Anti-Damp Render – BPindex blog

Awaab’s Law: How product innovation can help meet strict repair timeframes and keep costs down

Building Products Index Ltd November 26, 2025 Dampproofing, Render Leave a Comment

With the introduction of the first phase of Awaab’s Law introduced in October, and the Renters’ Rights Act due to come into force next year, landlords, local authorities, housing associations, and property maintenance teams are already starting to see a change to how they manage and respond to property repairs and hazards.

Awaab’s Law, for example, sets strict deadlines for repairs to be investigated and corrected, enforcing accountability for housing providers. Emergency hazards now need to be investigated within 24 hours, written summaries produced within 48 hours, and remedial action to take place within 7 days. Missing these deadlines could oblige housing providers to provide alternative accommodation, result in fines and lead to significant costs.

Pressure is on, therefore, to respond on time, but also to carry out effective, long-lasting repairs to avoid any future problem repeating itself. Maintenance teams are likely to be faced with higher callouts, or to expand their teams, so fixing a problem reliably will curb cost on labour and provide better availability of manpower.

Landlords, then, should become a lot more discerning with the products they choose for repairs. There is much innovation in construction manufacturing, and a product will be favoured if it is specifically designed, does the job quickly, to quality, and is long-lasting.

Take damp for example, a common issue in UK housing. Alongside mould, it is at the heart of the first phase of Awaab’s Law; a law named after Awaab Ishak, who tragically died from respiratory issues caused by prolonged exposure to black mould in his home, aged just 2 years old.

Some mould and damp issues require extensive processes and work to repair; others can be carried out with innovative products in the construction industry. Toupret, for example, has long been a leader in innovation in the fillers market, and offers both an Anti-Damp Treatment for blocking localised moisture, and an Anti-Damp Render.

Anti-Damp Render is a filler that is used to coat damp masonry, creating a breathable barrier whilst blocking water penetration, controlling damp. It is a powder product that, when mixed with water, gives the user 3-4 hours to apply before setting, meaning large surfaces can be skimmed in one day. It’s also ready to paint in 12-24 hours, so the job can be completed within 48 hours. This is just one example of where product innovation can lead to reduced time and cost to carry out an effective and long-lasting repair.

Breathable, waterproof barrier: Water sits on a layer of Anti-Damp Render [off-white coating]. A chamber of air sits below. The demonstration shows how forced air penetrates from the underside of the layer of Anti-Damp Render, showing as bubbles in the water above. The water does not penetrate through to the chamber below.

It is worth mentioning that all Toupret powder products, whether for interior or exterior filling or skimming, are moisture vapour permeable, allowing a degree of breathability, limiting the moisture that mould needs to survive. And products such as Quick Dry Filler can be used to fill to any depth and be painted in as little as 3 hours. Their Quick Fill product is a lightweight formula that can even be painted in 30 minutes! With innovations such as these, less time is spent on site, more jobs can be completed in a day, and their high quality assures no repeat work.

Toupret bolsters its Problem Surfaces collection with two anti-damp fillers

Building Products Index Ltd January 4, 2022 Filler, Render Leave a Comment

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Toupret has continued to improve its product offering with two versatile anti-damp products from its Problem Surfaces range that can be applied on both interior and exterior walls.

These two products further strengthen the choice of any professional for treating problem surfaces. Both are highly technical fillers that have the Toupret stamp of approval from painters, decorators, builders, and construction workers up and down the country.

The class-leading Anti-Damp Render is a filler coating perfect for covering damp, porous and untreated masonry. The filler has been designed to prevent the deterioration of decorative coatings applied over it. It is moisture vapour permeable, so it provides a breathable skimcoat barrier. When used on exterior surfaces it acts as a damp-proof filler, blocking water from penetrating the substrate surface. When applied to interior walls it acts as a water barrier while still allowing water vapour to pass, letting substrates breathe. This makes it ideal for basements and garages where damp might be a problem. Anti-Damp Render is available in powder form in a 6kg bag. It can be applied as a skim-coat, with a trowel or a brush. Plus, it has a 1cm depth limit and a working time of three to four hours, and is ready to paint 24 to 48 hours after application.

Also part of the anti-damp family is Anti-Damp Treatment. Available in a 1kg tin, this solution acts as a moisture barrier that seals the substrate and blocks localised liquid in the wall. It comes as a loose ready-mixed filler and can be applied with either a brush or roller. Covering micro-cracks whilst targeting the damp, this Problem Surfaces product is also ready to paint in 24 hours and is versatile enough to be applied to both exterior and interior walls.

The anti-damp product update is part of a major rebrand and product reorganisation for Toupret. So now, not only can Toupret’s products be relied on to make a great quality filling job simpler and quicker, but it’s also much easier to choose the best product for any given task.

The Problem Surfaces collection is now easy to recognise in green colour-coded packs. And the range is no exception to Toupret’s endeavour to communicate their products’ applications as clearly as possible, adopting new names to achieve just that. However, recognising a loyal customer base, the old product names discreetly remain on the packaging to ensure they are easy to find for everyone – for example ‘Anti-Damp Render’ also bears the historical ‘Humi-Block’ product name.

Both Problem Surfaces anti-damp products are available to purchase from trade distributors nationwide.