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Working with us
We get asked this a lot, and it is a fair question because booking a survey with someone you have not used before can feel a bit of a leap of faith.
Here is what actually happens. Dean or one of our team will arrange a time that suits you and come out to the property.
They will start with an external inspection, checking the fabric of the building, guttering, downpipes, render, pointing, and ground levels around the base of the walls.
Then they will work through the interior, taking moisture readings at multiple points using specialist meters, and looking carefully at any areas of concern you have flagged, as well as anywhere they think warrants a closer look.
The whole visit typically takes between forty minutes and two hours, depending on the size and complexity of the property.
After the survey, you will receive a full written report setting out what we found, what we think is causing it, and what we would recommend.
We will always tell you honestly if the answer is simple maintenance rather than specialist treatment. That is just how we work.
We charge because we think it is the right thing to do, and we are always happy to explain why.
When a company offers a free survey, its income depends on finding work to carry out. That is a conflict of interest that we are not comfortable with.
Over the years, we have been called out after other contractors have recommended thousands of pounds of unnecessary treatment on properties that turned out to need nothing more than a gutter repair.
Dean charges for his time because it has value and because a paid survey is an honest one. He has no financial incentive to find a problem that is not there.
Many of our clients have told us that the survey fee was the best money they spent, either because it confirmed there was nothing serious to worry about or because it identified a real problem before it became a much more expensive one.
Our surveys start from £95 and go up to £295 for a more comprehensive inspection.
The two qualifications that really matter are the CSTDB (Certificated Surveyor of Timber and Dampness in Buildings) and the CSSW (Certificated Surveyor in Structural Waterproofing).
These are the industry's recognised specialist qualifications, and they are not easy to obtain. Fewer than 150 people in the UK hold both, and Dean is one of them.
Beyond qualifications, look for full contractor membership of the Property Care Association rather than just PCA training, which is a different and considerably lower bar.
TrustMark registration and Trading Standards approval are also worth checking.
In Kent, as in any area with a lot of older housing stock, the risk of encountering contractors who present themselves as damp specialists without meaningful credentials is real.
It is always worth asking directly what qualifications the surveyor who will actually visit your property holds, not just the company in general.
It depends on the property, but as a rough guide, you should expect anywhere from forty minutes for a focused inspection of a specific problem area in a smaller property, up to two hours or more for a larger house requiring a full timber and damp inspection throughout.
Our surveyor will always give you a clearer indication when you book, based on what you have described. One thing worth knowing is that we ask you to move any obstructions away from walls before we arrive, furniture, boxes, or anything that limits access to the areas we need to inspect.
We cannot move these ourselves, and anything we cannot access will be noted in the report as uninspected. The written report following the survey is typically sent to you by email within a few days of the visit.
Yes, in the vast majority of cases where we carry out treatment works, those works are covered by a guarantee of up to ten years.
We are transparent about why we do not offer the twenty or thirty-year guarantees you will sometimes see advertised elsewhere: our insurance sets a realistic limit, and we think a long guarantee from a company that might not exist in ten years is not worth a great deal.
Our guarantee means something because we intend to still be here to honour it. We also offer the option of a GPI insurance-backed guarantee for a one-off fee, which provides additional protection independent of us as a business.
Full details are on our guarantees page, and if you have any questions about what is and is not covered for a specific job, just ask and we will be straight with you.
Damp FAQs
This is probably the question we get asked more than any other, and honestly, it is one of the hardest to answer without first knowing what you are dealing with.
Costs can range from a few hundred pounds for a straightforward maintenance fix to several thousand for a full damp proof course installation with replastering.
What we can tell you is that the single biggest factor in keeping costs down is getting the diagnosis right the first time. We have visited so many properties where money has already been spent on the wrong treatment, and that always ends up costing more in the long run.
A damp survey with us starts from £95, and in our experience, it is almost always the most cost-effective first step you can take.
The most common ones are a persistent musty smell that does not go away even when the windows are open, damp patches on walls or ceilings that seem to come back after you have painted over them, peeling wallpaper or bubbling paint, white powdery deposits on internal walls (that is salt being drawn out by moisture), black mould in corners or around windows, and a tide mark running along the lower section of a wall.
