In order to best understand what's going on in your building we offer a professional dampness survey.
This is NOT your typical quick estimate-type survey that you are likely to get from a tradesman with a pencil behind his ears. This is a very comprehensive professional survey covering the whole building.
During this detailed 15-point survey we assess the following areas:
- The condition and structure of walls
- Building materials used
- The pointing, rendering and plastering
- Past repairs, especially non-building-friendly ones
- The salts content of the walls, often with a professional salts analysis
- The condition of the damp proof course (DPC) if any
- Chimneys
- The moisture content of the walls, areas affected
- Water or rainwater penetration issues
- The condition of drainage
- Condensation problems
- Potential heat bridges in the building
- Elevations, various level differences in/around the building
- Construction and condition of floors
- Cellars and basements etc.
Every building is different. We regard the building holistically and after the survey we sit down with you and give you an thorough overview of the findings with potential remedies to fit YOUR timeline, preferences and vision,
We also point out those solutions or approaches that we would NOT recommend which due to their "corner cutting" nature would not be suitable for your application and would not solve the problem to your satisfaction. However, as always, the choice is ultimately yours, and we are there to advise you on the potential options.
If needed, we can also provide you with a comprehensive report so you can get the facts in writing.
Why Free?
Now, such comprehensive surveys can easily cost several hundreds of pounds. Many companies have a "call-out" fee: they charge even to come out and talk to you. Some other firms on the internet also advocate that free surveys are a bad thing and have no real value. What they don't tell you: they often make a living from selling their own "independent" surveys.
Our philosophy is simple: we regard the initial survey as an opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and competence. Because if you are happy with it, chances are that we might earn your business.
We also believe in the "what goes around comes around" principle. In old buildings we often find problems that are outside of our line of activity. In these cases we will still do our best to point you in the right direction in regards to what specialist tradesman you might need to get your problem sorted.
Some tradesmen with short term vision might call such help "wasted time". We don't. We know we have helped someone and help is never wasted. Very often we are being recommended and we get quite a bit of business through word-by-mouth recommendation.
Real Customer Feedback
Don't take our word for it. Here is what others, real people like you are saying about our building surveys and free introductory work:
Let me first say - they didn't actually do any work - just came for a survey and to give me a quote. What a professional guy Val is. Spent 90 mins assessing the property to advise the damp course is OK. Very knowledgeable and gave me good ideas to tackle the water ingress problem. You want to know someone who is honest and reliable - Val is the man. Lovely guy and I couldn't fault him.
The comprehensive advice we received from your engineer about dealing with condensation was very helpful as it turned out we didn't have rising damp. He gave this advice knowing that he wasn't going to get any business from us which is remarkable. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use this company if I did have a rising damp problem.
A first class job so far. Conscientious surveyor who was patient and well informed. Engineer was thoughtful, efficient and tidy. It will be some time before the effectiveness of the work is fully apparent. An unusually reassuring experience.
Amazing service! From telephone call to survey to receiving the report! The diagnosis was exactly what the issue is, all advice and information was spot on! Even after the survey any questions I asked were answered professionally and in rapid time! I am having serious problems with my council property and having this report really helped to get things moving! Thank you for all your help... I can not fault your service and highly recommend your company.
Val was very quick in attending to our request for a visit to the property and quickly pointed us in the right direction about what was required to remedy our issue. We would most definitely recommend Val and will use his services again for any other jobs that we may have.
Fantastic and exceptionally knowledgeable! I will definitely recommend you to anyone with damp problems. Thanks.
Sample Reports
Here are some sample reports we have created following our surveys.