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Damp Surveys in Notting Hill, as well as general RICS property surveys for issues that require more specialized attention, can be provided by chartered surveyors. Many buildings, both contemporary and historic, can suffer from dampness, and precisely diagnosing how much dampness is present and what is causing it is the first and essential step to managing and remediating this potentially serious building defect.
Any home or property can suffer from serious damp problems. The sources of these damp problems are usually related to landscaping, where the grounds around the house have been improperly sloped. That can channel water toward the house rather than away from it. The landscaping around the house is only one of several exterior features that can cause damp. The most common interior source of damp is a blocked vent in the subfloor or in the wall on the floor level. When experiencing damp in the house, it’s wise to check these vents first.
When rainwater is allowed access to the exterior of the building, either through defective construction, wind-driven rain, or being drawn through the action of salts in the bricks, it will percolate and so control is needed at its source.
Rain falling on the exterior must be effectively drained away by a system of gutters and downspouts. The wall must shed water as well as the roof, and this requires the brickwork to be in good condition. A penetrating damp problem can usually be traced back to something that is going wrong at the exterior of the wall.
It’s a drop in the bucket, so to speak. An undetected pipe leak, no matter how minor, and the same for a spill from a tank, cistern, bath, shower or washing machine, is eventually going to lead to wood rot and decay if the moisture content is allowed to linger.
If there is any possibility of dampness, the team conducting the general Home Survey will check to see if it actually exists. They do this by measuring the moisture content in the walls of your home. If the survey team’s initial assessment suggests that there’s a problem, they will recommend that a damp and timber assessor come in and investigate the situation further. The work performed by this special team is called a Damp Survey, and its purpose is two-fold: first, it tries to identify the source of the problem. Once that has been determined, it then seeks to uncover the extent.
On the day of the assessment, the vendor or occupier will be questioned about the current damp situation. The vendor or occupier is asked to answer a series of questions about the damp issue. Once these are answered, the surveyor moves on to verify the comments with physical checks around the property, often with a damp meter.
The surveyor will inspect the property and work his or her way through it, usually concentrating on the areas that have been highlighted in the previous building survey as “risky” in some way. These two parts together give a pretty good idea of the problem.
The Damp Report describes in straightforward language the extent and causes of the damage to your property. Recommended next steps are clearly laid out. The report may also reflect additional desk research carried out by the surveyors to determine what they currently know about the condition of your property, how it came to be in this state, and what it might cost to remedy the situation.
Surveyors can help in so many different ways that it’s impossible to cover them all here. The upfront cost for the Damp Report is usually around £600. Yet, in most cases, it saves more than it costs once you follow up with the good advice and directions given in the report, as you avoid the existing damp problem worsening and becoming cost-prohibitive.
Damp surveys are carried out in several cities across the UK, including Notting Hill and London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and Cardiff. If dampness is apparent in your property, a building surveyor will use a damp meter to check the internal walls for rising damp and commission a report to identify the extent of the problem, its causes, and the remedial work necessary to fix it.
The most common type of dampness in buildings is rising damp. This occurs when moisture from the ground rises through walls and floors—thanks to capillary action, which enables water to defy gravity. Immediate action must then be taken to remedy the problem.
To remediate rising damp, an introduction of a small-scale chemical damp-proofing course is required. In some instances, the ground floor slabs must be removed so that the damp proof membrane can be replaced. Damp specialists usually offer a 30-year guarantee on their work.
Another cause of dampness is condensation, which is ordinarily the fault of the people who occupy the building. They tend not to ventilate adequately and often dry clothes on radiators, which are good ways to produce lots of moisture in the air. With more ventilation, there would be less dampness.
Woodworm attack a variety of timbers and come in many sizes, with an average length of about 3 to 25 mm. The infestation starts with the female wood-boring beetle laying its eggs in cracks and crevices of the wood and the larvae feed on and tunnel into the wood, causing “worm” holes on and just under the surface of the wood. Treatments with insecticide have the best chance of success when the infested piece of wood can be reached and painted.
Fungi flourish in wet and damp conditions. They thrive when the moisture content of the environment exceeds 20%. This triggers them to grow. When moist wood is over 20% in moisture content, this is the perfect place for dry rot to start. The dry rot fungus works silently and invisibly for a period of time (the “incubation period”) before it becomes active and starts to do its damage.
In this period, the wood that’s affected by the dry rot begins to change in colour, loses most of its moisture, gets a little bit brittle, and starts to crack.
Wood rot is considered wet when humidity levels are above 30%-50%. It is characterized by dark brown stains and, longitudinally, by cracks that are more like splits than anything else. The first thing you do when you discover any of that is to locate and stop the source of wetness—it isn’t going to get better without that. Once you’ve done that and you know the wood’s not going to stay damp, you can safely expose the affected areas to the air so you can see how much damage was really done.