In Kent properties, particularly the older ones, we also quite often see soft or spongy skirting boards at ground level, which is a telltale sign that moisture has been seeping in for some time.
If you are seeing any of these, it is worth getting someone in to have a proper look rather than reaching for the paintbrush.
A professionally installed treatment, done correctly and with the right materials for your property type, should be effective for around twenty to thirty years.
Our own guarantee covers up to ten years, and we are upfront about why. That is what our insurance allows us to offer honestly.
We are always a little wary when we hear about thirty-year guarantees from other contractors, because a guarantee is only worth something if the company is still around to honour it.
Beyond the treatment itself, how long damp proofing lasts also depends on keeping up with the basics around your property.
Clear gutters, maintained pointing, and sensible ground levels around the building all make a real difference to how well any treatment performs over time.
It depends on what the problem is and where the moisture is coming from.
For rising damp requiring a chemical damp proof course injection, the work is almost always carried out internally, drilling into the mortar joint from inside the property.
For penetrating damp caused by defects in the external fabric of the building, the most important first step is usually an external repair, whether that is guttering, pointing, rendering, or roofing.
In some cases, particularly in older Kent properties with solid walls, we may need to address things both internally and externally to get a lasting result.
This is exactly why we always carry out a proper survey first, because the right answer genuinely does depend on what we find.
For most standard residential properties, no.
Damp proofing is generally treated as maintenance rather than a structural alteration, so planning permission is not usually required. The exception is if your property is listed or sits within a conservation area, and Kent has a lot of both. With nearly 18,000 listed buildings across the county, this is not an uncommon situation for our clients.
In those cases, any treatment that involves altering original materials or the fabric of the building may need consent from the local planning authority before work begins. Dean has extensive experience working on listed properties across Kent and knows what is and is not permissible.
If you are not sure about your property's status, we can help you work through that before any work is agreed.
Penetrating Damp FAQs
Penetrating damp is moisture that enters a building horizontally through the walls, roof, or any part of the external fabric that has become vulnerable to water ingress. Rising damp, by contrast, travels upward from the ground through the base of the wall.
The practical difference matters a great deal for treatment, because the solutions for each are completely different.
Penetrating damp can appear at any height in a building and tends to be more noticeable after or during heavy rainfall, whereas rising damp is almost always confined to the lower metre or so of a ground floor wall.
The most common causes are defects in the building's external fabric that allow rainwater to enter. Blocked or leaking gutters and downpipes, cracked or eroded render, failed pointing in brickwork, worn window frames and sills, damaged roofing or flashings, and poorly sealed around pipework penetrations are all frequent culprits.
In Kent, where we see many older solid-wall properties, the walls themselves can also become more porous over time as the original lime mortar erodes, making them increasingly vulnerable to wind-driven rain.
Cavity wall insulation that has become saturated or contaminated is another cause we encounter regularly, as it can bridge the cavity and transfer moisture directly to the inner wall.
The most telling sign is a damp patch that appears or worsens during or after periods of rain.
Unlike rising damp, it can appear anywhere on a wall, not just at low level, and it often has a fairly defined edge rather than the gradual tide mark associated with rising damp. You may also notice damp patches below window sills, around chimney breasts, or on walls directly beneath guttering.
Black mould is less common with penetrating damp than with condensation, because the affected area tends to be too wet and often contains salts from the masonry that inhibit mould growth.
Sometimes, yes. If the source is clearly a blocked gutter, a cracked roof tile, or a small gap in pointing, addressing the defect directly can resolve the problem without professional remedial treatment. It is always worth checking the obvious external causes first.
However, where the source is less clear, or where moisture has already penetrated into the wall structure and caused damage to plaster or timber, a professional survey is the most reliable way to identify exactly what is happening and prevent the same problem recurring.
Treating the symptoms without finding the source is one of the most common reasons penetrating damp comes back.
Yes, and the longer it is left, the more expensive it tends to become.
Persistent moisture within a wall structure will eventually break down plaster and render, cause timber elements such as window frames, lintels, and floor joists to decay, and can create the conditions for wet rot or dry rot to take hold.
In older properties, sustained water ingress can erode the mortar joints between bricks over time, weakening the wall fabric itself.
