The housing stock
What we are usually working with
Somerset West runs from established older homes near the town centre out to a wide belt of estate and retirement-village housing built from the 1990s onward. The newer stock is comfortable and generally sound; the work is discretionary improvement, extra space and better finishes rather than repair.
The local catch
Water comes off the mountain, not just out of the sky
Sites on the Helderberg slopes take surface water moving downhill in winter, which is a different problem to rain landing on a roof. Where a house sits below the natural fall, you need cut-off drainage and tanking on the uphill side, not just good gutters. Getting that wrong produces damp that appears every winter and defeats every internal treatment anyone applies to it.
In Somerset West
Nothing on this list is unique to Somerset West, but the mix is. These are the jobs that actually come up on this patch.
- Extensions and alterations within estate design guidelines
- Cut-off drainage and tanking on sloping sites
- Enclosed braai rooms and patios built for the Helderberg wind
- Kitchen and bathroom upgrades in estate and retirement housing
- New builds on remaining vacant erven
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.