Damp proofing in Aylesford? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Aylesford

Damp proofing is the answer to one specific fault, a missing or failed damp proof course, and that fault is far rarer in Aylesford than the quotes suggest. Before anyone drills a wall, somebody with nothing to sell should establish why it is wet. That is the whole of what we do. We carry out no treatment, so the survey is not a route to a sale.

The quotes we worry about most in Aylesford are chemical injection on walls that are damp because of groundwater or river influence, and tanking on above ground walls in old buildings. Neither deals with the water. Injection cannot hold back groundwater beneath a floor, and tanking an old ragstone wall traps the moisture inside it.

The kinds of damp proofing, and what each one is for

"Damp proofing" covers several different jobs. A chemical damp proof course is a cream or fluid injected into a mortar course to stop moisture rising from the ground. A physical course is a membrane or slate cut into the wall, slower and more disruptive. Tanking is a waterproof coating or render that holds water back on a wall below ground. A drained membrane lets water reach the wall and carries it away to a channel and pump.

Each answers one fault. None of them fixes rain coming through Kentish ragstone and brick or brick, a gutter overflowing down a corner, or condensation on a cold wall, and those three account for most of the damp we are asked about in Aylesford. Replastering is often sold alongside, and on old solid walls the choice of plaster matters as much as anything injected.

Aylesford walls, and what they actually need

Old Aylesford walls are ragstone and soft brick in lime, and near the river they need to be able to dry in both directions. Floors on the valley floor may need construction suited to wet ground. Newer houses need their damp proof course kept clear and their ventilation working. None of these is a job for a standard damp proofing package.

Aylesford lies where the Medway cuts through towards the North Downs gap. The valley floor is river gravels and alluvium, the slopes rise through sands and clays to the chalk of Blue Bell Hill. Sand and gravel extraction and the old paper and cement industries have reshaped much of the low ground, and lakes now sit where pits were dug. The water table across the valley floor is high, and it rises with the river after prolonged rain.

• Lime repointing and plaster on old riverside walls instead of cement and injection
• Assessing floors and drainage on the valley floor for groundwater, with flood resilient detailing where appropriate
• Venting capped chimneys and repairing stack flashings on terraced cottages
• Clearing drives and patios from damp proof courses on twentieth century houses

Flood resilience is not damp proofing

Some homes on the low ground in Aylesford have flooded in the past and may do again. Flood resilience means choosing materials and details that recover quickly after water has been in the building: lime plaster or water resistant boards, solid floors with suitable finishes, raised sockets, non return valves on drains. It is a different subject from damp proofing, and an injected course does nothing to help a building recover from a flood.

Where a home has flooded, the survey can map how wet the fabric is and when it is dry enough to reinstate, which helps avoid decorating over wet walls, one of the commonest and most expensive mistakes after a flood.

Damp proofing done properly, in the right order

• Find the cause: measure, look outside, rule the alternatives in or out
• Fix the cheap external faults first and give the wall time to respond
• Only then, if a Kentish ragstone and brick or brick wall is still wet at low level with no working course, consider a new damp proof course
• Replaster with materials that suit the wall: lime on old solid walls, never cement on soft brick or stone
• Ventilate and heat so the wall can dry, and check it again after a season
• Keep the paperwork: diagnosis, specification, guarantee and the readings after

Questions to put to anyone quoting

• Why is this wall wet, and what is the evidence?
• Have you checked the ground level, gutters and pointing outside, and what did you find?
• Would the damp stop if those were fixed, and how do you know it would not?
• Why this height of replastering, and why this material?
• What exactly does the guarantee cover if the damp comes back in this Aylesford house?
• Can I have the survey in writing before I decide?

When a damp proof course is the right answer

Genuine rising damp exists, and when the survey finds it the report specifies the remedy plainly. The test is not a meter reading but a pattern: damp highest at the base of the wall, falling with height, present on walls with no external fault, and present in summer as well as winter. In Aylesford we find that pattern on a minority of the walls we are asked about.

Our survey fees are published on the prices page and fixed before we visit. Set against a damp proofing job on a Aylesford house, which typically runs to several times that once plaster removal and making good are included, the survey is small. When it shows that a wall needs a gutter repair rather than an injected course, it pays for itself several times over.

If you are buying close to the river in Aylesford, it is worth knowing how much of any damp is seasonal and river related and how much is a defect, because the first is about management and flood resilience and the second can be fixed. An independent survey before exchange separates them, and the report is written in a way that is useful when you speak to insurers and to the seller.

After the survey you have the cause in writing, a list of what needs doing in order, and what does not. If damp proofing is part of it, the report specifies the walls, the height and the finish, so the quotes you collect in Aylesford are for the same job. If it is not, you have the evidence to say no to the quote you were given.

For the full picture of what a survey here involves, see damp surveys in Aylesford.

Around Aylesford

Aylesford village and the riverside

Historic buildings close to the Medway, many listed. Surveys separate river and groundwater effects from defects such as cement pointing, gutters and blocked drains.

Eccles, Burham and Wouldham

Industrial era terraces and newer riverside developments on the far bank. Chimneys, yards and ventilation are the usual focus, plus groundwater on the lowest streets.

Blue Bell Hill and the Downs edge

Higher ground on chalk with mostly twentieth century houses. Damp here tends to be condensation, exposure on hilltop elevations and surface water on sloping plots.

Damp proofing questions in Aylesford

Nearby

• Damp proofing in East Malling
• Damp proofing in Snodland
• Damp proofing in Maidstone
• Damp proofing in Chatham

Book a survey before you pay for damp proofing

An independent survey before you pay for damp proofing in Aylesford. Fixed fee, same day reply, written report within 24 hours.

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