Chartered surveyors in Preston

Normally solid walls of brick or stone with no cavity, lime mortar, timber suspended floors and lath-and-plaster internally. Any damp-proof course is either slate or absent altogether.

What we usually find. Damp at low level is the most frequent finding, usually where a slate damp-proof course has been bridged by raised ground or by later solid floors and cement render. Chimney stacks, roof coverings and rainwater goods are often at or beyond the end of their serviceable lives, and earlier repointing in cement rather than lime can trap moisture and spall the brick face.

Worth knowing. Solid walls cannot be treated like cavity walls. Injected chemical courses and internal tanking frequently move the problem rather than resolve it, so the cause matters more than the last remedy applied.

Mostly solid-wall terraces and early semis, with cavity construction beginning to appear toward the end of the period. Slate damp-proof courses are usual, along with timber sash windows and slate roofs.

What we usually find. Much the same pattern as the older stock, with the addition of early cavity walls where wall ties may now be corroding. Original roof coverings are commonly nearing replacement, and rear additions of this age are frequently built to a lower standard than the main house.

Worth knowing. Where a property has been re-roofed or extended, the junction between old and new is normally where water gets in. It is worth establishing what was done and when.