Our client had just bought this property and as part of the mortgage conditions had to have a damp survey undertaken. A ‘free survey’ was arranged by the Estate Agent by one of the main damp-proofing firms in the area who regularly tout all the agents with special services. Not surprisingly ‘rising damp’ was found and chemical damp-proofing together with associated internal plastering was recommended at a cost of £3,000. We found that the dampness was due to an overflowing gutter which was allowing water to accumulate at the base of the wall and thereby creating a ‘moisture reservoir’ allowing low-level water ingress which then appeared as ‘rising damp’ internally. We prepared a report for our client and saved them £2,800 after paying for the survey and this report acted as a guarantee which satisfied the Building Society

Pelham Road, Wimbledon SW19. December 2007. DRY ROT & WOODWORM

This property was in probate and had been put up for sale but had been neglected for around 30 years and had fallen into a state of disrepair and therefore needed extensive renovations by the new owners. A mortgage survey had recommended woodworm and dry rot treatments and ‘free surveys’ and recommendations were obtained which resulted in quotes for dry rot eradication and woodworm treatments to all timbers in the house for approximately £10,000. Our survey showed that there had been a small outbreak of dry rot on the ground floor due to moisture ingress from raised ground levels which had also blocked some air bricks and restricted sub-floor ventilation and this also lead to some localised woodworm infestation. We recommended that ground levels were reduced and extra air bricks installed. Plaster and timber affected by damp and dry rot were removed by builders during the renovation works and the dry rot was found to be dormant and no fungicidal treatments were required. Our fees for the survey, report and further sit attendance was £500 and the labour & materials cost incurred for the eradication works were less than £1,000 so our client saved approximately £8,500

Steam Mills, Cinderford, Glos.

Our client (MrsD) was in the process of purchasing this semi detached stone built cottage in the Forest of Dean.
Dampness was picked up in the Building Society survey and a ‘’free survey and quote’’ was obtained from of the largest and most reputable firms in the area. The cost of the work for damp-proofing and associated plastering work came to over £6,000.
As the property had recently been renovated Mrs D sought a second opinion. Our survey showed that a French drain had been installed to control any rising dampness and all internal walls had been re-plastered. The walls were still drying out and surface dampness was only still evident as the property was unoccupied and therefore not heated and ventilated and our report stated that the property would eventually dry without any further remedial work
Mrs D took our report to her lender who were satisfied with our findings and the mortgage was issued without resorting to expensive, disruptive and unnecessary work. After paying our survey fee Mrs D saved approximately £5,800.

Charlwood Place, London SW1.

The property is a basement flat which has been refurbished extensively over the last 20 years.
The selling agent obtained quotes from two large damp-proofing and timber treatment firms based in the London area. Both recommended extensive damp-proofing works and submitted quotations in the region of £8,000.
Our survey showed that during refurbishment works a chemical damp-proof course had already been installed and that the dampness was due to a leak from the bath and moisture ingress from the steps to the raised ground floor flat.
After stopping the source of dampness only minor plaster repairs and replacement of some skirting boards was necessary. This together with some ground level reductions to prevent bridging of the original slate damp-proof course amounted to approximately £2,000.
The first time buyers of the flat therefore saved roughly £6,000 which would have been otherwise wasted on an injected damp-proof course.