Damp Surveys
& Written Reports
A proper diagnosis before anyone recommends a treatment. You get a written report setting out what is causing the damp, what it takes to fix it and what that costs — and the fee comes off the works if you proceed.
What a Damp Survey Includes
A survey is an investigation, not a sales visit with a meter. Ours takes between one and three hours on site depending on the property, and covers the building inside and out — because the cause of an internal damp patch is very often something on the outside of the wall.
- External inspection. Ground levels relative to the damp proof course, hard landscaping, drainage and gullies, rainwater goods, pointing and brickwork condition, render, sills, flashings, airbricks and sub-floor ventilation.
- Internal inspection. Affected rooms and the rooms around them, plus roof space and sub-floor void where accessible.
- Moisture profiling. Readings taken at intervals up the wall and, where the diagnosis requires it, from drilled masonry samples rather than surface readings alone. Surface meters measure electrical conductivity, which salts and foil-backed plasterboard both affect — profiling is how you get past that.
- Salts analysis. Testing for hygroscopic nitrates and chlorides, which distinguishes historic rising damp and salt contamination from an active problem.
- Thermal imaging. Where condensation, cold bridging, missing insulation or a concealed leak is suspected, to map what is happening behind the surface.
- Environmental readings. Temperature, relative humidity and dew point, plus extract ventilation performance where condensation is in play.
- Timber inspection. Accessible structural and joinery timber checked for rot and insect attack where moisture has been present.
What the Report Gives You
Within 48 hours of the visit you receive a written report containing the findings with photographs, the diagnosis and the reasoning behind it, a specification of the recommended works, an itemised fixed price, the guarantee terms that would apply, and — where relevant — a note of anything that needs another trade or further investigation.
It is written to be read by somebody who is not a damp specialist. If you need to hand it to a lender, a solicitor, a landlord, a managing agent or the other side in a dispute, it will stand up to that.
The fee, and why we charge one
A free survey is not free; it is a sales visit paid for by the job it sells, which is a structural incentive to find work. We charge for the survey and deduct that fee from the cost of works if you go ahead with us. If our recommendation is that you need a roofer or a plumber rather than a damp specialist, we are not out of pocket for saying so — and you still get the report.
Types of Survey We Carry Out
| Survey | For | Guide price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard damp survey | A known damp problem in a house or flat | from £180 |
| Damp & timber report | Pre-purchase, lender-requested or retrospective reports | from £295 |
| Condensation & mould survey | Black mould, humidity and ventilation problems | from £240 |
| Waterproofing survey | Basements, cellars and below-ground structures | from £395 |
| Leak investigation | Tracing an unexplained or intermittent water ingress | from £395 |
| Commercial / portfolio survey | Multiple units, managed stock, specification support | on application |
Prices include VAT and are a guide for London properties of typical size. You are given a fixed fee when you book, not an estimate that moves afterwards.
Booking One
Call 0207 126 8487, message us on WhatsApp — photographs genuinely help — or send the enquiry form. We will ask what you are seeing, how long it has been there, what the property is and whether anything has been done before. Surveys are usually booked within two to five working days across London, sooner where there is an urgent health, safety or transaction deadline.
Damp SurveyFAQs
That wording is standard caution rather than a diagnosis. A general surveyor takes surface readings with a conductivity meter and, quite properly, refers anything elevated on. It tells you there is something worth investigating, not what it is or what it costs. A specialist damp and timber report will settle it, and lenders normally accept one. If the vendor has offered a "free" survey from a contractor who also wants the remedial work, be aware of the incentive.
It helps, because a lot of the useful information is in what you have noticed — when it started, whether it changes with the weather, what was done before. But it is not essential. We can work with a key, an agent or a tenant, and the report is the same either way. For pre-purchase surveys we normally deal with the selling agent directly.
No. A meaningful proportion of our surveys conclude that the property does not need damp proofing — that it needs a gutter repaired, a path lowered, an extract fan that actually works, or a plumber. We are paid for the survey, so we can say that without it costing us. You get the report and the recommendation whether or not there is a job in it for us.
A standard survey is non-destructive apart from small drill holes where masonry samples are needed for salts analysis — typically 6mm, in mortar joints where possible, and made good before we leave. Where the diagnosis genuinely needs an opening-up inspection, we will agree that with you in advance rather than doing it on the day.
Get the Cause Found & Fixed
Book a survey and you get a written report: what is causing the damp, what it takes to fix it and what it costs. No pressure, no guesswork.
Survey fee deducted from the cost of works if you proceed