Damp proofing in Snodland? Get an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Snodland

Damp proofing is the answer to one specific fault, a missing or failed damp proof course, and that fault is far rarer in Snodland 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.

On the terraces, the quote is usually injection along the rear wall and into the party wall, with replastering. The rear wall is wet because of the yard or a downpipe, and the party wall rarely has external ground against it. On the new estates, firms sometimes quote damp proofing for mould, which is condensation and a ventilation matter.

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 Snodland walls built in Victorian brick 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.

Snodland walls, and what they actually need

Snodland's terraces have solid brick walls and, in many cases, original slate courses that work when uncovered. They need the ground and the yard dealt with, gutters and downpipes discharging into drains, and breathable plaster inside. The newer homes have cavity walls with modern membranes and need their ventilation working.

Snodland sits between the river and the chalk of the North Downs. The low ground near the Medway is alluvium and gravels with a high water table, while the land rises to chalk towards Holborough and Paddlesworth, where quarrying for cement left deep pits now flooded as lakes. Streets close to the river are low lying and the river is tidal up to Allington, so groundwater responds to both rain and tide.

• Lowering or re laying rear yards so they fall away from the house
• Connecting downpipes to drains rather than discharging at the base of the wall
• Breathable or lime plaster on solid walls, where old plaster is salt contaminated
• Ventilation repairs and commissioning on newer homes with mould

Yards, outbuildings and former outside toilets

Many Snodland terraces have had their rear yards concreted, sometimes more than once, and their outside toilets and coal stores turned into utility rooms or extended into kitchens. Each of those changes can bridge the base of the original wall. A concrete yard laid against the back wall and falling towards it is one of the most reliable ways to wet a terrace, and the damp shows in the kitchen or back room.

Where an outbuilding has been joined to the house, the junction often has no cavity tray or damp proof course detail, and the old outside wall, now inside, gets wet from the roof and the floor of the newer part. The survey traces these junctions, and the repair is to the junction rather than to the whole house.

What proper damp proofing should look like

• A written diagnosis first, with readings and photographs, saying why the wall is wet
• External causes fixed before or alongside any internal work: ground levels, gutters, pointing, render
• A damp proof course only where one is missing or has genuinely failed, at the right height for the Snodland house in question
• Salt contaminated plaster removed and replaced with a suitable breathable or salt resistant finish, not sealed over
• Drying time allowed before decoration, because a wall that has been wet for years does not dry in a week
• A guarantee that names the walls treated and the cause addressed, from a firm that will still be there

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 Snodland 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 Snodland 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 Snodland 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.

Snodland is popular with buyers looking for value close to the Medway towns and Maidstone. Many purchases are Victorian terraces where the homebuyer report notes damp in a back room, or new builds where the first winter brings condensation. An independent survey tells you whether there is a real defect and, on newer homes, whether it should be raised under the warranty.

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 Snodland, 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 Snodland.

Around Snodland

The High Street and riverside terraces

The original industrial town. Rear yards, outbuildings and drainage are the focus, and the lowest streets sometimes have groundwater as well.

Ham Hill and the west of the town

Twentieth century housing on rising ground. Mould, extraction and drives over the damp proof course make up most surveys.

Holborough Lakes

New homes around the lakes of the former cement works. Ventilation, commissioning and snagging defects are what we are usually asked about.

Damp proofing questions in Snodland

Nearby

• Damp proofing in Aylesford
• Damp proofing in West Malling
• Damp proofing in Rochester
• Damp proofing in Gravesend

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 Snodland and the villages around it.

Book a Survey or call 07386 225526