Damp proofing in Gillingham? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Gillingham

Most of the walls we are asked to look at in Gillingham 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, Victorian brick 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.

The Gillingham quotes we check most often are for injection and replastering on bay fronts and rear additions. A bay that leaks at the roof junction will keep wetting the wall below however much cream is injected into it. On the post war houses, quotes for chemical courses on walls bridged by a drive are common, and they leave the drive exactly where it was.

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 Victorian 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 Gillingham. Replastering is often sold alongside, and on old solid walls the choice of plaster matters as much as anything injected.

Gillingham walls, and what they actually need

The terraces have solid brick walls with slate or bitumen courses that generally still work when the ground is kept down. The bays need sound leadwork, flashings and sills. The later houses have cavity walls and need clear courses, working trays over openings and ventilation inside. None of them, as a rule, need a new damp proof course.

Gillingham lies on chalk sloping down to the Medway, with London Clay and sands appearing towards Rainham and along the shore. The river frontage at the Strand and Lower Rainham is low lying and exposed to wind off the estuary. Where clay is close to the surface, gardens hold water and slow down drainage around houses, which makes ground levels and gullies matter even more than on the chalk.

• Repairing bay roof flashings, leadwork and sills before any internal work
• Clearing lean to and closet wing gutters and resetting downpipes away from the wall
• Lowering drives and patios or cutting a drained channel along the wall where they bridge the course
• Improving extraction and dealing with cold spots in houses with recurrent mould

Brompton and the older buildings

Brompton, beside the old dockyard, has some of the oldest houses in Gillingham, many in a conservation area, some with cellars. They were built with lime and many were altered in the twentieth century with cement render and modern plaster. As in other historic parts of Medway, the damp we see there is usually from those alterations, from parapet gutters and from cellars being used as rooms.

The approach is the same as for any old building: lime repairs, rainwater sorted, ground kept low, and below ground rooms designed for the water present. Injection is rarely the answer.

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 Victorian 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 Gillingham house?
• Can I have the survey in writing before I decide?

When a damp proof course is the right answer

We are not against damp proofing. We are against it being the default. When a Gillingham 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 Gillingham 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.

Many Gillingham purchases are terraces with a bay at the front and an addition at the back, and the homebuyer report will often mark a damp reading by the bay or in the rear room. Both usually have a specific external cause. Knowing that before exchange turns a vague "damp specialist recommended" into a short list of defined repairs that a seller can be asked to price into the deal.

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 Gillingham 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 Gillingham.

Around Gillingham

Central Gillingham terraces

Victorian and Edwardian streets with bays and rear additions. Bay window leaks, rear gutter failures and yards that have crept up account for most surveys.

Brompton

Older and more historic, close to the dockyard and the Great Lines. Converted flats, basements and render are the recurring themes, and listed or conservation area status often applies.

Rainham, Wigmore and Hempstead

Later twentieth century housing on larger plots. Driveway bridging, extension junctions and mould in bedrooms make up most of the work.

Damp proofing questions in Gillingham

Nearby

• Damp proofing in Chatham
• Damp proofing in Rochester
• Damp proofing in Sittingbourne

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 Gillingham and the villages around it.

Book a Survey or call 07386 225526