Dresden, DE
Section 01
The challenge
Long-standing damp in the basement and ground-floor spaces of the Baroque Zwinger complex. Mixed brick-and-stone masonry with historically fluctuating groundwater levels — Dresden lies in the Elbe flood plain, and repeated floods in 2002 and 2013 further complicated the underground hydrology. Previous electro-osmosis did not produce a sustainable result. Cement renovating plasters applied in the 1990s failed within five years, as salts beneath them cracked the surface.
Section 02
Why WetBRICK®
The Saxon heritage authorities (Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Sachsen + Stadtdenkmalamt Dresden) accepted WetBRICK® as a non-invasive solution suited to a UNESCO-protected building. The gel penetrates pores and capillaries as small as 1/1000 mm, allowing it to work even in structurally diverse masonry — it seeks out damp spots and seals them completely. We collaborated with the Dresden conservation team on before-and-after photographic documentation, which has become part of the official heritage archive.
Section 03
What happened next
Injection was followed by the application of the Epasit® WTA renovating system. Damp levels at monitored points fell from 12–15% by mass to below 4% over eighteen months. The Zwinger has since carried out regular check-up measurements together with our team, with no further intervention required.