A Property Manager instructed us to inspect and report on damp issues in a well presented 4 bedroomed period terraced villa in Battersea, London.
The house suffered isolated damp issues in locations on the basement, ground and second floors.
The house previously had leaks from the first floor shower room which were remedied. There were additional areas of long term damp where previous repairs had been unsuccessful. This included low level damp on an external wall in the dining room. There was further damp in the basement utility room and a small damp stain below a flat roof to the second floor.
The causes of individual damp defects were not readily apparent. We undertook a number of tests to explore potential causes to provide advice and propose appropriate remedial works.
The second floor roof leak was intermittent and diagnosed to be from a redundant open chimney flue. The cause of the low level damp in the dining room was however not obvious but this had been a problem for several years. Investigations and tests identified a poor drainage detail at roof level 3 storeys above to be a contributing factor. This poor drainage detail allowed water to overflow the gutter and saturate the wall at low level.
Tim Greenwood and Associates have extensive experience in diagnosing building defects and making recommendations on the remedial works.
