Damp Proofing in South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town with a lot of Victorian and Edwardian housing, and that combination keeps us busy. Salt-laden wind off the sea works at render, pointing and cills along Marsden, Harton and the seafront, while the terraces and Tyneside flats of Westoe, Laygate and Chichester have the solid walls and bridged damp courses that cause rising damp. We cover the whole of South Tyneside with no travel charges.
Damp in South Shields homes
Penetrating damp is the first thing we check for on the coast. East-facing walls at Marsden, Horsley Hill and Harton Nook take driving rain for months at a time, and once the paint or render on a bay front has cracked, water tracks straight through to the plaster. The fix starts outside, with render repairs, repointing and new cills where they are needed, and the inside is replastered only once the wall has had time to dry.
Westoe, Laygate and the streets around Chichester Metro are classic Victorian terrace and Tyneside flat territory. Solid brick, long since covered with hard cement render and gypsum plaster, raised back lanes and yards bridging the original damp course. The result is a tide mark and blown plaster in front rooms and hallways. A chemical damp course with a breathable renovation plaster is the standard fix and we have done it hundreds of times on exactly these houses.
The interwar and post-war semis of Cleadon Park, Whiteleas, Simonside and Biddick Hall are cavity-walled and generally dry below the DPC. There, we are usually called for condensation and mould, especially in the colder bedrooms on the north side, and we will tell you when ventilation and insulation are the answer rather than an injected damp course.
Parts of South Shields we cover
We work across the whole of South Shields and the streets around it, including Westoe, Harton, Cleadon Park, Whiteleas, Marsden, Horsley Hill, Simonside, Biddick Hall, Laygate, Tyne Dock, West Park and Chichester. There are no travel charges anywhere in South Tyneside.
Timing damp work on the South Shields coast
On the coast, the time of year affects how we plan a damp job. Outside repairs to render, pointing and cills are best done between spring and early autumn, when mortar and render can cure without frost, and replastering inside works best once the wall has had a dry spell to give up the water it has soaked up over winter. If you call us in the middle of a wet winter, we will often fix the outside straight away to stop more water getting in, then come back to replaster when the wall has dried, rather than plastering onto a wet wall that will fail. That two-stage approach costs no more overall, and it is the difference between a repair that lasts and one you pay for twice.
Westoe's large Victorian houses are in a conservation area and have ornate plasterwork, deep skirtings and cornices. When we treat damp there, we take care to keep those features rather than stripping them out with the damaged plaster. Where cornice or decorative work has been damaged by water, we can repair or match it, and we cut back only as far as the damp has reached so as little original plaster is lost as possible. The outside of these houses gets the same care, with pointing and render repaired in a mix and finish that suits the age of the building and keeps the street's character. Hard modern cement on these walls is what caused much of the damp in the first place.
How we do damp proofing
The full process, step by step, and what it involves.
location_onOur South Shields guide
The homes in South Shields and the problems they tend to have.
photo_libraryCase studies
Real jobs written up: the problem, the work and the result.
menu_book5 warning signs you have rising damp
Our guide, written for homeowners.
Our 20-year guarantee
Where we install a damp proof course, you get a written 20-year guarantee against rising damp coming back through it, and it transfers to a new owner if you sell. For penetrating damp, condensation and the replastering that goes with them, our workmanship promise applies: if something we did is not right, we come back and sort it.
Damp Proofing jobs we have written up
Rated by customers across the North East on Checked & Vetted, MyBuilder and Google. Read the reviews.
Damp Proofing questions from South Shields
Not necessarily. If water is getting in from outside, it is worth stopping it as soon as possible. We can repair the outside first and then replaster inside once the wall has dried out, which might be a few weeks later. That way the damage does not keep getting worse while you wait.
In most cases, yes. We cut back only the plaster the damp has damaged and protect the cornice and other decorative work while we treat the wall. Where a section of cornice has been ruined by water, it can be repaired or a matching profile made up.
Salt carried in by rain soaks into the wall and the plaster. As it dries, the salt crystals stay behind and draw moisture out of the air, so the wall can stay damp long after the rain has stopped. That is why damp coastal walls usually need the old plaster removed and replaced, not just painted over.
More of what we do in South Shields
Damp Proofing near South Shields
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