Independent damp surveys in Ealing
Ealing built its reputation on generously proportioned Edwardian and interwar suburban housing, and the stock is largely still that. Big roofs, deep bays, tile hung and rendered elevations, and a lot of houses that have since been divided into flats. The damp follows the divisions and the additions rather than the original construction, which was generally sound.
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Ealing housing, and what it does when it gets wet
The Edwardian houses are solid walled at the front and often have rendered or tile hung upper elevations. Tile hanging sheds water well while the battens behind it are sound and the tiles are all present, and it fails invisibly: a slipped or cracked tile lets water onto felt or battens that then rot, and the first sign inside is a damp patch on a first floor wall with nothing obviously wrong outside. It needs looking at from a ladder or a drone, not from the pavement.
A large share of these houses are now flats, and the conversions are old enough that the first generation of work is failing. Rear extensions with felt roofs at the end of their life, bathrooms fitted into former bedrooms with extracts ducted into a roof void rather than outside, and a shared rainwater system that nobody has cleared. Water entering high in a converted house travels through the structure and appears in a flat that has no defect of its own.
The interwar stock further out, towards Northolt and Greenford, is the cavity walled semi with airbricks and a suspended floor, and it fails the way that stock fails everywhere: bridged damp proof courses from decades of raised drives and patios, and blocked underfloor ventilation. Those are cheap problems misdiagnosed as expensive ones more often than anything else we see.
What we are usually called out to in Ealing
- Damp on a first floor wall from a slipped or cracked hanging tile, invisible from ground level
- Failed felt roofs on old rear extensions in converted houses, presenting in the flat below
- Bathroom and kitchen extracts ducted into a roof void rather than to outside air
- Bridged damp proof courses on interwar semis after successive drives and patios
- Blocked airbricks and a musty suspended ground floor, with decay starting at the joist ends
- Second opinions where an injected damp proof course has been recommended on a cavity walled house
Which kind of damp is it?
In a London building the same stain can have four or five different causes, and in Ealing we regularly find two at once. Water rising from the ground through a wall with no working course. Rain entering through a parapet, a gutter, a cracked render or a window head. Moisture from the air condensing on a cold wall. Water from a pipe, a bath seal or a flat upstairs. Each needs a different repair and, in a shared building, often a different person to pay for it.
Our readings are taken to separate them: at depth as well as at the surface, at heights up the wall, on either side of the damp, and alongside humidity and surface temperatures. The pattern, not a single number, is what the diagnosis rests on.
What an ATi survey in Ealing includes
- Moisture readings taken on a grid and at height bands, so the report can show which way the water is moving
- The outside of the building, including front areas, lightwells, parapets and rear additions where access allows
- Communal elements that affect your flat: shared gutters, soil stacks, roof outlets and the party walls
- Humidity, air and surface temperatures where mould or condensation is in question
- Extract fans checked for where they discharge and how much air they move
- Timbers within reach, and the sub floor where a hatch or a lifted board allows
What you receive
A written report with photographs within 24 hours, in plain English, that stands on its own whoever reads it.
- Findings by room and by elevation
- Readings and the pattern they form
- The diagnosis, and the causes considered and excluded
- Recommendations in priority order
- Notes for a purchase, a lease or a disrepair matter where relevant
- A clear line where a quote you hold for a Ealing property goes further than the defect
What happens when you request a survey
- A same day reply, with the fee and our first available times in Ealing.
- One surveyor, no sales visit to follow, because there is nothing to sell.
- A visit of one to two hours for most flats and houses.
- A written report with readings and photographs within 24 hours.
We do not sell damp proofing, tanking, ventilation units or timber treatment. In Ealing, as everywhere in London, that independence is what makes the report useful to a buyer negotiating a price, a tenant raising a disrepair issue, or an owner deciding whether a quote is justified.
Leaseholders, landlords and buyers in Ealing
Leaseholders in Ealing often discover that the cause of their damp sits in a part of the building they do not own. Our report says where the water is coming from and which element of the building it passes through, which is the evidence a freeholder or managing agent needs under the lease. For landlords, damp and mould are hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and social landlords in England now work to the fixed timescales of Awaab's Law. Our guide to Awaab's Law explains what that means.
By town
Ealing and Ealing Common
Victorian and Edwardian villas, many converted, and interwar suburbs. Valley gutters, bays and extensions recur.
Acton
Victorian and Edwardian terraces, conversions and the Bedford Park edge. Rear additions, yards and conversions dominate.
Southall and Hanwell
Victorian terraces and interwar housing, with busy households and extensions. Condensation and extension junctions are typical.
Where we cover
We cover the borough and the streets around it, from Acton and Hanwell out to Greenford and Northolt.
- Ealing
- West Ealing
- Acton
- Hanwell
- Northfields
- Greenford
- Perivale
- Southall
- Northolt
Postcode districts
- W3
- W5
- W7
- W13
- UB1
- UB5
- UB6
What customers say about us
Just want to say a huge thank you to Tom at ATI, from the initial survey to continued support in resolving a damp issue we have in our recently purchased property. The survey was prompt, detailed and had a clear solution on what our next steps are. During such a stressful time Tom has kept our minds at ease through this whole process, he really does go the extra mile and we couldn’t thank him enough!
Sanjay H, on Google
So If anyone else is having issues like ourselves don’t hesitate to get in contact with Tom he will certainly look after you.
Had ATI Damp Surveying & Reports come out after being told by another company that we needed a new damp proof course. There was damp showing on the downstairs wall and we weren’t really sure what was causing it.
Karolina Ciszek, on Google
Tom carried out a really thorough inspection and took the time to explain what he was looking for. He found that the issue was actually coming from the external wall rather than rising damp, which saved us from spending money on work we didn’t need.
Really happy with the service. The report was clear, professional and gave us a much better understanding of what was going on. Would definitely recommend ATI to anyone who’s unsure about the cause of damp before committing to any remedial work.
Ealing questions
There is a damp patch upstairs but nothing looks wrong outside. Where do you start?
Above it, usually. Water entering high in a building travels down and sideways through the structure and appears at the first place it can get to a surface, which is rarely directly below the defect. On Ealing stock the usual suspects are a slipped hanging tile, a chimney flashing, a blocked or overflowing gutter and a failed extension roof, none of which are visible from the ground. We look at the roof and rainwater goods properly rather than assuming the wall is the problem because the wall is where the stain is.
Our flat is damp but the leak seems to be in the flat above or the roof. Is a survey still useful?
It is arguably more useful, because the report is what moves the conversation on. It establishes where the water is entering, the route it takes and which part of the building it passes through, with readings and photographs behind it. That is what a freeholder, a managing agent or an insurer will actually respond to, and it is what stops the discussion being one leaseholder's word against another's.
Our Ealing extension joins the house with a damp patch. Why?
Usually a floor set above the original course or a missing cavity tray at the roof junction.
Our Southall house has mould in every room. Why?
Often busy households, limited extraction and cold walls together. Measurements show what will help most.
Do you survey conversions in Ealing for buyers?
Yes, and the report identifies whether damp comes from the flat or the building.
Will you try to sell me damp proofing in Ealing?
No. We carry out no remedial work, so there is nothing to sell after the survey. The report states the cause, the work that would actually fix it and an outline of what that work should reasonably cost, so you can get like for like quotes from contractors of your choice, or put it to a seller, landlord or freeholder.
Nearby
Book a damp survey in Ealing
We survey and report only, with no treatment to sell, so what the report says is the whole of our interest. Same day response to every enquiry, and a written report with photographs within 24 hours of the visit.
Book a survey or call 020 3355 4944