Damp and mould surveys in Ashford
Ashford is unusual in Kent for how much of its housing is new. Alongside the Victorian railway terraces there are very large recent estates, and new build damp is a different subject entirely: it is about airtightness, ventilation and construction moisture rather than about anything having failed.
Ashford housing, and what it does when it gets wet
A modern house is built to be airtight and insulated to a standard the older stock never approached. That is good for heating bills and unforgiving of ventilation failures. If the mechanical ventilation was never commissioned, has been turned down because it was noisy, or has ducting that was crushed or left disconnected in the roof, the moisture a household generates has nowhere to go. Mould in a two year old house is almost always a ventilation defect, and it is a defect the builder is often still responsible for.
The other new build phenomenon is construction moisture. A newly built masonry house contains a great deal of water in its blockwork, screed and plaster, and it takes many months to dry out. During the first winter that shows as condensation, streaming windows and mould in cupboards and corners, and it is routinely misdiagnosed as a leak. Knowing the difference saves an owner from chasing a defect that is not there, and from accepting one that is.
The older parts of the town, around the station and the original centre, are conventional Victorian brick terraces with the usual issues: raised external ground bridging the damp proof course, defective rainwater goods, blocked airbricks. Out into the villages there is weatherboarding, timber frame and the occasional oast, which need breathable repairs rather than modern impermeable ones.
What we are usually called out to in Ashford
- Mould in a new build house where the mechanical ventilation was never commissioned or has been disabled
- Ducting crushed, disconnected or discharging into a roof void rather than to outside
- First winter condensation from construction moisture, misread as a leak or a defect
- Raised paths and drives bridging the damp proof course on the older terraces
- Blocked airbricks and musty suspended ground floors
- Breathability problems in weatherboarded and timber framed village property after modern repairs
Where we cover
We cover Ashford and the surrounding villages, out across the Weald and towards Romney Marsh.
- Ashford
- Kennington
- Willesborough
- Charing
- Wye
- Tenterden
- Hamstreet
- Aldington
- Great Chart
Postcode districts
- TN23
- TN24
- TN25
- TN26
- TN27
- TN30
Book a survey in Ashford
Same day response to every enquiry, and your written report within 24 hours of the visit. Put your postcode in the form and we will confirm cover and fee the same day.
Book a surveyOr call 07386 225526.
Ashford questions
Our new build is damp. Is that normal, or is something wrong?
Both are common and they need telling apart. A masonry house holds a large amount of construction water and takes months to dry, so condensation through the first winter can be normal and improves each year. Persistent mould, mould that appears in the second or third winter, or mould concentrated near a ventilation terminal is a defect rather than drying out. We measure the ventilation performance as well as the moisture, which is what distinguishes the two and what a warranty provider or developer will want to see.
The developer says it is condensation and therefore our responsibility. Is it?
Not necessarily. Condensation is a symptom, not a cause. If it is happening because a ventilation system does not move the air it was specified to move, because ducting is crushed or disconnected, or because the system was never commissioned, that is a construction defect regardless of the fact that the visible result is condensation. Our report records the measured air flow against what the design required, which turns the discussion into a factual one.