Free Damp and Timber Survey and Report

Free Damp and Timber Survey and Report?

Free Damp and Timber Survey and Report. Is a report really free? The companies offering free surveys are usually making money by recommending treatment no matter what! Unless you are a charitable volunteer, I don’t know anyone that works for free. A survey costs a surveyor and a company a lot of money to undertake. They have spent a lot of money and time training to become experts in their field. They will need a car, petrol, ladder, moisture meter and other analysing equipment, paper, pens, lifting equipment and that’s not to mention the office, administration, phones and website costs. So if they were to carry out 50 free surveys and found nothing wrong with the properties, do you think they would still be in business? No!

So let’s focus on companies/individuals who do offer free surveys. If they were to carry out free surveys on those same 50 properties, they would have recommended treatment no matter what – even if the property is perfectly maintained and bone dry. Why? Because of all the costs mentioned above! They normally recommend installing a chemical damp proof course, as they take advantage of the fact that the science of damp is not common knowledge. They prey on people who do not understand the situation, and most of these “surveyors” are salesmen that will have the gift of the gab.

We carry out surveys on a daily basis where the client has already had a surveyor on commission to carry out a  damp and timber survey. They may have also had a builder in that thinks he knows what the issue is. 9 times of 10 they will have recommended a chemical damp proof course as they think the issue is rising damp.

We then carry out an independent survey on the property to find no rising damp at all. The issue is normally down to bridging of the original damp proof course, condensation, high path/driveways/flowerbeds, or defective rainwater goods.

The treatment for this is not installing a new damp proof course. You simply fix the actual issue, whether it be the guttering, de-bridging the plasterwork or lowering the ground levels outside. If the plaster is still in good condition then there is a chance you may not have to re-plaster –  you can allow the walls to dry out naturally.

 

 

 

This is bridging (NOT rising damp)

This is why you always pay for a damp survey or a damp and timber survey. Avoid free surveys completely!!