Materials, the walls are made of, so stones, brick and mortar, they absorb moisture and water easily. This process is faster, the more hygroscopic structure of the walls and the less effective the method of securing the wall against water penetration and soaking. Parts of brick buildings damp or saturated with water, especially these, which are loaded, undergo various destructive deformations, the effects of which are sometimes very difficult to remove.
The problem of securing a building or its parts exposed to moisture or water usually comes down to two technical activities: isolating the sources of moisture from the structure or creating an appropriate anti-moisture barrier in the walls, then - to regenerate damaged or endangered elements. In each case, it is necessary to take individual measures of solution, moreover, based mostly on principles known in the construction industry.
The starting activity in the works to protect the monument against the effects of moisture or water should be to examine the water conditions, prevailing in the area of the monument.
When the main cause of dampness in foundations and walls is natural soil moisture, blackhead or groundwater, where the level of the mirror is low and it does not exert hydrostatic pressure on the building elements, may be considered as security measures: drainage by means of ditches or properly carried out drainage outside the structure, insertion or installation of appropriate insulating diaphragms, installation in the wall of special drainage installations or damp-proof partitions or other methods.
If, on the other hand, the construction site is exposed to the influence of groundwater exerting hydrostatic pressure or water flowing from streams and rivers, the issue of security sometimes becomes very complicated. In these cases, they can be considered, apart from the use of diaphragms with protective insulation and drainage, also lowering the level of the groundwater table, construction of special water barriers and other methods falling within the scope of the specificity of hydraulic engineering.