Damp survey in Edenbridge

Edenbridge homes, and how they get damp

The historic High Street includes some of the oldest houses in the district, timber framed buildings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, often refronted in brick or tile hanging, many listed and within a conservation area. These buildings stay sound by drying. Modern cement render, gypsum plaster or plastic paints stop that, and the decay that follows is in the frame. Close to the river, their ground floors sit in wetter ground than the rest of the town.

The Victorian and Edwardian houses along the roads radiating from the centre are solid brick with slate roofs and suspended timber floors. On Weald clay, gardens drain slowly, and ground levels raised by paths and patios over the years sit against walls that were built with a slate course a couple of courses above the original ground.

Marlpit Hill and the north of the town are mostly post war and later housing with cavity walls and concrete floors, where condensation, mould and ventilation are the main issues. Around the villages, oasts, barns and timber framed cottages have been converted and extended, often more than once.

Ground, water and weather in Edenbridge

Edenbridge is on Weald clay, which drains poorly and shrinks and swells with the seasons. The River Eden runs through the town on its way to the Medway and has flooded the low ground on several occasions. In winter the water table across the river flats is high, and clay gardens hold surface water against houses. On the higher ground towards Crockham Hill, sandstone and the greensand ridge drain more freely.

The Eden and the clay

Edenbridge has a long history with its river. The Eden floods the low ground in some winters, and even when it does not, the water table across the meadows and the lower streets rises. On Weald clay, water drains slowly, so gardens can stay saturated for weeks after heavy rain, and the base of every wall is in contact with wet ground for much of the winter.

That makes ground levels around older houses particularly important. A garden raised by a few inches, or a path laid against the wall, puts wet clay in contact with brick above the old course. Lowering the ground, adding a gravel strip, or a land drain along the wall often does more than anything applied inside.

What we find most often in Edenbridge

• Cement render and gypsum plaster trapping moisture in timber framed buildings on the High Street
• Ground and patio levels on clay holding water against the base of Victorian walls
• High winter water table and river influence on floors near the Eden
• Condensation and mould in post war houses at Marlpit Hill
• Decay in sole plates and lower timbers where weatherboarding or tile hanging meets the ground

Around Edenbridge

The High Street

Timber framed buildings behind later fronts, many listed. Surveys are non invasive, and recommendations favour lime and breathable finishes that can gain consent.

Marlpit Hill and the north of the town

Post war and later housing. Mould in bedrooms and bathrooms, extract fans and drives over the course are what we usually find.

Hever, Chiddingstone and Four Elms

Villages with timber frames, oasts and barn conversions. Breathability and timber condition are the main questions, often for buyers of period property.

Telling the kinds of damp apart

Most of the cost of a damp problem comes from treating the wrong one. Water rising from the ground, rain getting in from outside and moisture condensing from the air inside all leave marks on a Edenbridge wall, and the marks overlap.

The differences are in when and where. Damp that comes and goes with rain points outside. Damp that is worst in a cold snap, behind furniture and in corners, points to condensation. Damp that is constant, rises to a fairly even height and falls off above it, on a wall with no outside fault, is the one that might be rising. The survey records which of these the evidence supports.

Inside and out: the Edenbridge survey, step by step

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

• The outside walls first: pointing, render, sills, and how timber frame and Wealden 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

What the written report contains

Your report arrives within 24 hours of the visit. A typical one for a Edenbridge house sets out:

• A plain English summary on the first page: what is wrong, why, and how urgent it is
• Photographs of each defect, with where it is on the building
• The moisture readings, mapped, with what they mean
• The cause of each damp area, and the faults ruled out and why
• What should be done, in priority order, written so any contractor can price it
• What does not need doing, stated as clearly as what does

Buying or letting in Edenbridge

Many Edenbridge purchases involve either a period building in the centre or a cottage in the surrounding villages. Homebuyer and building surveys commonly recommend investigation of damp and timber. An independent survey establishes whether the issue is ground and rainwater, the effect of modern materials on an old frame, or active decay, and what a sympathetic repair would involve.

Letting in Edenbridge? 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 Edenbridge 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.

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

Damp survey questions from Edenbridge

Where we cover around Edenbridge

• Edenbridge
• Marlpit Hill
• Four Elms
• Hever
• Crockham Hill
• Chiddingstone
• Cowden
• Markbeech
• Stick Hill

Postcode districts

• TN8

Other towns we survey near Edenbridge

In the same district

• Sevenoaks
• Swanley

Nearby

• Tunbridge Wells
• Tonbridge

Every town and district we cover

Book a damp survey in Edenbridge

Tell us your postcode and what you have noticed. We confirm the fee the same day and arrange a visit around you, anywhere in and around Edenbridge.

Book a survey or call 07386 225526