Penetrating damp is one of those problems that rarely stays contained, so catching it early and finding the source is always the more cost-effective approach.
Rising Damp FAQs
The most tell-tale sign is a damp tide mark on the lower section of a wall, usually no higher than about a metre to a metre and a half from the floor.
You may also notice peeling paint or wallpaper, white powdery deposits on the wall surface (this is salt left behind as moisture evaporates), a persistent musty smell, and damage to skirting boards at ground level.
Crucially, rising damp stays low. If damp patches are appearing higher up the wall or on ceilings, you are more likely looking at penetrating damp or a plumbing issue rather than rising damp.
Rising damp happens when groundwater travels up through the base of walls by capillary action, essentially the same process as a sponge drawing up water.
It usually occurs because the damp proof course (DPC) has failed, been bridged, or in older properties built before 1875, may never have been installed at all. Common causes of bridging include external ground levels that have built up over time, render that runs continuously from above the DPC down to ground level, and debris or insulation within the cavity wall.
In Kent, where a significant proportion of the housing stock predates the Second World War, failed or absent damp proof courses are one of the most common issues we encounter.
No. Rising damp will not resolve itself without intervention. As long as groundwater is present in the ground surrounding the property, and there is no effective barrier stopping it, moisture will continue to travel up through the wall.
Left untreated, it will progressively damage plasterwork, cause salt contamination of the wall fabric, and can eventually lead to wet rot or dry rot in any timber that remains in contact with the affected area, including skirting boards and floor joists.
The most common professional treatment is the installation of a new chemical damp proof course using an injection cream, which is applied into the wall at regular intervals to form a water-resistant barrier within the masonry.
Once the injection is complete, affected plaster will usually need to be replaced using a salt-resistant render, as old plaster retains contaminated salts that will continue to cause problems even after the damp source has been resolved. In some cases, lowering external ground levels or clearing a bridged DPC may be sufficient on its own.
The right treatment depends entirely on the cause, which is why a proper diagnosis before any work begins is so important.
The cost varies depending on the extent of the problem, the length of wall affected, and whether re-plastering is required alongside the damp proof course installation. A professional damp survey is the starting point, and with South East Timber and Damp that starts from £95.
The survey will give you a clear written assessment of the problem and an accurate cost for any remedial works recommended, so you are not working from guesswork.
As a general point, treating rising damp early is almost always considerably cheaper than leaving it until the damage has spread to plasterwork, timbers, and decorative finishes.
Woodworm FAQs
This is actually one of the most important questions to get right, because a lot of older properties in Kent, particularly Victorian and Edwardian houses, will show holes in timber that are decades old and need no treatment whatsoever.
The tell-tale sign of an active infestation is fresh frass, the fine, powdery dust that the larvae produce as they burrow. If you see pale, loose dust sitting around or below a hole, that points to current activity.
Old frass tends to be more compacted and darker. Fresh exit holes also look cleaner and sharper-edged compared to older ones, which will have dulled or discoloured over time.
The other sign to watch for is the timing; adult beetles emerge between May and September, so if you are noticing new holes or dust appearing in that window, that is a strong indicator that something is active.
Getting this right before you start any treatment really matters, which is why we always carry out a proper survey first rather than just spraying and hoping for the best.
Yes, and this is where it is important not to underestimate it.
The larvae can spend anywhere from two to five years burrowing through timber before they emerge as beetles, and by that point, the internal damage to the wood can be considerable, even if the outside looks relatively normal. In load-bearing timbers, floor joists, roof rafters, and structural beams, this matters a great deal.
We work on a lot of older properties across Kent and South East London where woodworm has been left for years in roof spaces and subfloor voids, and the damage we find is often more extensive than the homeowner expected.
The Death Watch Beetle in particular, which is more common in the South East due to our historic housing stock, tends to target hardwood timbers that have also been affected by damp, which compounds the structural risk considerably.
If you have any woodworm in or near structural timber, getting a specialist in to assess the extent is not something to put off.
It can, but it does not have to be a deal-breaker if it is handled properly.
Any signs of woodworm will be flagged in a homebuyer's survey, and buyers or their solicitors will often ask for a specialist report or a treatment guarantee before they are willing to proceed.
