Handyman Service in Rotherhithe

Every hole made through an external wall is a decision about water. On a sheltered inland elevation a sloppy one might never be noticed; on a river-facing wall in SE16, where wind drives rain horizontally against the building for days at a time, the same hole delivers water to the inside of the plaster within a winter.

Why sealant on its own is not a detail

The usual approach to a pipe or a cable passing through a wall is a ring of silicone around it on the outside. Then the sealant shrinks, the substrate behind it is dusty or damp so the bond was never complete, the pipe moves with temperature, and a hairline gap opens on the upper edge, which is exactly where water arrives. A durable penetration is not sealed; it is detailed. The hole is formed with a fall to the outside so gravity works in the right direction, the service passes through a sleeve so it can move independently, and the seal is a secondary defence rather than the only one.

Coring rather than chiselling

A diamond core drill takes a clean circular hole through brick or block and leaves the surrounding material undisturbed. Chiselling a rough opening cracks the masonry around it and produces a hole that can never be neatly closed. On a cavity wall the core is taken through both leaves and a sleeve carries the service across the cavity, so that any water running down the inside of the outer leaf drips clear rather than finding the pipe and following it inwards.

Extract terminals, vents and the weather side

A tumble dryer vent, a cooker hood duct or a bathroom extract terminal on an exposed elevation needs more than a plastic grille. The terminal should have a hood or a cowl shedding water away from the opening, a backdraught shutter that actually closes against wind pressure, and a duct that falls slightly towards the outside along its whole length so condensate runs out rather than back. A duct with a sag in it fills with water, and the first symptom is a noisy fan and a stain on a ceiling. Elevations of the same exposure define the work covered by Surrey Quays handyman team.

Fixings on a wall the weather works on

Anything bolted to an exposed elevation — a light, a bracket, a hose reel, a rail — creates a penetration at each fixing. Each of those is a path, so fixings go into mortar joints rather than brick faces where possible, are set in a corrosion-resistant material, and are backed with a compressible washer that seals as it is tightened. Stainless is the default this close to the water, and where stainless meets aluminium the two are separated. An external light or any other powered item on that wall is work for fully insured emergency electrician call-outs in Dulwich.

Made ground and what sits at the bottom of the wall

Much of this peninsula is former dock and industrial land, and levels have been raised over the years. Where paving, a planter or a raised bed has been built up against a house, the ground can end up above the damp-proof course, which bridges it and draws water into the wall regardless of how good the rest of the detailing is. Lowering a path, cutting a drainage channel at the base of the wall, or moving a raised bed away from it addresses the cause; the internal face that has already suffered is treated under Rotherhithe mould removal specialists.

Balcony and terrace penetrations

Upper-floor terraces in the blocks here have a waterproof layer under the surface finish, and anything screwed down through that finish risks going through the membrane into the flat below. Nothing is fixed through a balcony deck without knowing what is beneath it, and the safe alternatives are free-standing and ballasted rather than bolted. Alterations to the outside of a block usually need the building manager's agreement in any case, and quietly drilling a terrace is the kind of decision that becomes very expensive later. An open gap at a deck edge or under a threshold is also a route inward, and anything using one is a matter for our team in the area.

What an external works visit covers

A typical appointment includes inspecting existing penetrations on the weather elevations, correcting the ones that are letting water in, forming any new opening properly, and making good. Access is the main variable: anything above single-storey height on a windy riverside elevation may need a tower rather than a ladder. Photographs of the wall and a note of what is passing through it allow the right core size and sleeve to be brought. The fuller task list appears on the full service.