Mastering Moisture: Morning CPD
The day kicked-off with an excellent CPD session from Neil Marsden, an independent damp and timber specialist. Damp is a common problem that our surveyors and structural engineers frequently come across, and our team was keen to benefit from Neil’s extensive experience in inspecting moisture issues.
We spent the morning discussing all aspects of unwanted moisture in buildings, from condensation to penetrating damp. Neil’s data, gathered from thousands of damp surveys, showed us just how rare rising damp is, despite it being a common homebuyer concern. Instead, damp is normally a result of water ingress from leaking roofs and rainwater goods, or raised ground levels. It was really interesting to hear about his experiences of just how influential our prevailing south-westerly weather is on the areas that are susceptible to damp within a property; and we all wanted to move to Cambridge after seeing Neil’s map of how much rain falls (or more accurately, doesn’t fall) in that region!
Our residential surveyors recounted many examples where inappropriate damp-proof courses had been retrospectively added to period properties by unscrupulous contractors who had convinced homeowners that they had rising damp. These “damp-proof” systems often end up causing more damp problems by reducing air flow and trapping moisture.
Neil also drew on his background in construction to explain how rare water ingress from a chimney to a fireplace is; the structure of the chimney makes it almost impossible for water to reach a ground-level fireplace. Instead, damp patches around a fireplace are often due to water being absorbed into salt deposits in the wall that have built up over many years of burning fuels.
Overall, the wealth of the combined expertise and knowledge of Neil and our experienced team led to excellent discussions, advanced technical learning points and a morning of talking shop that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
Countryside, Catch-Ups, and Clays
After all the technical talk, it was time for a well-earned lunch followed by a rather competitive clay pigeon session. The rain held off, and our surveyors and structural engineers racked up some fantastic scores going around the stands. With our team spread across England, from Liverpool down to Reading, it was a great opportunity for team-building, sharing survey stories and catching up with friends and colleagues.
