of the building.•Dampness in the building was found to be associated with plumbing leakages, rain water splash back, lateral penetration and rising dampness.•Moisture content recorded in the bathrooms was unusually higher than the other rooms.•A challenge is opened for further studies to be conducted in severely affected areas to trace the root cause of the problem. For many years the problem of dampness has assumed alarming dimensions in public and private buildings in Ghana. This paper presents a case study of a three bedroom residential bungalow of the Department of Urban Roads in Kumasi which suffers from the problem of dampness since four years after the building was constructed and occupied. The study adopted a holistic approach to dampness surveying involving a two-stage protocol of damp investigation to identify the areas in the walls severely affected by dampness. Results from the visual survey (site inspection) identified symptoms such as blistering of paints, flaking of mortar, damp patches in horizontal bands, surface efflorescence and in some cases mold growth to be associated with the walls of the building. The findings showed that dampness in the building could be due to a combination of several sources including plumbing leakages, rain water splash back, lateral penetration and rising dampness. Results from the non-destructive tests revealed higher moisture contents in the walls of the bathrooms (externally and internally), living room and bedrooms. The moisture content recorded in the bathrooms were unusually higher than the other rooms and a detailed analysis revealed that plumbing leakage was a contributory factor, especially in the internal walls. Though the study identified plumbing leakages and water penetration as contributory factors to the dampness experienced in the walls of the bathrooms, further destructive tests are recommended for the confirmation of the true source(s) of dampness in the walls of the bedrooms and living room to greatly assist in targeting the correct remediation to manage or cure the problem.