Timber and Damp Surveys in Scotland

Scotland has more than its fair share of problems with dampness.  It has a vast range of building materials which are susceptible to dampness.  It's strange really - the Scottish are far more informed about traditional building materials and techniques than the English, but the 'Timber and Damp Survey' industry has a strong hold on the country, and is happily wreaking havoc on lovely old Scottish buildings as you read this.  We need to send them packing, together with their damp proofing creams, injection guns, tanking, slurries, waterproofing plasters and renders.

We've worked on some beautiful properties in Edinburgh for example, where sandstone is covered with cement render, and falls to pieces underneath.  Peter has ripped gypsum plaster off stone walls internally and exposed wet walls which have dried out in days.  Injection damp proofing is useless in any of these buildings - you've just got to get them breathing!  

Scotland does have a more severe problem with cold winds and low temperatures generally - this lowers the outside temperature of walls and makes solid walled buildings more susceptible to condensation.  Insulating old Scottish homes needs to be done very carefully - too much insulation without ventilation will trap humid air in the building with disastrous results.  Insulation must be done as a strategy for the whole house, not a quick visit from the local insulation salesman.  Fibreglass insulation is nasty, toxic stuff, and considered in many circles as equal to asbestos in its ability to kill.  You dont want it in your lovely Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh.  

A problem we come across constantly is cement render.  Many crofts in the highlands have been smothered with cement, and are now damp and cold. Its not hard to remove render - so don't fall for your local 'Timber and Damp Surveyor' telling you to inject the walls, or coat them with external insulation - he is talking tosh.  

Scotland has some of the most beautiful heritage in the country - lets keep it that way, and run the timber and damp survey salesmen out of the country.

We undertake timber and damp surveys all over Scotland, from the Borders to the Highlands and Islands - we assess the condition of the building, the materials it is built from, and the things that have been done to it over the years. From this, we can come up with a strategy to get it breathing, dry, and warm.  Recent surveys have been done in Edinburgh, Inverness, Ayr Skye, Dumfries, Aberdeen, Mull, and the wilds of Sutherland.