Many of the flats in Surrey Quays, Canada Water, Rotherhithe and Bermondsey started life not as dwellings but as warehouses, wharves, dock buildings and industrial units. They tend to have a slightly different set of maintenance issues to a standard new build, and a few things are worth knowing if you own or manage one.
New walls on top of old
Many conversions kept at least some of the original brick walls exposed internally, a feature which lends the properties so much of their distinctive character.
Where new plasterboard walls have been constructed to cover some of the original brick, it can be useful to understand exactly how they were built, particularly if you are planning any electrical work, such as adding or moving sockets or light switches. If a stud wall is in place, this usually makes electrical work much easier, as there is a service cavity to run cables in.
Listed status
Some of these buildings have been listed. In mid-2026, I worked in a substantial flat inside St Saviours Wharf, close to Tower Bridge. Originally built as a warehouse around 1860, it is strongly built in a way that gives away its original commercial purpose – one example of this was an immense structural timber beam visible above a doorway.
St Saviours was Grade II-listed in 1998. Listing means that proposed work needs to take account of the building’s special architectural or historic interest, and some alterations will require listed building consent.
The mix of old and new
Conversions like St Saviours by necessity contain a mix of old and new fabric: the building’s function has changed.
It’s good to be aware of the behaviour of different materials, and how they may expand, contract and hold moisture differently – these are most likely to be evident at the junctions between old and new elements.
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None of this means a conversion flat is harder to maintain than any other property. It just means that the person doing the work benefits from having an understanding of how the building came together in the first place, rather than treating it like a standard new build.
If you own or manage a flat in one of these conversions and you would like it to be repaired or redecorated, get in touch at any time: hello@siskinprojects.co.uk.
Graeme