Independent damp surveys in Sutton
Sutton sits on the chalk of the North Downs, and there is one local feature that genuinely changes the diagnosis: the springs. Carshalton and the Wandle head are fed by chalk springs, and the water table in that part of the borough rises and falls in a way that affects basements and solid floors quite unlike the rest of south London.
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Sutton housing, and what it does when it gets wet
Where the chalk aquifer is close to the surface, particularly around Carshalton and Beddington, the water table moves seasonally and can rise substantially after a wet winter. Basements and cellars that were dry for years become wet, and the cause is not a failure of anything. It has to be managed rather than repaired, and knowing that saves an owner from paying for waterproofing that will be overwhelmed anyway.
On the higher chalk ground the pattern is the opposite: water moves through quickly, so damp is episodic and correlates with heavy rain. That points at surface water reaching the building, gullies and ground falls, rather than anything continuous, and the remedy is external drainage.
The housing itself is mostly interwar and post-war semi and detached, cavity walled with functioning damp proof courses. As across the outer boroughs, decades of layered drives and patios have raised the ground above the course on a great many, and airbricks have been blocked by later extensions and conservatories. Both are commonly misread as rising damp.
What we are usually called out to in Sutton
- Seasonal water table rise on the chalk springs affecting cellars and solid floors
- Episodic damp on higher chalk ground after heavy rain, from surface water reaching the wall
- Ground levels built up above the damp proof course on interwar and post-war housing
- Airbricks blocked by extensions, conservatories and patios
- Waterproofing quoted for a below ground space where the real issue is groundwater management
- Slumped or bridging retrofit cavity insulation on exposed elevations
Which kind of damp is it?
In a London building the same stain can have four or five different causes, and in Sutton 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.
How we survey a Sutton property
- Externally first: the elevations, the ground or paving against them, and every route water has to the wall
- For flats, the parts of the building outside the demise that can be seen or reasonably reached
- Readings that distinguish surface salts from moisture in depth, rather than a single pin meter figure
- Dew point conditions in the affected rooms, logged and compared with the coldest surfaces
- Ventilation measured, not assumed from the presence of a fan
- Previous damp treatments identified, with whether they addressed the cause
The report
Written within 24 hours of the visit, and structured for the people who will act on it in Sutton: 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 Sutton 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 Sutton
Buying in Sutton? A homebuyer or building survey that recommends a damp specialist should be followed by somebody with nothing to sell. Our report arrives within 24 hours of the visit, in time to negotiate, and it separates what is wrong from what simply needs maintaining. Landlords and tenants use the same report to settle what is a building defect and what is condensation; see our note on Awaab's Law and landlord duties.
By town
Sutton and Cheam
Victorian and Edwardian houses near the centres and large interwar suburbs beyond. Drives over the course, extensions and bay windows recur.
Carshalton
An older village core with listed buildings and ponds fed by springs, surrounded by interwar housing. Older walls need lime; springs and the water table affect low ground.
Wallington and Worcester Park
Interwar and post war suburbs. Mould in bedrooms, extension junctions and paved drives make up most surveys.
Where we cover
We survey across the borough, from Sutton and Cheam through Carshalton and Wallington to Worcester Park and Belmont.
- Sutton
- Carshalton
- Wallington
- Cheam
- Worcester Park
- Belmont
- Hackbridge
- Beddington
- Rosehill
Postcode districts
- SM1
- SM2
- SM3
- SM4
- SM5
- SM6
- SM7
What customers say about us
Professional friendly service. Highly recommended
Lisa Range, on Google
Excellent, came around on the same day, found the issue and gave advice through the process
Morris Seifert, on Google
Sutton questions
Our cellar is wet this winter and was dry last year. What changed?
On this part of the chalk, most likely the water table. The aquifer beneath the borough responds to sustained rainfall over months rather than to individual storms, so after a wet winter groundwater levels can rise well above where they have sat for years. Nothing has failed. It needs managing, through drainage and pumping designed for the actual level rather than through waterproofing specified for a dry year, and it is worth knowing before committing to a tanking quote.
Should we tank the basement?
Only once it is clear what the water is doing, because the right answer differs completely. Tanking a below ground room against occasional surface water is reasonable. Tanking against a seasonally rising water table, without drainage and pumping sized for it, transfers the pressure elsewhere and frequently fails. We establish which situation you are in first, and we carry out no remedial work, so we have nothing to gain from the more expensive answer.
Our Carshalton cottage is near the ponds and damp. Is it groundwater?
Possibly. Carshalton's ponds are spring fed, and the water table on low ground can be high. The survey separates groundwater from rainwater and building defects.
Does a 1930s house in Cheam need a damp proof course?
Rarely. The original course usually works; bridging by drives and patios is the common cause.
Do you survey for buyers in Sutton?
Yes. The report is ready within 24 hours of the visit.
Will you try to sell me damp proofing in Sutton?
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 Sutton
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