In the older property market that makes up a large part of Kent, whether you are in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Faversham, or the period streets of South East London, this comes up more than you might think.
The good news is that having a professional treatment carried out by a PCA-qualified specialist, backed by a written guarantee, is usually all that is needed to satisfy buyers and their lenders.
What causes more problems is leaving it undisclosed or hoping the surveyor will miss it.
They rarely do, and an untreated problem flagged during a sale is almost always more damaging to the transaction than one that has been properly sorted out.
The honest answer is that it depends on the extent of the infestation, the type of beetle involved, and how much of the timber is affected.
A straightforward treatment of a confined area, such as a single piece of furniture or a small section of floorboard, can be relatively modest. A more widespread infestation affecting roof timbers or structural joists, which also requires timber replacement, will cost considerably more.
What we would always say is that the survey is where you get the real picture. Ours start from £95, and it tells you exactly what you are dealing with, which species, how active it is, how far it has spread, and what treatment is genuinely needed.
We would far rather give you an honest assessment that turns out to require very little work than have you spend money on treatment that is either excessive or pointed at the wrong problem.
For the vast majority of treatments, no.
The water-based chemical spray that we use for most Common Furniture Beetle infestations is applied to the affected timber and is safe for the home to be occupied once it has dried, which usually takes a matter of hours.
We would suggest keeping pets and children out of treated areas until they are fully dry, and we will always talk you through what to expect before we start.
Where the infestation is more severe or involves a larger area, we will discuss with you in advance whether any temporary precautions are needed.
In our experience across Kent and South East London, most residential woodworm treatments are completed in a day, with minimal disruption, and homeowners are going about normal life by the evening.
Dry Rot and Wet Rot FAQs
This is the question we get asked more than any other when it comes to timber decay, and it is an important one to get right because the two need very different approaches to treat.
Wet rot is the more common of the two. It occurs when timber remains damp for a prolonged period, usually because of a persistent moisture source nearby, such as a leaking pipe, damaged guttering, or rising damp.
The good news is that wet rot tends to stay confined to the immediate area where the moisture is present. Remove the moisture source, and the rot stops progressing. The affected timber will need to be repaired or replaced, but the problem does not spread through the fabric of the building.
Dry rot is a different matter entirely, and it is why the name causes so much confusion. Despite being called "dry" rot, it is actually caused by a specific fungus called Serpula lacrymans that needs damp timber to get started, but once established it has the extraordinary ability to transport moisture through the building itself, spreading through masonry, plaster, and brickwork to reach and infect timber that was previously perfectly dry. This is what makes it so serious and why it needs professional treatment as a matter of urgency.
In Kent, where a significant proportion of the housing stock is Victorian, Edwardian, or older, we encounter both regularly. Period properties with original floor joists, roof timbers, and subfloor voids that have been exposed to damp for years are particularly vulnerable.
Both produce some similar symptoms, which is why correct identification really matters before any treatment begins.
With wet rot you are typically looking for timber that has darkened or discoloured, feels soft or spongy when pressed, and may crack along the grain. There can be a musty smell, and in some cases you will see a white or brown fungal growth on the surface of affected timber. The key point is that it stays close to the source of moisture.
Dry rot has some distinctive additional signs. Look for cracking across as well as along the grain, which gives the timber a cuboid appearance, sometimes described as looking like a grid or cracked chocolate. White or grey strands, a bit like cobwebs, spreading across surfaces are a classic early sign of mycelium growth.
In more advanced cases, you may see a fruiting body, which looks like a fleshy orange or brown mushroom with a distinctive dusty red spore deposit around it. Orange or red dust on floors or surfaces near timber is one of the clearest indicators that dry rot is present.
If you are at all unsure, please do not attempt to treat it yourself. Misdiagnosing dry rot as wet rot and treating accordingly is one of the most costly mistakes we see, because it leaves the fungus free to keep spreading behind walls and under floors while the homeowner thinks the problem has been resolved.
Yes, both can, though dry rot carries the greater structural risk because of its ability to spread.
Floor joists, roof rafters, window frames, stair strings, and any other load-bearing timber are all vulnerable, and the internal damage is often far more extensive than the surface signs suggest.
