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Independent damp surveys in Hammersmith and Fulham
Hammersmith and Fulham is one of the most consistently Victorian boroughs in London, street after street of two storey terraces built quickly in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Most have since been extended, dug out, or both, and the damp we survey sits almost entirely at the junctions between the original house and what has been added.
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Hammersmith and Fulham housing, and what it does when it gets wet
The standard Fulham terrace is solid brick, narrow fronted, with a rear closet wing and a slate roof. Side return infills are near universal, and the junction between a new flat roof and old brickwork is the single most productive defect in the borough. A flashing chased in too shallow, an upstand below the minimum, or an outlet that ponds will show internally as a damp patch on a first floor wall, some distance from where the water is actually getting in.
Basement digs are common here, generally shallower than in Kensington but numerous. They are cavity drainage systems with a perimeter channel and a pump, and they fail in the maintainable parts far more often than in the membrane. Owners are rarely told at handover that the system requires servicing, so the first failure typically arrives several years later with no maintenance history at all.
The other constant is ground level at the rear. Successive patios and garden works have raised the external ground against the back wall on a great many of these houses, bridging a damp proof course that is otherwise intact. It produces low level damp on the internal face that is repeatedly diagnosed as rising and treated accordingly.
What we are usually called out to in Hammersmith and Fulham
- Damp on a first floor wall from the flashing where a side return infill meets old brickwork
- Cavity drainage basements failing at the channel or pump, with no service history
- Raised rear patios and garden levels bridging an otherwise intact damp proof course
- Second opinions on injected damp proof course quotes running into thousands
- Timber decay at joist ends built into a solid wall that has been dry lined
- Blocked or overflowing rear rainwater goods behind a closet wing where nobody can see them
Rising, penetrating, condensation or a leak
A tide mark low on a Hammersmith and Fulham 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.
The inspection, around Fulham and across Hammersmith and Fulham
- Every wall showing damp, and the walls either side of it for comparison
- Rainwater goods and roof junctions from the ground and from windows, and closer where access is safe
- Basement and lower ground floors for water table, drainage and bridging at the lightwell
- Condensation risk measured with temperature and humidity readings
- Visible timber for decay and beetle, with moisture content recorded
- Anything that would need opening up, identified and agreed with you rather than done unannounced
The report
Written within 24 hours of the visit, and structured for the people who will act on it in Hammersmith and Fulham: you, your solicitor, a freeholder, a contractor.
- A summary of the cause and urgency on the first page
- Photographs and readings, located on the building
- Who is likely responsible for each defect, where it sits outside your demise
- Remedial recommendations as a specification for contractors to price
- An indication of what that work should reasonably cost
- What does not need doing, including any treatment already quoted
How a survey is arranged
- Tell us the postcode, the property type and what has been noticed.
- We confirm the fee and the time. It does not change on the day.
- On site, outside first, then inside, with findings explained before we leave.
- The report arrives within a day, ready to forward to a solicitor, agent or freeholder.
Buyers, landlords, tenants and leaseholders in Hammersmith and Fulham 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.
Leaseholders, landlords and buyers in Hammersmith and Fulham
Leaseholders in Hammersmith and Fulham 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
Fulham
Long streets of Victorian terraces, many with basement extensions. Basement systems, rear additions and party walls recur.
Hammersmith and Brook Green
Victorian terraces and mansion blocks, with riverside buildings near the Thames. Mansion block roofs and riverside groundwater are typical.
Shepherd's Bush and White City
Victorian terraces, conversions and large estates. Conversions and condensation dominate.
Where we cover
We survey across the borough, from Fulham and Parsons Green up through Hammersmith to Shepherds Bush and White City.
- Fulham
- Hammersmith
- Shepherds Bush
- Parsons Green
- Sands End
- White City
- Brook Green
- Baron's Court
- Wormwood Scrubs
Postcode districts
- W6
- W12
- W14
- SW6
What customers say about us
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
We had this company at my parents house to survey. Professional and polite. Good communication and on time for appointment.
Jacqueline Stokes, on Google
Hammersmith and Fulham questions
We have been quoted for an injected damp proof course. Is it likely to be right?
Sometimes, and in this borough usually not. An injected course treats water rising through masonry from below. If the moisture is arriving from a failed side return flashing, a bridged rear ground level or a blocked gutter, injecting the wall changes nothing and the damp returns once the new plaster has dried out. We survey independently and carry out no remedial work, so we have nothing to gain either way, and we will say plainly when the work quoted for is not justified.
Our basement was dug out years ago and has started leaking. What usually causes that?
Almost always the maintainable parts rather than the waterproofing. Perimeter drainage channels silt up, sump pumps fail or their float switches stick, and service penetrations that were sealed correctly can be disturbed by later work. Because most owners are never told the system needs servicing, the first fault arrives with no maintenance history behind it. We inspect the whole system, including the parts a re waterproofing quote will not mention.
Our Fulham basement extension leaks. Does it need re tanking?
Usually not. Pumps, channels and float switches fail long before membranes. The survey checks the whole system.
Our riverside flat in Hammersmith has a damp floor. Is it the Thames?
On low ground near the river it can be groundwater. The survey separates causes.
Do you survey mansion blocks in Hammersmith?
Yes. The report traces damp to its source in the building.
Will you try to sell me damp proofing in Hammersmith and Fulham?
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 Hammersmith and Fulham
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