Damp survey in Aylesford

Aylesford homes, and how they get damp

The old village has ragstone and brick houses and cottages, some timber framed, many listed and in a conservation area that runs along the river. Walls closest to the water sit in ground that is wet much of the year, and the lower parts of the village have flooded in the past. In these buildings, damp at low level is often groundwater and river influence, not a failed damp proof course, and a survey needs to separate seasonal river related damp from defects that can be fixed.

Eccles and Burham, across the river, grew around cement and lime works, and still have rows of Victorian and early twentieth century terraced cottages. Solid brick walls, small rear yards and limited ventilation are typical, along with chimneys that have been capped without vents and gardens that have risen over a century.

Much of the housing between Aylesford and Ditton, and around Preston Hall and Royal British Legion Village, is twentieth century and newer, with cavity walls and modern damp proof courses. The damp there is mainly condensation, bridged courses and ventilation, and it is measured rather than guessed at.

Ground, water and weather in Aylesford

Aylesford lies where the Medway cuts through towards the North Downs gap. The valley floor is river gravels and alluvium, the slopes rise through sands and clays to the chalk of Blue Bell Hill. Sand and gravel extraction and the old paper and cement industries have reshaped much of the low ground, and lakes now sit where pits were dug. The water table across the valley floor is high, and it rises with the river after prolonged rain.

What we find most often in Aylesford

• River influenced groundwater affecting floors and low walls in the old village
• Ragstone and brick walls repointed in cement close to the river, unable to dry
• Capped, unvented chimney breasts and raised gardens on terraced cottages in Eccles and Burham
• Condensation and mould in modern houses on the estates towards Ditton
• Drives and patios bridging damp proof courses on twentieth century houses

Around Aylesford

Aylesford village and the riverside

Historic buildings close to the Medway, many listed. Surveys separate river and groundwater effects from defects such as cement pointing, gutters and blocked drains.

Eccles, Burham and Wouldham

Industrial era terraces and newer riverside developments on the far bank. Chimneys, yards and ventilation are the usual focus, plus groundwater on the lowest streets.

Blue Bell Hill and the Downs edge

Higher ground on chalk with mostly twentieth century houses. Damp here tends to be condensation, exposure on hilltop elevations and surface water on sloping plots.

Rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation?

They can look the same on a Aylesford wall: a stain, a tide mark, blown plaster or mould. They behave differently. Rising damp is steady through the year and highest at the base of a wall. Penetrating damp follows the weather and sits where water has a route in, around a window, under a gutter, on the exposed side. Condensation is worst in cold weather, on the coldest surfaces, and often comes with streaming windows.

A meter alone cannot tell them apart, and salts in old plaster make every damp meter read high. The pattern, the readings at depth, the outside of the building and the room conditions together can, which is why the survey takes the time it does.

Inside and out: the Aylesford survey, step by step

Most damp is decided outside the house, so that is where half the visit goes. On a typical Aylesford property we check:

• The outside walls first: pointing, render, sills, and how Kentish ragstone and brick has been repaired over the years
• Where the ground sits against the wall, front and back, and whether a patio or flower bed has crept up
• Rainwater: gutters, hoppers, downpipes and where they discharge, ideally after we have seen them in rain
• Damp readings inside on a pattern, with a reference reading from a dry wall for comparison
• Salts, tide marks and blown plaster, which say what the water has been doing for years
• Room conditions: humidity, dew point and the coldest surfaces, for any mould
• Timber in reach: skirtings, joist ends, sub floor and the loft hatch view of the roof

A sample report, in outline

No two reports are the same, but a Aylesford report usually runs in this order:

• Property and conditions on the day, including recent weather
• Findings by room and by elevation, each with photographs
• Readings and the pattern they make, not a single headline figure
• Diagnosis: the cause, and the alternatives that were tested and excluded
• Recommendations as a specification, with the order to do them in
• Anything not inspected, and exactly where to look if it needs opening up

Buying or letting in Aylesford

If you are buying close to the river in Aylesford, it is worth knowing how much of any damp is seasonal and river related and how much is a defect, because the first is about management and flood resilience and the second can be fixed. An independent survey before exchange separates them, and the report is written in a way that is useful when you speak to insurers and to the seller.

Letting in Aylesford? Damp and mould in rented homes are a hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and social landlords in England now have fixed timescales to investigate and act under Awaab's Law, with the government planning to extend similar duties to private renting. An independent report that separates building defects from condensation is the evidence both landlords and tenants need. See our guide to landlord damp and mould duties.

Booking a survey in Aylesford

1. Tell us the postcode and what you have noticed. Photos help but are not needed.
2. We agree a fixed fee and a slot. Nothing changes once agreed, whatever we find.
3. On the day we inspect outside first, then inside, and talk you through what we see before we leave.
4. The report lands in your inbox within 24 hours, ready to share.

We are survey only. DampScan does not inject damp proof courses, tank walls, spray timbers or fit fans, so nothing in a Aylesford report is there to create work for us. If you are holding a damp proofing quote, read damp proofing in Aylesford: survey first before you sign it.

Damp survey questions from Aylesford

Where we cover around Aylesford

• Aylesford
• Eccles
• Blue Bell Hill
• Ditton
• Larkfield
• Burham
• Wouldham
• Preston Hall
• Forstal

Postcode districts

• ME20

Other towns we survey near Aylesford

In the same district

• East Malling
• Kings Hill
• Snodland
• Tonbridge
• West Malling

Nearby

• Maidstone
• Chatham

Every town and district we cover

Book a damp survey in Aylesford

Same day reply to every enquiry, a fixed fee agreed before we come, and a written report within 24 hours of the visit to your Aylesford home.

Book a survey or call 07386 225526