Damp proofing in Camden: an independent survey first

Why the survey comes before damp proofing in Camden

In Camden the question is rarely whether a damp proof course has failed. It is who is responsible for the fault that is wetting the wall, and what will actually stop it. That might be a freeholder, a neighbour or a managing agent rather than you. An independent report answers both, and we carry out no remedial work, so the answer is not shaped by a sale.

The Camden quotes we see most are injection and tanking in lower ground floors of stucco terraces, where the cause is the front area or vault, injection in Hampstead houses on the slope, where the uphill wall retains wet clay, and damp proofing in mansion flats for water coming from the building's roof, gutters or shared stacks.

If you are a landlord in Camden, remember that the hazard is the damp and mould, not the absence of a damp proof course. Removing the cause is what deals with it, and that is often ventilation, heating, rainwater or a leak. If you are buying, a report before exchange tells you whether a damp proofing recommendation in the homebuyer survey is justified, and what the honest scope of work is.

Damp proofing methods, briefly

A chemical damp proof course, a physical course, a waterproof render, a drained membrane, a breathable plaster: each is sold as damp proofing, and each answers a different question. The survey's job is to establish which question the Camden wall is actually asking.

In converted buildings the answer is often outside the flat altogether: a communal gutter, a front area drain, a parapet or a neighbour's raised garden. A damp proofing system inside the flat cannot fix any of those.

Camden walls, and what they actually need

Stucco terraces need sound render, clear front areas and working parapets. Hampstead houses on the hill need drainage on the uphill side and below ground solutions for basements. Mansion blocks need their roofs, gutters and shared services maintained. None routinely needs an injected course.

• Clearing front area drains and repairing pavement vaults beneath stucco terraces
• Intercepting water on the uphill side of Hampstead houses on clay slopes
• Repairing mansion block roofs, gutters and shared soil stacks through the freeholder
• Breathable finishes on solid walls in place of cement and gypsum

Hampstead's hill and London clay

Hampstead sits on sands and gravels capping London clay, and where the two meet, springs appear. Houses on the slopes often have a basement or lower ground floor retaining wet ground on the uphill side, and the water arrives sideways and seasonally. That needs drainage and a below ground system, designed for the water, not an injected course.

In mansion blocks, a damp patch in one flat is often the visible end of a defect elsewhere in the building. The report traces it back so the managing agent can act.

The right order for damp proofing work

• Establish the cause independently
• Resolve anything the freeholder or a neighbour is responsible for
• Fix water entry and ground level faults, then allow the wall to dry
• Only then specify internal works in the Camden flat or house, in materials that suit solid walls
• Check that ventilation and heating allow the wall to stay dry
• Keep the diagnosis and the guarantee together for the conveyancing file

Avoiding an unnecessary damp proofing bill

• Treat a free survey as a sales visit and do not sign on the day
• Ask how condensation, rainwater and ground level were excluded
• Ask whether any of the cause sits in the common parts and who should pay
• Be cautious of tanking an above ground wall in a Camden conversion
• Ask for the readings, their locations and the height of plaster removal in writing
• If a purchase depends on it, get the report before exchange, not after

When a damp proof course is the right answer

Some Camden walls do need a damp proof course: a solid wall with no course, or one that has been bridged internally by a solid floor, that remains wet at low level once every external source has been eliminated. Where we find that, the report specifies it plainly, with the height and finish, so you can obtain like for like quotes.

The survey fee is published and fixed before the visit. In Camden, where replastering and making good in a period flat is expensive and disruptive, establishing whether the work is needed before it starts is the economical step.

The report gives you the cause, the responsibility and a specification. In Camden that often means a letter to a freeholder or managing agent with the evidence attached, before any work inside the flat is considered.

For the full picture of what a survey here involves, see damp surveys in Camden.

Around Camden

Primrose Hill, Camden Town and Kentish Town

Stucco and Victorian terraces, many converted. Front areas, vaults and rear additions recur.

Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage

Houses on the hill and mansion blocks. Retained ground, basements and building wide defects dominate.

Damp proofing questions in Camden

Nearby

• Damp proofing in Islington
• Damp proofing in Hackney

Book a survey before you pay for damp proofing

Get the cause, and who is responsible for it, in writing before you pay for damp proofing in Camden.

Request a Survey or call 020 3355 4944