Damp proofing in Rochester? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Rochester

Damp proofing is the answer to one specific fault, a missing or failed damp proof course, and that fault is far rarer in Rochester 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 see most in Rochester are for chemical injection and cement based replastering in period houses, and for tanking cellars that are damp in a way they always were. On a lime built wall, cement plaster seals the inner face and concentrates salts and moisture, and the damp line climbs. On a cellar, tanking without understanding the water often moves the pressure elsewhere.

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

Rochester walls, and what they actually need

Old Rochester walls are brick, ragstone, flint and timber frame, all bedded in lime. They need breathable pointing, lime or breathable plaster, sound rainwater goods and the ground kept down. The twentieth century houses in Strood and Wainscott are cavity walled and need clear courses and good ventilation. Neither group, as a rule, needs a damp proof course injected.

The Medway is tidal at Rochester, and the riverside on both banks is low. The Esplanade and the lower streets of Strood are close to the water and sensitive to tide, rain and river levels together. Up the slopes, the town sits on chalk, which drains quickly but sends water downhill fast in heavy rain. The ragstone in older walls was brought down the Medway from the quarries around Maidstone, and some of the oldest walls in the town are flint and chalk.

• Removing cement pointing and render from lime built walls where it is trapping moisture, and repointing in lime
• Replacing gypsum or cement plaster with lime on solid walls that have become damp after modern repairs
• Rainwater repairs on parapets, valleys and gutters in the High Street buildings
• A designed below ground solution for cellars that are to become habitable rooms

Riverside Strood and the Esplanade

The lower streets of Strood and the houses near the Esplanade sit close to a tidal river. Floors and low walls there can be affected by groundwater that rises with tides and rain, which is something no wall treatment can stop. Managing it means breathable finishes, ventilation and, where needed, floor construction designed for wet ground.

Where flooding is a risk, resilience measures help a building recover quickly. The survey separates groundwater from rainwater and building defects, so effort goes where it will 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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.

A period house in Rochester is a long term commitment, and the homebuyer or building survey will often recommend specialist investigation of damp or timber. That recommendation is a prompt to establish facts, not a verdict. An independent survey sets out what is going on, what is historic and what is active, and what a sensible programme of work would involve, so you can negotiate on evidence.

The report is yours to use as you like: to compare quotes, to put to a seller or landlord, or simply to know. We take no commission and recommend no contractor, so you choose who does any work in Rochester, and we will read their quote against the report if you ask.

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

Around Rochester

The High Street and cathedral precinct

Listed and conservation area buildings, often shops or offices with flats above. Surveys are non invasive by default and recommendations are written with consent in mind.

Borstal, Delce and St Margaret's

Victorian and Edwardian houses on the slopes, some with cellars. The pattern of damp often follows the slope, with uphill walls retaining ground and downhill walls exposed.

Strood and Frindsbury

Later terraces and post war housing across the river, with riverside streets that sit low. Condensation, drives and occasional groundwater make up most surveys.

Damp proofing questions in Rochester

Nearby

• Damp proofing in Chatham
• Damp proofing in Gillingham
• Damp proofing in Gravesend
• Damp proofing in Snodland

Book a survey before you pay for damp proofing

Holding a damp proofing quote? Book a survey and we will tell you whether it matches what is actually wrong with your Rochester home.

Book a Survey or call 07386 225526