Independent damp surveys in Hounslow
Hounslow has one thing no other borough has to the same degree: tens of thousands of homes fitted with acoustic insulation and secondary glazing under the Heathrow noise schemes. Sealing a house against aircraft noise also seals it against air movement, and where ventilation was not added at the same time the result is condensation in a building that was previously fine.
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Hounslow housing, and what it does when it gets wet
Noise insulation packages typically brought secondary glazing, sealed units and loft insulation. Each is sensible on its own; together they remove the uncontrolled air leakage that used to ventilate the house without anyone thinking about it. If trickle vents were not fitted, or have been closed, or an extract was not upgraded, the moisture a household generates stays inside. Mould in a house that has recently had this work is a ventilation problem and should be reported as one.
The Chiswick and Brentford stock at the eastern end is Victorian and Edwardian terrace, solid brick, extended and converted, with the familiar side return junctions, closet wing gutters and raised rear ground levels. Some of it is close to the river and the Grand Union, with the ground water and flood considerations that brings.
The rest of the borough, through Hounslow, Feltham and Heston, is interwar and post-war cavity walled housing, and the recurring findings are the standard ones for that stock: drives and patios built up above the damp proof course, blocked airbricks, and retrofit cavity fill that has slumped or bridged on the exposed elevations.
What we are usually called out to in Hounslow
- Noise insulation and secondary glazing that sealed the house without adding ventilation
- Trickle vents absent or closed after a glazing upgrade
- Side return and rear extension junctions letting water in on Victorian terraces
- Ground built up above the damp proof course on interwar and post-war housing
- Blocked airbricks and musty suspended timber ground floors
- Ground water and flood considerations near the river and the Grand Union
Rising, penetrating, condensation or a leak
A tide mark low on a Hounslow 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 Chiswick and across Hounslow
- 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
Inside the report
Each Hounslow 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 Hounslow property needs.
- The written report follows within 24 hours.
Most of our Hounslow surveys are for one of four people: a buyer whose survey flagged damp, a tenant or landlord with mould, a leaseholder trying to get a freeholder to act, or an owner holding a damp proofing quote. Each needs the same thing, an account of the cause from somebody with no interest in the remedy, and that is all we provide.
Leaseholders, landlords and buyers in Hounslow
Leaseholders in Hounslow 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
Chiswick
Victorian and Edwardian houses, Bedford Park's Arts and Crafts houses and riverside homes. Conservation controls, rainwater and riverside groundwater recur.
Hounslow and Isleworth
Victorian terraces and interwar suburbs. Drives over the course, extensions and condensation are typical.
Brentford and Feltham
Older riverside streets, new developments and post war housing. Groundwater near the river and ventilation in new flats dominate.
Where we cover
We survey across the borough, from Chiswick and Brentford out through Isleworth and Hounslow to Feltham and Bedfont.
- Chiswick
- Brentford
- Isleworth
- Hounslow
- Feltham
- Heston
- Osterley
- Cranford
- Bedfont
Postcode districts
- W4
- TW3
- TW4
- TW5
- TW7
- TW8
- TW13
- TW14
What customers say about us
Excellent, came around on the same day, found the issue and gave advice through the process
Morris Seifert, on Google
We were in the process of buying a house and needed a damp survey fairly quickly. Really easy to arrange, they managed to fit us in without any hassle and the report came through quickly afterwards. Great service from start to finish and we’d definitely recommend.
Bradley Hollingdale, on Google
Hounslow questions
We had noise insulation fitted and now the house has mould. Are they connected?
Very probably. Secondary glazing, sealed units and loft insulation all reduce the uncontrolled air leakage that used to ventilate the house continuously. That leakage was wasteful but it was doing a job. Remove it without providing controlled ventilation in its place and the moisture from cooking, washing and breathing accumulates, condenses on the coldest surfaces and grows mould. It is a predictable and well documented consequence, and the remedy is ventilation rather than anything applied to the walls.
What sort of ventilation actually fixes it?
Something that removes moist air at the point it is generated and provides replacement air elsewhere, sized and commissioned properly. In practice that usually means humidity sensing extract fans in the kitchen and bathroom that are ducted to outside air rather than into a void, plus trickle ventilation in habitable rooms, or a whole house system where the layout suits it. What does not work is a fan that moves less air than its label claims, which is the most common finding we make.
Our Bedford Park house is damp. Are there special rules?
Bedford Park is a conservation area with many listed houses. The report favours repairs that suit them and flags where consent may be needed.
Our new Brentford flat has mould. Is it a defect?
It can be, if ventilation is not working or a detail lets water in.
Do Hounslow interwar houses need damp proofing?
Rarely. Bridging by drives and patios is the usual cause.
Will you try to sell me damp proofing in Hounslow?
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 Hounslow
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