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Damp proofing in Kent: get the cause found before you pay
Damp proofing is a set of remedies, not one product, and the expensive mistakes in this trade nearly all come from choosing the remedy before finding the cause. We are independent surveyors and we do not carry out damp proofing, so we have nothing to sell you afterwards. A qualified surveyor establishes why the wall is wet and writes it down. Sometimes the answer is a damp proof course. Often it is a drainage channel, a lowered path or a repaired gutter, and the report says so.
Book a survey Fixed-price surveys from £215, report included
Before you pay for damp proofing
- You have a quote for injection and replastering and nobody has explained why the wall is wet
- A homebuyer survey recorded high meter readings and recommended a damp specialist
- Damp proofing was done before and the tide mark has come back
- The damp is worst in winter, on cold walls, or behind furniture, which points to condensation rather than rising damp
- Paths, patios or flower beds have risen against the walls over the years
What damp proofing can mean
A chemical or physical damp proof course where the original course has genuinely failed or was never built. Salt resistant replastering where years of moisture have left hygroscopic salts in the old plaster. Tanking or a membrane system where a wall is below ground. Ventilation where the problem is condensation. Repairs to gutters, pointing, render or flashings where rain is getting in from the side.
Each of those fixes a different cause. A damp proof course does nothing for a leaking downpipe, and a new extractor fan does nothing for a bridged course. That is why the survey comes first, and why the quote follows the report rather than replacing it.
Kent houses and the damp they get
Much of the older housing in Kent towns is Victorian and Edwardian terrace with solid brick walls, which were built to get wet and dry out again. Cement render, modern masonry paint and gypsum plaster added later can stop that drying, and the damp that follows is often mistaken for rising damp.
Coastal towns on the north and east Kent coast, and the exposed elevations around Dover and Folkestone, see wind driven rain that finds every gap in pointing and render. Inland, raised garden levels against period cottages and bridged damp proof courses are the most common cause we find.
- Bridged damp proof courses from raised paths and patios
- Penetrating damp through failed pointing, render and rainwater goods
- Condensation and mould in homes that have been sealed up and insulated
- Genuine rising damp in walls with no course or a failed one
What happens after the survey
You get the written report within 24 hours of the survey, with photographs, readings and the cause. Where work is needed, the report sets it out as a plain specification that contractors can price like for like, so you are comparing quotes for the same job rather than three different diagnoses.
We do not take commission from contractors and we do not bid for the work. If a quote you receive goes beyond what the report found, we will say so.
Where we survey
Questions
Do you carry out damp proofing or just surveys?
Surveys and reports only. We do not install damp proof courses, tanking or any other treatment, so a survey that concludes no damp proofing is needed costs us nothing to write. Where work is needed, the report specifies it for whichever contractor you choose.
Is injecting a damp proof course always the answer for a tide mark?
No. A bridged course, a leaking pipe, penetrating rain and condensation can all leave a similar tide mark and similar meter readings. Injecting a wall whose problem is a raised path leaves the path where it is, and the damp comes back once the new plaster has dried.
Which parts of Kent do you cover?
All of Kent, from Dartford and Medway to Thanet, Dover and Folkestone, plus Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks on the Sussex and Surrey side. The areas page lists every district with notes on its housing.