Prevalence Symptoms of Wall Dampness in Buildings within Jos Metropolis

Dampness revealed itself through visible symptom such as damped wall, presence of microbial growth, presence of efflorescence and presence of missing mortar e.t.c. The prevalence of the symptoms is damaging, may cause different health effects to the occupants and lead to costly refurbishments, if it is not perceived in time or when one is ignorance of it or lack of knowledge of it. Therefore, the study aimed at investigating the prevalence symptom of wall dampness in buildings within Jos metropolis. Jos is consisting of Jos North, South and East LG.C. Six clusters of Angwan Rukuba, Farin Gada, Tudun Wada, Bukuru, Rayfield and Lamingo area were selected from within the metropolis. Data were collected randomly through three hundred administered questionnaires, 50 in each cluster, while onsite building inspections in the six selected clusters were also conducted within Jos metropolis. Question as regards to the age of buildings were posed to the owner of a building. Relative humidity and temperature were measured and recorded. SPSS Statistics V26 was used to analyzed the data using percentage frequency of occurrence/response. The results show that there is presence of more damp height and microbial growth of 94.7 and 93.6% ; while there is presences of lesser efflorescence and missing mortar/plaster of 23.7 and 24.1% respectively. It is found that about 60% of the houses investigated have damping symptoms at various percentage frequencies. The study recommends detail investigation should be conducted to determine the leading cause of dampness within Jos metropolis.