ATi Damp SurveyIndependent damp surveys in Newham
Newham was built for the docks and then substantially rebuilt after the war, so its terraces are interrupted by post-war infill in a way few other boroughs match. It also has one of the highest concentrations of private rented housing in the country, and a good share of our work here is producing reports that will be read by somebody other than the person who commissioned them.
Newham housing, and what it does when it gets wet
The surviving Victorian and Edwardian terraces are modest, solid walled and densely occupied. Many are now houses in multiple occupation, and the combination of high occupancy, limited heating and original single glazing produces genuine condensation risk on top of whatever the building itself is doing. Separating the two is the whole job: an overcrowded house with a working extract is a different problem from a house with a cold bridge and no ventilation at all.
Post-war infill and estate housing fills the gaps left by bomb damage. System built and large panel blocks fail at joints and cold bridges, producing mould that runs along slabs and reveals in bands rather than spreading from a point. That geometry is the evidence: mould that traces the structure is telling you about the structure.
Stratford and the Olympic fringe bring recent high density development with airtight envelopes and mechanical ventilation. Where those systems were never commissioned, or have been switched off, moisture accumulates in a building that cannot leak it away, and the result is mould in flats only a few years old. It is a performance failure and it is measurable.
What we are usually called out to in Newham
- Condensation risk in high occupancy houses, needing separation from building defects
- Mould banding at slabs, reveals and panel joints in post-war and system built blocks
- Housing disrepair reports written to be read by the other side
- Uncommissioned or disabled mechanical ventilation in recent high density flats
- Extract fans that move too little air, or discharge into a roof void
- Penetrating damp through failed rear extension roofs on older terraces
Where we cover
We survey across the borough, from Stratford and West Ham out through East Ham and Forest Gate to Beckton and the Royal Docks.
- Stratford
- East Ham
- Forest Gate
- Plaistow
- Canning Town
- Beckton
- Manor Park
- Royal Docks
- West Ham
Postcode districts
- E6
- E7
- E12
- E13
- E15
- E16
- E20
Book a survey in Newham
Same day response to every enquiry, and your written report within 24 hours of the visit. Put your postcode in the form and we will confirm cover and fee the same day.
Book a surveyOr call 020 3355 4944.
Newham questions
The property is overcrowded. Does that make the damp the tenant's fault?
It is a factor and it is rarely the whole answer. More occupants means more moisture generated, but a building is expected to deal with the moisture normal occupation produces, and that is what ventilation is for. If the extract moves less air than it should, discharges into a void, or does not exist, the building is not doing its job whatever the occupancy. We measure air flow as well as moisture, so the report separates what the building is failing to do from what occupancy is adding.
We are a landlord. What use is an independent survey to us?
A great deal, particularly before a claim rather than after one. It establishes the actual condition, distinguishes defects you are responsible for from those you are not, and gives you a costed picture of what needs doing. If a claim follows, you already hold a contemporaneous, independent report rather than commissioning one under pressure. We carry out no remedial work, which is what makes the report credible to the other side.