Damp proofing in East Malling? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in East Malling

Most of the walls we are asked to look at in East Malling after a damp proofing quote do not need a new damp proof course. They need the water dealt with at its source: a path lowered, a gutter cleared, Kentish ragstone repointed in the right mortar, or a fan that actually extracts. Injecting a wall that is wet for another reason costs real money and fixes nothing, and the tide mark returns once the new plaster dries out.

In the old village the quote that worries us most is chemical injection and cement based replastering on a ragstone cottage. Injection struggles to form a continuous barrier in rubble stone, and the cement plaster stops the wall drying through its inner face. In Larkfield and New Hythe, injection is sometimes quoted for mould on bedroom walls, which a damp proof course cannot affect.

A short guide to damp proofing methods

Chemical injection puts a water repellent barrier into the base of a wall. Electro osmotic and other proprietary systems make similar claims by different means. Membranes and tanking hold or drain water on below ground walls. Breathable or salt resistant plasters deal with what years of damp leave behind. They are tools, and the skill is in knowing which, if any, the wall needs.

Old East Malling walls built in Kentish ragstone or soft brick were never meant to be sealed. They take a little water and lose it again, and many damp problems in them start the day somebody stopped them losing it. The right damp proofing for such a wall is often the work that lets it breathe again.

East Malling walls, and what they actually need

A ragstone wall in East Malling needs lime pointing, lime plaster, open ground at its base and gutters that work. A post war cavity wall needs its course kept clear and the rooms inside ventilated. A converted barn or oast needs its wall build up and ventilation looked at as a system, not a damp course added to it.

The village sits on the Hythe Beds, the sandy limestone and ragstone that gives the area its building stone, with sands and clays nearby and the Medway valley falling away to the north at New Hythe. Springs and streams run down towards the river, and the lane at Mill Street follows one. Where the stone is close to the surface, drainage is good; where clay sits on top, gardens stay wet and slow to drain, especially on the lower ground towards Larkfield.

• Lime repointing and lime plaster on ragstone and old brick walls
• Clearing gutters and resetting downpipes on the tree lined lanes, ideally every autumn
• Lowering garden and path levels or adding a gravel drain against old walls
• Ventilation and cold bridge work for condensation in post war houses

Converted farm buildings around East Malling

Barns, oasts and stables around the parish have been converted to homes over the last few decades. Many of them have single skin brick or ragstone walls, lined internally with insulation and plasterboard. If the lining is fixed directly to a wall that takes in rain, moisture collects behind it, and damp and mould show at the base and in corners.

The fix is rarely an injected course. It is usually a matter of keeping rain out with lime pointing and sound gutters, lowering ground outside and making sure the lining has a way to let moisture escape. The survey checks the wall build up where it can, and recommends the least intrusive changes that work.

The signs of a damp proofing job worth paying for

• The contractor can tell you the cause in a sentence and show you the evidence
• The quote mentions what is happening outside the East Malling house, not only inside
• Plaster removal is limited to where salts actually are, with a height that matches the readings
• Materials are named and suit the wall, rather than a standard system applied to every house
• The guarantee is insurance backed or otherwise protected, and states exactly what it covers
• Nobody pressed you to sign on the day

How to avoid being oversold

• Never sign on the day of a free survey. A genuine problem will still be there next week
• Ask what else could cause the readings, and how each alternative was ruled out
• Ask for the readings in writing, with where they were taken
• Be wary of whole house treatment for damp found on one wall
• Be wary of tanking or a membrane on an above ground wall that is wet from outside
• Get an independent survey on any East Malling job above a few hundred pounds; it often costs less than the plaster you would lose

When a damp proof course is the right answer

We are not against damp proofing. We are against it being the default. When a East Malling wall has no working course, sits on damp ground and stays wet after the outside has been put right, a damp proof course and suitable replastering is the right job, and the report will say that and specify it.

Our survey fees are published on the prices page and fixed before we visit. Set against a damp proofing job on a East Malling 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.

East Malling houses come up less often than in the bigger towns, and the older ones are almost all solid walled. A homebuyer report on a ragstone cottage will often mention damp, because a meter reads high on old stone and lime. An independent survey from a few streets away tells you whether those readings mean a problem, and what a sympathetic repair would involve.

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 East Malling 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 East Malling.

Around East Malling

The village centre and Mill Street

Ragstone and brick cottages, many listed, along lanes that follow the old stream. Lime repairs, ground levels and rainwater are the recurring themes.

Larkfield and New Hythe

Post war estates and later housing between the village and the river. Mould in bedrooms, extract fans that underperform and drives laid over the course are what we usually find.

Ditton and the edge of Aylesford

Mixed twentieth century housing and older cottages close to the A20. Extensions, conservatories and their junctions with the original house are a frequent source of damp.

Damp proofing questions in East Malling

Nearby

• Damp proofing in West Malling
• Damp proofing in Kings Hill
• Damp proofing in Aylesford
• Damp proofing in Maidstone

Book a survey before you pay for damp proofing

Get the cause in writing before anyone drills a wall. We sell no treatment and cover East Malling and the villages around it.

Book a Survey or call 07386 225526