The housing stock
What we are usually working with
Newlands is established, leafy and largely older stock: substantial family homes, some period, some 1960s and 70s, on well-treed plots under the mountain. The houses are generally solid. What ages badly here is anything to do with water.
The local catch
Three times the rainfall of the West Coast
Newlands takes well over a metre of rain a year, several times what Blouberg gets, and it sits in the mountain's shadow so surfaces stay wet and shaded for long periods. Gutters sized for average Cape Town rainfall overflow here. Waterproofing that would last a decade elsewhere does not. Damp and mould are a design problem, not a maintenance problem, and the fixes are drainage, ventilation and generous falls rather than another coat of sealer.
In Newlands
Nothing on this list is unique to Newlands, but the mix is. These are the jobs that actually come up on this patch.
- Damp diagnosis and treatment in genuinely wet conditions
- Gutters, downpipes and stormwater sized for the actual rainfall
- Roof and flat-roof waterproofing renewal
- Ventilation and extraction to control condensation and mould
- Full renovation of established family homes
Most relevant here
Also building nearby
Next step
Eddie will come out, walk it with you and tell you honestly what it takes. No charge for the first visit.