Worthing sits on the coastal plain between the South Downs and the Channel, and what is under a house shapes the damp problems it gets. Much of the town, including the centre, stands on chalk, which drains freely. A band of London clay runs west from Lancing through Broadwater and Durrington, and clay holds water against foundations and the base of walls far longer. Two watercourses also run through the town largely out of sight: the Teville Stream, which is culverted, and the Ferring Rife, which is partly culverted. None of that means a particular house is damp, but it is one reason two similar houses a mile apart can behave quite differently.
Older walls with no damp course, or a bridged one
The oldest buildings in Worthing are in the former villages of Broadwater, West Tarring, Goring and Heene, built of flint, cobble and brick in lime mortar, many long before damp proof courses were required. In the Victorian streets, a damp course may be there but bridged: a raised path or flower bed against the wall, render run down to the ground, or a later patio laid above it. The signs are a tide mark and crumbling plaster low on the wall, often with white salts. Clearing the bridge comes first. Where a new damp course is needed, an injected chemical barrier is put into the mortar course, and the salty plaster above is stripped and the wall replastered. Old flint and lime walls also need to keep breathing, so the replacement plaster is chosen with that in mind; our page on float and set plastering in Worthing explains how those walls are built back up.
Basements under the older terraces
Some of the early nineteenth-century terraces in central Worthing, such as the long terrace on Warwick Road, were built with basements. Below-ground walls hold back wet ground and can never dry from the outside, so a room down there needs a waterproof system on the inside face: either a tanking render or slurry applied to the masonry, or a studded cavity drain membrane that lets water run down behind it to a drainage point. The wall can then be plastered or dry lined and the space used properly.
Water coming in sideways
On walls facing the sea, rain is driven hard against the face of the building. Cracked render, failed pointing, blocked gutters and leaking downpipes let it in, and the damp patch inside appears at whatever height the water finds its way through, usually worse after a stormy spell. October to December is the wettest part of the year here, which is when these patches tend to show. The fix starts outside, with the gutter or the render; see rendering in Worthing for repairs to cracked or blown render.
Condensation in flats and bungalows
Black mould on window reveals, in wardrobe corners and on bathroom ceilings is more often condensation than water getting in. It is common in flats where cooking, washing and drying clothes all happen in a few rooms, and on cold solid walls. The answer is ventilation, steady background heating and, where walls are cold, insulation behind the plaster. We remove the mould, improve ventilation and make the walls good.
For our full approach, see damp proofing and mould prevention, and our other services across Worthing. Call 07824 165672 for free, no-obligation advice.
