Services
Damp and timber surveys
A surveyor, a meter, a hygrometer and a thermal camera for about an hour, then a written report on the cause.
A damp and timber survey with a written report, £195
Every treatment we do starts here, and about a third of surveys end here too, because the answer is a gutter, a ventilation change or nothing at all. We would rather sell you a £195 survey than a £3,000 treatment you did not need.
Alun or Rhian spends about an hour in the house. Outside first: ground levels against the damp-proof course, gutters and downpipes, pointing, render, sills, airbricks and the chimney. Inside, every affected wall is read with a moisture meter, the air with a hygrometer, and cold spots are found with a thermal camera.
A moisture meter on its own is not proof of anything. Salts left by old damp, foil-backed wallpaper and even some paints make a meter read high on a dry wall. Where it matters, we drill a small sample from the wall and take it back to weigh wet and dry, which tells you how much water is actually in it.
The report follows within three working days: the readings, photographs, the cause or causes in plain words, what to do in order of cost, and what it would cost if we did it. Plenty of reports recommend no work by us at all.
What is included
- Outside and inside, about an hour
- Moisture meter, hygrometer and thermal camera
- Drilled samples where a meter could mislead
- A written report within three working days
- Causes in order of cost to fix
What it costs
A damp and timber survey with a written report is £195; a buyer's survey to a lender's deadline is £225. Every treatment starts with a survey, because a survey decides what, if anything, needs doing.
A survey decides
Questions about damp surveys
Is the survey free if I book work?
No, and we think free surveys are part of the problem: someone has to sell you something to be paid. The survey is the honest part.
Can you do it before I exchange contracts?
Yes. The buyer's survey at £225 is booked to the lender's or solicitor's deadline, with the report the next working day.
Do you check for woodworm and rot at the same time?
Yes, on every timber we can reach without lifting floors. Lifting boards is by arrangement.
Not sure what it is? That is what a survey is for.
An hour on site, outside first, with a meter, a hygrometer and a thermal camera, and a written report in three working days. About a third of our reports recommend no work by us at all.