Damp proofing in Faversham? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Faversham

A free damp survey in Faversham is usually a sales visit with a meter. The meter reads high on a wall that is wet for any reason, and on salts in old plaster even when the wall is dry, so a high reading proves very little. An independent survey finds the cause, and only the cause tells you whether damp proofing is the remedy at all.

The quotes that concern us most in Faversham are chemical injection and cement based replastering on lime built and timber framed buildings, and tanking in cellars and warehouse conversions without a proper look at the water. These treatments can damage historic fabric, may need consent, and often fail to address the cause.

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 timber frame, brick and weatherboarding 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 Faversham. Replastering is often sold alongside, and on old solid walls the choice of plaster matters as much as anything injected.

Faversham walls, and what they actually need

Faversham's old walls need lime: lime pointing, lime render, lime plaster, limewash or breathable paints. Timber frames need finishes that let them dry. Cellars need their water understood before any system is chosen. The newer houses need clear courses and ventilation.

Faversham sits at the head of Faversham Creek, a tidal inlet of the Swale, on brickearth and London Clay with chalk rising to the south towards the Downs. The creek side and the lower town are low lying, with a high water table and tidal influence, and some streets near the water have flooded in the past. Upstream, the Westbrook runs through the town towards the creek.

• Replacing cement pointing, render and gypsum plaster with lime on historic buildings
• Maintaining gutters, valleys and downpipes on old roofs
• Lowering ground and improving drainage around the base of walls
• Below ground solutions for cellars only after the water is understood

Cellars, creeks and old floors

Many houses in the historic centre have cellars, and many near the creek sit on ground with a high water table. A cellar in Faversham was built for storage, often for beer, and was expected to be cool and somewhat damp. Turning one into a habitable room changes the standard entirely, and that needs a designed below ground system based on what the water is doing, not a standard tanking job.

Old floors matter too. Where an original brick or stone floor has been replaced with concrete and a membrane, moisture that used to escape through the floor moves into the base of the walls, and a tide mark appears that looks like rising damp. The remedy is to give that moisture somewhere to go, through a breathable floor or lime finishes at the base of the wall, not to inject the wall.

The survey looks at floors, cellars and walls together, because in an old building they work as one system.

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 Faversham 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 Faversham 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

There are walls in Faversham that do need a damp proof course. A solid wall built without one, or with a slate or bitumen course that has cracked or been cut through, that is wet at low level with nothing outside to explain it and with the readings falling off with height, is a reasonable candidate. When we find that, the report says so and specifies where and how high, so you can get comparable quotes.

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

Buying a historic Faversham house usually means a building survey and a recommendation for specialist investigation of damp and timber. Commissioning that from a treatment firm risks a quote for chemical treatments that the building does not need and the conservation officer would not welcome. An independent survey gives you a realistic picture and a repair approach that suits the building.

What you do with the report is up to you. Most people fix the outside faults first, which are usually the cheapest, and give the wall a season to dry. Some take the specification to two or three Faversham contractors. Some send it back to the firm that quoted, which often changes the quote.

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

Around Faversham

The historic centre

Listed timber framed and Georgian buildings in the conservation area. Surveys are non invasive and recommendations favour lime, breathable finishes and drainage.

The creek and Standard Quay

Converted warehouses and homes on low ground near tidal water. Groundwater, flood resilience and how conversions handle moisture are the main questions.

Ospringe, Preston and the edges of town

A mix of older cottages and twentieth century housing. Ground levels, rainwater and condensation make up most surveys.

Damp proofing questions in Faversham

Nearby

• Damp proofing in Sittingbourne
• Damp proofing in Whitstable
• Damp proofing in Canterbury

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 Faversham and the villages around it.

Book a Survey or call 07386 225526