Damp and Timber Survey Kingston

The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames is right on the doorstep of the Tapco HomeDry head office, which is just down the road in Thames Ditton. Needless to say Kingston is an area where over the many years we have been in business, we have carried out thousands of timber & damp surveys and preserved thousands of properties which are now protected by a Tapco guarantee.

Kingston-upon-Thames, with its character Victorian properties, well known shops and markets, including the very popular Bentall Centre, riverside restaurants and its close proximity to London, make it a very popular place to live.

A bit about Kingston’s property

The majority of the property in Kingston is Victorian, built in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. They were constructed mainly with 9″ (225 m/m) solid brick walls usually with a slate horizontal damp proof course (DPC). The structural and joinery timbers were untreated softwood, so are susceptible to attack by wood boring insects (woodworm) and timber decay such as dry rot and wet rot fungus, both of which can cause considerable and costly damage.

During the Second World War Kingston was home to an aircraft factory and for this reason was targeted and heavily bombed. Apart from destroying some property the amount of bombing ‘shook’ many others causing structural damage which damaged (cracked) the slate damp courses. The breakdown of the damp proof course results in rising damp (damp rising from the ground by capillary action). This together with some poor building practices used at the time (timber in contact with damp walls), resulted in timber decay such as the dreaded Dry Rot and Wet Rot fungus which breakdown the fibres of the timber and destroy it.

In addition to our many happy clients in Kingston Tapco HomeDry are proud to carry out damp and timber surveys for rbk.gov (The Royal Borough of Kingston) resulting in much restoration work and timber preservation on their properties.

A Tapco HomeDry timber and damp survey

If you feel your property has a timber or damp problem or you are considering buying a property in Kingston it is very important that you instruct a Tapco HomeDry qualified timber and damp surveyor to carry out a thorough survey and tests to determine the exact cause of the attack. Wrongly identifying a problem could result in the wrong remedial work being carried out, you wasting your money and having to put up with the disruption twice.

You will be issued with a very detailed report, floor plan, images and our observations and recommendations on exactly what the problem is and what is needed to eradicate it.

Tapco HomeDry has been established for over 44 years (1971) and is recognised as one of London, Surrey and Home Counties most respected and thorough specialists in treating problems with rising damp, penetrating damp, water damage, dry rot and woodworm. We are long term members of the Property Care Association (PCA) and Trust Mark (Government Endorsed Standards). For your peace of mind our 20 year guarantee can be protected by Guarantee Protection Insurance (GPI).

Do it once Do it Right, call Tapco HomeDry first to book a timber and damp survey on your property in Kingston 020 8398 6663.