We provide Independent Specialist Damp Surveys in London and South East
If you are looking for a damp and timber survey in London, Kent, Suffolk, Surrey , Sussex and the South East, then we can help you. We are one of the leading independent consultancies in the country when it comes to understanding damp issues in old buildings.
London has many houses which have damp issues and many problems which are typical of London houses. Lower ground floor kitchens, basement flats, high occupancy causing condensation and various other issues.
Londons housing stock is largely pre 1919 and contains lots of old houses. These houses are not inherently damp, its often how these houses have been adapted that cause the issues.
We have surveyed countless lower ground floor flats and kitchen and successfully remedied damp issues. The key is to understanding the issues and not trying to cover them up with cement tanking which will always fail.
Did you know that the most important research in damp houses was started by Lewisham Council – they have thousands of council houses – but not one of them has been damp proofed. They realised that all of their problems were caused not by an imaginary lake of water bubbling up from underground by ‘capillary rise’ through ‘damp courses that had broken down’ as the Property Care Association damp contractor will tell you. No – the ‘damp’ problems were being caused by people. People breathe, they cook, they shower and bathe. All this activity causes large amounts of moisture in the air around us – and it finds its way into the building fabric. Lewisham council realised that better ventilation, education of tenants, lifestyle changes, were the key to dry, warm homes. Their former staff – Ralph Burkinshaw and Mike Parrett wrote the definitive book on the subject – Diagnosing Damp – which is sold by the RICS bookshop. We work with another former Lewisham hero – Ray Hudson, who designed their ventilation systems, and now runs RHL Direct – a company specialising in humidity controlled ventilation.
Our independent damp surveys in London focus on identifying the root cause of a problem – not treating symptoms by hacking plaster off and injecting useless toxic chemicals into your walls. We look at lifestyle. We look at the building – are there any leaky drains? Where does rainwater go to? Does the flat next door have a leaky shower tray? What WAS the basement – was it the kitchen to a big Georgian townhouse? Was there once a huge ingle fireplace which is now soaked with hygroscopic salts and drawing moisture into the wall? Is it stuffy and badly ventilated? All THESE problems will cause the classic symptoms of ‘rising damp’.