We regularly carry out surveys in Kent properties where a small visible patch of rot turns out to be the tip of a much larger problem once the affected area is properly opened up.
Wet rot, while less aggressive, can still cause significant structural weakening in the timber it affects. Skirting boards, door frames, window frames, and subfloor timbers close to moisture sources are all commonly affected.
Left long enough, wet rot can compromise the structural integrity of any load-bearing timber it takes hold in.
Both types are best caught early. The longer either is left, the more timber will need to be removed and replaced, and the more expensive the overall remediation becomes.
The treatments share some common elements but are genuinely different in scope.
For both types, the single most important first step is finding and eliminating the source of moisture. Treating the rot without addressing what is causing it is a waste of money because the conditions that allowed it to develop will simply cause it to return.
Once the moisture source is resolved, affected timber needs to be assessed and either treated in place or replaced where it has been structurally compromised.
For wet rot, once the source is dealt with and the area dried out, treatment is usually straightforward. Affected surfaces are treated with a fungicidal solution, and damaged timber is repaired or replaced. The contained nature of wet rot means the remediation zone is generally well defined.
Dry rot requires a considerably more thorough approach. Because the fungus can spread through masonry, the affected area needs to be carefully mapped before any work begins. All infected timber must be removed with a margin of apparently sound timber on either side to be safe.
Masonry in the affected zone is treated with a masonry biocide. Replacement timber should be pre-treated, and ventilation improvements are usually needed to prevent the conditions recurring.
In older Kent properties, this can be a significant piece of work, but cutting corners on dry rot remediation is a false economy.
Yes, both will be flagged by a surveyor and will require attention before most buyers or their mortgage lenders will be comfortable proceeding.
Dry rot in particular can cause significant concern during a sale because of its reputation for spreading, and some buyers will walk away from a property where it is present without having the full picture of what is involved in resolving it.
The most straightforward position to be in when selling is to have had a proper specialist survey carried out, the source of moisture identified and resolved, and any remedial timber works completed and covered by a written guarantee. That documentation gives buyers and lenders confidence that the problem has been professionally resolved rather than simply painted over.
If you are buying a property in Kent or South East London where dry or wet rot has been flagged in a homebuyer's survey, a specialist timber and damp inspection before you exchange will give you a clear picture of the extent of the problem, what it will cost to put right, and whether the treatment that has already been applied is adequate. That information is almost always worth having before you commit.
DIY Damp Proofing FAQs
It can, but it depends entirely on what you are dealing with.
DIY approaches work well for condensation and minor maintenance issues such as clearing gutters, improving ventilation, and patching small areas of damaged pointing.
They are not effective for rising damp or penetrating damp caused by a failed damp-proof course or by structural water ingress. Applying a surface-level fix to a structural problem can delay proper treatment and often increase the eventual repair cost.
Damp-proof paint is a surface coating applied to interior walls. It can help manage condensation on cold surfaces, but it does not address moisture travelling through the wall itself.
A damp proof course (DPC) is a physical or chemical barrier installed within the wall, designed to stop rising damp at its source.
These are two very different things, and confusing them is one of the most common reasons DIY damp treatment fails to deliver the expected results.
The clearest signs that a professional opinion is needed are:
- A tide mark on lower walls (particularly with white or yellowish staining).
- Damp that returns in the same place after you have cleaned or repainted it.
- A persistent musty smell with no obvious cause.
- Peeling wallpaper or plaster that is crumbling or bubbling.
- Damp patches that appear or worsen after rainfall.
If you are buying or selling a property in Kent or South East London, a damp survey is often required as part of the conveyancing process.
It can do, and this is worth thinking about carefully, particularly if you are planning to sell.
If a DIY treatment has masked an underlying problem without resolving it, a surveyor may still identify the original issue during a pre-purchase inspection.
Where damp has been treated but not properly remediated, it can affect a mortgage lender's valuation or lead to renegotiation of the sale price.
Having a professional treatment on record, backed by a written guarantee, provides far more reassurance to both buyers and lenders than a DIY approach.
Contact Our Team
Our team in the office are very experienced and knowledgable about the industry. Get in touch with them today to get the right advice in dealing with your damp issues.
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