Timber and Damp Survey
This is the type of survey most often requested as it is the one most often recommended by home report surveyors however searching specifically for "timber and damp survey" will give you pages upon pages of damp proofing companies and you really don't want to get involved with them...
A timber and damp survey from us encompasses assessing the condition of accessible timbers - below floors and in roof spaces - and causes of dampness; things that often go together whether it is woodworm or wet rot decay.
A timber and damp survey from a damp proofing company will diagnose rising damp, as this is what you expect, and recommend they carry out damp treatment. None of them look outside for defects. This is where the answers lie.
So why do they not look outside?
They would not be able to persuade you to have the inside of the wall covered in plastic if they told you that your drain was blocked or the ground level was too high.
Remedying these would have been the answer.
A timber and damp survey from a damp proofing company will diagnose rising damp, as this is what you expect, and recommend they carry out damp treatment. None of them look outside for defects. This is where the answers lie.
So why do they not look outside?
They would not be able to persuade you to have the inside of the wall covered in plastic if they told you that your drain was blocked or the ground level was too high.
Remedying these would have been the answer.
How much does a timber and damp survey cost?
Only the damp industry (PCA affiliated but most are not even that) companies can afford to provide free surveys as they can recommend that they, themselves, get lots of work. Typically one of their 'free' surveys ends up costing you anything between £1,500 to £6,500 and upwards of £25,000. Not so economic after all!
Our surveys start at £395.00 plus return mileage and, once the fee is agreed, it is fixed no matter how long it takes to carry out the survey. Generally a survey can take a couple of hours or more, depending on ease of access then maybe a full day assessing notes and photographs and compiling the report. If there is access to the roofspace or below floors, we come dressed for the occasion.
A recent survey of a house in Carluke found localised dampness in a back room caused by a bridged damp proof course. This was despite a Home Report surveyor reporting dampness and decay throughout resulting in a £50,000 mortgage retention and a repair bill for damp proofing from Bromac for over £18,000.
It was either outright fraud or total incompetence. I cannot comment on which it was.
The cost of that survey and release of the £50,000? Just £595.
Our surveys start at £395.00 plus return mileage and, once the fee is agreed, it is fixed no matter how long it takes to carry out the survey. Generally a survey can take a couple of hours or more, depending on ease of access then maybe a full day assessing notes and photographs and compiling the report. If there is access to the roofspace or below floors, we come dressed for the occasion.
A recent survey of a house in Carluke found localised dampness in a back room caused by a bridged damp proof course. This was despite a Home Report surveyor reporting dampness and decay throughout resulting in a £50,000 mortgage retention and a repair bill for damp proofing from Bromac for over £18,000.
It was either outright fraud or total incompetence. I cannot comment on which it was.
The cost of that survey and release of the £50,000? Just £595.
If there is a hatch on the ground floor, great, we love crawling around old sub floors. They provide such a detailed view of the overall condition of your home.
Where a vague musty smell is apparent or a soft floor is noted, the sub floor has all the answers why.
Where a vague musty smell is apparent or a soft floor is noted, the sub floor has all the answers why.