Damp, Mould & Leak Detection in Mole Valley

Damp, mould and leaks in Mole Valley homes

Mole Valley is the long district that runs from the Greater London boundary at Ashtead down through Leatherhead, Fetcham and Great Bookham to Dorking and the Weald villages beyond. The council sits in Dorking; the only other town is Leatherhead, and the largest villages (Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham) are all in the northern third, which is where most of the people and most of our work are. The district covers the KT21 to KT23 postcode districts in the north and RH3 to RH6 in the south.

Most of the district lies on or against the Surrey Hills, where the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge meet at Box Hill and Leith Hill and the River Mole cuts its gap through the chalk at Dorking. That gives three kinds of ground within a few miles: chalk on the Downs that drains freely, the sandy greensand to the south, and the heavy clay of the vale and the Weald between and beyond them. Clay holds water against footings and basements and moves with the seasons; chalk and sand drain freely, so a damp wall there is nearly always the building rather than the site.

The 2021 Census counted about 37,000 households, 73 % owner-occupied; 38 % of homes are detached and 28 % semi-detached, with only one home in five a flat. Older, larger houses dominate, many with solid walls, chimneys, suspended floors and extensions of several dates, and that is what we investigate most: penetrating damp through solid masonry and chimney stacks, leaks under solid floors and from underfloor heating, timber decay at ground-floor joists, and condensation in altered houses. Every town and village below links to its own page.

Housing in Mole Valley (Census 2021): 37,139 households: 73% owner-occupiers, 14% private renters, 12% social renters. Housing stock: purpose-built flats 16%, converted and other flats 4%, terraced 12%, semi-detached 28%, detached 38%.Source: ONS Census 2021, tables TS054 (tenure) and TS044 (accommodation type), via Nomis.