Independent damp surveys in Hackney
Hackney has three quite different building stocks sitting side by side, and they fail in three different ways. Victorian terraces, former industrial buildings turned into flats, and a very large amount of post-war council housing. A surveyor who treats all three the same will get at least two of them wrong.
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Hackney housing, and what it does when it gets wet
The Victorian terraces are London stock brick, solid walled, and mostly converted into flats. The recurring problem is that the conversion divided the house horizontally but left the drainage, the roof and the walls shared. A leak from a flat roof over a rear extension, or a soil stack boxed in during a refit, presents in the flat below as a damp wall, and the leaseholder who has the damp is rarely the one who owns the defect.
The warehouse conversions around Hackney Wick, Fish Island and the Shoreditch fringe bring a different set. Very large single glazed openings, exposed brick left uninsulated as a design feature, concrete or steel structure with serious thermal bridges, and open plan volumes with mechanical ventilation that was commissioned once and never balanced again. Condensation in these buildings is a design and commissioning problem, not an occupant behaviour problem, whatever the managing agent has written.
The post-war blocks, including a great deal of system build, have their own signature: cold bridging at concrete floor slabs and window reveals, and mould that runs in a neat band along the junction rather than spreading from a source. Where a disrepair claim is involved, the distinction between a building defect and occupation is the whole case, and it is what our report is written to establish.
What we are usually called out to in Hackney
- Damp in a converted flat traced to a shared rear extension roof or a boxed in soil stack, not to the leaseholder's own wall
- Mould banding along a concrete slab or window reveal in a post-war block, which is cold bridging rather than lifestyle
- Condensation in a warehouse conversion with exposed brick, single glazing and a ventilation system that was never balanced
- Housing disrepair cases needing a report that will stand up when it is put in front of the other side
- Timber decay at joist ends built into a solid external wall that has been dry lined
- Penetrating damp through a parapet or a poorly detailed rear addition roof
Rising, penetrating, condensation or a leak
A tide mark low on a Hackney wall is often called rising damp on sight. It may be. It may equally be a patio laid against the outside, a front area drain that has stopped draining, salts left behind by an old leak, or condensation collecting behind furniture on a cold wall. A pin meter cannot tell these apart, because salts and surface moisture make it read high regardless.
The survey works through the possibilities in order and records why each was accepted or ruled out, so that whoever reads the report, a solicitor, a freeholder or a contractor, can follow the reasoning.
What an ATi survey in Hackney 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
Inside the report
Each Hackney report follows the same order, so it reads easily to a buyer, a landlord or a court:
- Scope and conditions on the day
- Observations, with photographs
- Measurements, with where each was taken
- Conclusions on cause
- Recommendations and an outline cost
- Limitations: what was not inspected and why
From request to report
- Send the request form or call. We reply the same day with the fee in writing.
- We agree a visit, including evenings and weekends, and arrange access to any communal areas if needed.
- The surveyor spends as long as the Hackney property needs.
- The written report follows within 24 hours.
Buyers, landlords, tenants and leaseholders in Hackney use our reports for different reasons, but always because the report has nothing behind it. We carry out no remedial work and take no referral fees, so our conclusion is not shaped by what it would lead to. Quoted for damp proofing already? Read damp proofing in Hackney: survey first.
Leaseholders, landlords and buyers in Hackney
Leaseholders in Hackney 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
Stoke Newington and Clapton
Long Victorian terraces, many converted into flats, with closet wings and rear additions. Concreted yards and lean to roofs against the rear walls are the most common causes of damp, and party walls in conversions often carry water from a neighbour's defect.
Dalston, London Fields and Hackney Central
Victorian terraces mixed with former industrial buildings and post war estates. Conversions of old workshops and warehouses bring thick brick walls sealed internally, and estates bring condensation on cold structure.
Hackney Wick and Homerton
Former industrial land with warehouse conversions and large recent developments near the Olympic Park. Modern flats here have mechanical ventilation that needs to work, and the older buildings need their roofs and walls able to dry.
Where we cover
We cover the borough and the surrounding streets, from Shoreditch up to Stamford Hill and across to Hackney Wick.
- Dalston
- Stoke Newington
- Hackney Central
- London Fields
- Clapton
- Homerton
- Shoreditch
- Hackney Wick
- Stamford Hill
Postcode districts
- E2
- E5
- E8
- E9
- E20
- N1
- N16
What customers say about us
ATI came back to do additional works to my property and I can honestly say they are top notch. Tom was very pleasant and explained treatment required in detail. He worked quietly and made minimal distractions. Working area was left looking as good as new. Very happy.
Polly Cunningham, on Google
Tom and Ben were brilliant from start to finish. Friendly, professional, and really knew their stuff. The report was clear, honest, and sent over quickly. Highly recommend ATI Damp Surveying!
Gary Emberson, on Google
Hackney questions
Our managing agent says the mould is condensation and therefore our problem. Is that right?
Sometimes, and often not. Condensation forms where a surface is below the dew point of the air in the room, and a surface can be cold because of how the building was built rather than because of how it is lived in. Mould in a neat band along a concrete slab or a window reveal is cold bridging. Mould evenly across a room with an unbalanced or unducted extract is a ventilation failure. Both are building defects. Our report says which it is, with the readings behind it.
We are in a leasehold flat and the damp seems to come from outside our demise. What then?
That is one of the most common situations in Hackney and one of the most useful things an independent report does. We record where the water is entering and where it goes, whether that is a shared parapet, a valley gutter, a rear extension roof or a stack in a riser. You are then arguing about a documented defect and whose repairing obligation it falls under, rather than about whose fault it is.
Our social housing flat has mould. What can a survey do?
An independent report records the cause with readings and photographs, separating condensation from leaks and building defects. Social landlords in England now have to investigate and act on damp and mould within fixed timescales, and clear evidence helps both tenant and landlord.
Our warehouse conversion has damp on the inside of thick brick walls. Why?
Often because the conversion sealed the inside face with impermeable finishes, and rain getting through the old brickwork can no longer dry outwards and inwards. The survey looks at the wall build up and recommends how to let it dry.
Do you survey new build flats in Hackney Wick?
Yes. We measure mechanical ventilation, humidity and surface temperatures and look at details such as balconies and windows. Where the cause is a defect, the report is written so a developer or warranty provider can act.
Will you try to sell me damp proofing in Hackney?
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 Hackney
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