Damp survey in Deal

Deal homes, and how they get damp

The houses of the old town conservation area, many listed, are small Georgian and earlier buildings in soft brick and lime, some timber framed behind a brick or rendered front, some weatherboarded at the rear. They sit on low, gravelly ground close to the beach, with a high water table and salt in the air. Damp in their ground floors and low walls is often a combination of groundwater, salt and cement repairs, rather than a failed damp proof course they never had.

Along Beach Street and the seafront, taller buildings face the full force of easterly gales and spray. Render, bays, balconies and parapets take the brunt, and the inside of the seaward wall shows it. Salt in the masonry keeps readings high even when the wall is dry.

Walmer's larger villas and the twentieth century estates of Upper Deal and Mill Hill have their own patterns: rainwater and roof drainage on the big houses, condensation, ventilation and bridged courses on the later ones.

Ground, water and weather in Deal

Deal is built on beach shingle and low lying ground at the edge of the chalk, with the downs rising behind the town towards Kingsdown and Great Mongeham. The old town sits low, protected by the shingle and sea defences, with a high water table that rises in wet winters. Water drains quickly through shingle and chalk, but the lowest streets can stay wet underfoot.

The old town, house by house

Deal's old town is a dense grid of small houses, many of them listed, packed between Middle Street and the beach. Many have been altered repeatedly: cellars filled, floors replaced with concrete, rear walls rebuilt, extensions added. Each alteration changes how moisture moves, and many of the damp problems we see date from a twentieth century change rather than from the original building.

A solid concrete floor laid over the old earth or brick floor is a common example. It stops moisture leaving through the floor, so it moves sideways into the base of the walls instead, which then show a tide mark. The wall is blamed, but the floor is the cause. A breathable floor build up, or managing the wall with lime, is the remedy, not a chemical course.

Weatherboarded rear walls and outbuildings are another feature, and their sole plates and lower boards are vulnerable where shingle, soil or paving has built up against them. Keeping the base clear and the boards maintained matters more than any treatment.

What we find most often in Deal

• Groundwater and salt affecting ground floors and low walls in the old town
• Cement repairs and modern paints on lime built Georgian houses
• Wind driven rain and spray through render and bays on the seafront
• Weatherboarding at the rear of old town houses letting water reach the frame
• Condensation and bridged courses in twentieth century houses in Upper Deal and Mill Hill

Around Deal

The old town and Middle Street

Georgian and older houses, many listed, on low ground near the beach. Groundwater, salt and lime repairs are the central questions.

Walmer

Larger Regency and Victorian houses and a quieter seafront. Roofs, parapets, render and cellars dominate.

Upper Deal, Mill Hill and Sholden

Twentieth century housing inland. Mould, ventilation and drives over the course are typical.

Rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation?

They can look the same on a Deal 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 Deal survey, step by step

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

• The outside walls first: pointing, render, sills, and how Georgian brick, render and weatherboarding 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

The report, and what you can do with it

You get it in writing within 24 hours. It is built so you can use it, whether you are living in Deal, letting there or buying there:

• Hand it to two or three contractors and compare prices for the same job
• Put it to a seller or agent during a purchase, with the evidence attached
• Give it to a landlord, managing agent or freeholder as an independent record
• Check a damp proofing quote you already hold against what was actually found
• Keep it with the deeds, so the next survey starts from facts
• Ask us questions about it afterwards, at no extra charge

Buying or letting in Deal

Deal's old town is highly sought after, and buyers often find that a homebuyer report flags damp in a ground floor that has always been a little damp. An independent survey before exchange tells you what is groundwater and salt, which is to be managed, and what is cement or rainwater, which can be fixed, and what a sympathetic repair costs.

Letting in Deal? 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.

How it works

1. You send the form or call. We reply the same day and confirm the fee in writing.
2. A qualified surveyor comes to your Deal address at a time that suits you, including evenings and weekends.
3. The survey takes one to two hours for most homes, longer for large or period buildings.
4. Your written report follows within 24 hours, and we are on the phone if anything in it needs explaining.

Independent means we have no product behind the report. We do not install damp proofing, waterproofing or ventilation, and we take no commission from anyone who does. That is why a Deal report from us can say "no treatment needed" without anybody losing a sale. See damp proofing in Deal if you have already been quoted.

Damp survey questions from Deal

Where we cover around Deal

• Deal
• Walmer
• Upper Deal
• Mill Hill
• Sholden
• Kingsdown
• Middle Street
• Great Mongeham
• Ringwould

Postcode districts

• CT14

Other towns we survey near Deal

In the same district

• Dover

Nearby

• Ramsgate
• Broadstairs

Every town and district we cover

Book a damp survey in Deal

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 Deal home.

Book a survey or call 07386 225526