Damp Surveys

  • Guaranteed For 30 Years
  • Experienced & Qualified, Local Surveyors and Technicians
  • Property Care Association Awards Winner

If you noticed a damp problem affecting your property, booking a damp survey is always the most effective way to go about it. Instead of trying to inspect the issue yourself, you will save more time and money by contacting a professional.

Our experienced preservation surveyors can survey your property, identify the cause of the damp problem and provide the most appropriate specification for repairs. Here at Richardson & Starling we provide a wide range of damp proofing services and are confident in our ability to offer cost-effective repairs backed up with guarantees ranging up to 30 years.

Damp Survey Stages

1. Looking for External Issues

The first stage of a damp survey is to inspect the external envelope of the building to look for apparent defects which may cause damp penetration. Many damp problems are caused by damage to the exterior of the property such as faulty roof tiling, poor window pointing or even porous masonry. It is important that the external envelope of your property is regularly inspected by a competent builder and any required maintenance repairs completed to prevent further water penetration. Failing to do so can cause significant damage to your property fabric as well as cause rot attack to timbers.

2. Surveying The Damp Problem

Our expert damp surveyor will investigate the initial problem area as reported. If this is an issue that tends to spread, then the surrounding area will be closely investigated. For example, penetrating damp could extend through several rooms. It is easy to misdiagnose the type of damp causing the problem and if this happens the damp will not be treated properly. That is why at Richardson and Starling we only supply experienced surveyors who are highly trained in the various types of damp that can affect your property. This means that our surveyor will be able to complete the damp survey and provide the appropriate remedial recommendations no matter what damp problem is identified.

3. Creating A Damp Survey Report

Once the damp survey is carried out, our surveyor will provide a survey report. This will be emailed or sent out by post. Should you require a verbal update on the problem our surveyor would be happy to give this after the damp survey is completed. The report will include what the issue is and how it originated, as well as the recommended solutions. If there is remedial treatment work required to solve the problem, then a repair quotation will be provided.

Remedial Damp Treatment

Damp Proofing

For anyone who is unsure about what to expect after the survey stage we have highlighted the main stages of the treatment process below:

 

Depending on the type of damp that is present in your property, we can inject the wall with our chemical damp proof course to stop rising damp or cover the wall with our cavity wall membrane system to prevent penetrating damp. If the membrane is not used, then we will re-plaster the wall with a renovating plaster that stops hygroscopic salts migrating and affecting your decoration. These salts attract moisture from the atmosphere and can keep your wall damp even after the new damp proof course has been installed. In the case of below ground walls in basements and cellars that have extensive damp problems we would install our basement waterproofing system. Applying waterproofing membranes that manage the penetrating damp and redirect free water to a sump and pump which pumps the water out of the basement keeping the living area dry.

Contract Supervision

We have dedicated Contract Supervisors who coordinate the works with you and ensure that the works are completed to the highest standards. They will ensure that you are fully aware of the progress and will answer any questions you have during the works.

Our technicians always adhere to a high standard of cleanliness and respect while carrying out the treatment process in your property. Although the type of work is sometimes very dusty they will work to keep this to a minimum.

We pride ourselves in delivering excellent customer service (see our customer reviews) and know that a big part of good customer service is delivering good communication. We want you to feel supported at every stage of the process and we are happy to answer any questions you have at any time. Over half of our new customers come to us through recommendation from past customers and we work hard to deliver a quality service that you can trust.

30 Year Guarantee

Damp Treatments Guaranteed for up to 30 Years

Free automatic transfer to the new property owner if sold.

After eight decades of successful damp surveys and repairs, we’re confident to offer you Guarantees for up to 30 Years that transfers with the Property.

Richardson & Starling are long-standing members of the Property Care Association (PCA) and the QANW. This demonstrates our ability to meet technical and financial requirements to offer an insurance back-up to our own long term guarantees if you would like this.

Work you can trust

Book a Property Survey Today