Damp and timber surveys in Canterbury
Canterbury has more pre-eighteenth century building in daily domestic use than almost anywhere else in Kent, and a great deal of it is timber framed. Timber framed buildings do not fail the way brick ones do, and the single most damaging thing done to them in the last sixty years has been sealing them up with modern materials.
Canterbury housing, and what it does when it gets wet
A timber framed building works by letting moisture move through it and evaporate. The frame is filled with lath and lime plaster or brick nogging, finished in lime, and it stays sound because it dries. Cement render on the outside, gypsum plaster on the inside, or a modern impermeable masonry paint all stop that drying. Moisture then sits against the frame, and what starts as a damp patch ends as beetle infestation or wet rot in a structural member. Repairs to that are on a different scale entirely.
The Victorian and Edwardian streets outside the walls are conventional solid brick, and they present the more familiar problems: bridged damp proof courses, defective rainwater goods, blocked underfloor ventilation. The city centre stock is the exception rather than the rule numerically, but it is where the expensive mistakes happen.
Listed status covers a great many buildings here, and it shapes the report as much as the diagnosis does. There is no point recommending external work that will not get consent, or a treatment that is inappropriate to a historic fabric. Where the answer requires opening up, it needs to be the smallest opening that will settle the question, specified precisely, so consent can be sought for that and nothing more.
What we are usually called out to in Canterbury
- Cement render or gypsum plaster trapping moisture against a timber frame, with decay following
- Beetle infestation and wet rot in structural timbers where damp has been present for years
- Modern impermeable masonry paint applied over historic lime render
- Bridged damp proof courses and defective rainwater goods on the Victorian streets outside the walls
- Pre purchase surveys on listed property where a homebuyer report has flagged damp and timber
- Condensation in historic buildings after secondary glazing and draught proofing without added ventilation
Where we cover
We cover Canterbury and the surrounding villages, across east Kent.
- Canterbury
- Whitstable
- Herne Bay
- Sturry
- Chartham
- Bridge
- Wingham
- Blean
- Littlebourne
Postcode districts
- CT1
- CT2
- CT3
- CT4
- CT5
- CT6
Book a survey in Canterbury
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.
Canterbury questions
What is the risk of using ordinary plaster in a timber framed house?
It is the most common avoidable cause of structural timber decay we see in this part of Kent. Gypsum plaster and cement render are far less permeable than the lime they replace, so moisture that used to pass through the wall and evaporate is instead held against the frame. Timber that stays above about twenty percent moisture content for a sustained period is at risk of fungal decay and becomes attractive to beetle. The finish looks fine for years while the frame behind it does not.
Our building is listed. How much can you actually inspect?
More than people expect without opening anything up. Calibrated moisture readings, a full external inspection of render, pointing, rainwater goods and ground levels, roof and flashing condition, internal environment monitoring, and inspection of any timbers that are already exposed will settle most questions. Where it will not, we specify the minimum opening required and exactly where, so you can apply for consent for a small, targeted investigation rather than a general one.