A damp patch is a symptom. A useful damp survey establishes the cause, and in most buildings there is more than one.
Why quick diagnoses fail
Much damp advice is based on a walk-round with an electrical moisture meter. But these meters respond to salts and other conductive materials as well as moisture, so readings taken from plaster and masonry can be misleading. A wall contaminated with salts from an old chimney or a failed damp-proof course can read "wet" long after it has dried. Diagnosing from meter readings alone leads to unnecessary and sometimes damaging treatment.
How we investigate
Our surveys consider the whole moisture system of the building: the sources of water (rain penetration, leaks, ground moisture, condensation), the pathways it follows through the construction, the reservoirs where it accumulates in thick walls and floors, and the evaporation that lets the building dry.
We inspect the construction and its defects, take comparative readings, and where necessary use environmental monitoring, thermal imaging, gravimetric sampling and laboratory salt analysis to establish what is actually happening.
What you receive
A clear report explaining what we found, what is causing the problem, and a proportionate repair strategy, one that fixes causes such as defective rainwater goods or trapped moisture, retains sound fabric, and avoids unnecessary chemical treatment.
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