If you think timber is decaying, whether from woodworm or fungus, and you require a damp report for your property located in Notting Hill, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, or Cardiff, reach out to us. We will gladly connect you with our team of Chartered Surveyors so you can get the help you need.
A surveyor might not be able to see everything, such as concealed wiring and plumbing, and so is somewhat limited by what is visible. Because property surveys are done non-invasively of the property, a surveyor can not see all hidden defects.
It could spare you thousands of pounds in very expensive maintenance and repair bills, if it uncovers hidden defects or shoddy construction practices that a routine mortgage evaluation wouldn’t catch. The surveyor doesn’t, however, pull up floorboards or move carpets unless they are loose and you opted for a Level 3 survey.
RICS recommends a Home Buyer’s Survey for fairly new, conventionally built properties that are in good condition. For older homes, more expensive, non-standard construction, and/or more run-down properties, they recommend the more detailed Level 3 Building Survey.
The Full Building Survey report includes the following:
When it comes to the detail that the surveyor will go into concerning defects, repairs, and maintenance, the Homebuyer Survey is fairly standard. Full Building Surveys, however, are more refined and go into more detail about possible and likely defects. Repairs and maintenance are covered in more detail. The Survey cost depends on the age, size, and value of the property.
The analysis they undertake is a visual inspection. This means that, for the most part, the building components that can be seen will be looked at and assessed in accordance with the surveyor’s remit. The Home Survey Report will show you the visible defects and then go on to discuss the kinds of partially hidden or totally hidden defects that the surveyor thinks you should be aware of. It will also try to clarify what kinds of repair work need to be done and the nature of the repairs. The survey is effectively a way to consider “defects” and their potential impact on the building.
A Building Survey Report contains the most important information for understanding the condition of a property. The surveyors that undertake the work follow a set procedure. The first part of the report contains a general overview of the property and its surroundings. The second part details the major and minor problems with the property’s components, inside and out. These problems range from serious structural defects to issues with doors or windows that don’t close properly, and everything in between. The report is written in clear English, complemented by diagrams and photographs. If any of the problems found are what a surveyor might consider important, that’s what the report indicates—using clear and unambiguous language.
Surveyors usually use a tick box to indicate methods of repair when drafting a building survey report. They are also required to comment on the timescale of any repairs. A condition rating is typically included: what needs to be addressed immediately, what is in the process of deteriorating but is in reasonable condition, and what has not deteriorated at all.
A building surveyor is responsible for a variety of checks and tests during a building inspection. These could be checks or tests for damp and woodworm, or they could be visual inspections of the building’s structure. In building surveying, there are visual inspections of roofs – checking for tiles and slates (if applicable) and also checking for leadwork (if applicable) and looking at the junctions between roof and wall. If the wall structure has brick in it, the surveyor will visually check for any “spalling” (brick breaking apart visibly) and any bulging (brick failing to hold its place visibly), for example.
If defects need fixing immediately, then the options recommended for this survey specify what to repair and give some idea of how long the problem has existed. For the most part, this survey describes recommended repair approaches that are standard in the industry and that do not require excessive expenditure. Future maintenance is also discussed, including what to expect when the problem being surveyed is not repaired and what to expect with repairs that are made but with questionable methodology.
Your surveyor will explain some of the legal aspects of purchasing the building, covering—in as much or as little detail as you desire, and their implications, but this is subject to your solicitor verifying.
You might consider having a separate market valuation done to determine whether the property’s asking price is warranted. You’ll also need a reinstatement cost valuation for insurance reasons.
RICS’s industry guidelines suggest building surveys for properties that are large, very old, in some disrepair, or have unusual features. Building surveys are also recommended if you plan to do any significant renovations or extensions.
If you’re purchasing a relatively modern home that’s in decent shape and built to ordinary standards, then a Home Buyer Survey is an acceptable choice. If you want the assurance of an inspection and report that are pretty much guaranteed to turn up any issues that might be hidden or just hard to see, then you should go for a Full Building Survey instead.
The Full Building Survey is more detailed; it is more specifically tailored to the property your surveyor would be inspecting. It also comes with more advice on the visible defects found and on the potential hidden defects that they suspect may be present. Your surveyor will illustrate reports with photographs so that you can clearly see what has been discovered. Both the Home Buyer and Full Building Surveys describe the repairs needed, the order in which the repairs should be done, and the kind of “maintenance measures” that will be required to keep the property in good condition.
A HomeBuyer Report does include a market valuation as well as reinstatement costs. However, a Full Building Survey does not. The main reason for the differences in what is and isn’t included in the two types of reports is how focused the reports are on the condition of the property. The Full Building Survey is the most in-depth and comprehensive survey of a property that you can have done.
The commercial building surveyors on our panel possess a profound understanding of how properties are owned and managed. Because of this, they are able to furnish you with clear, sensible, and profound information that renders the property you’re buying intelligible to you and also describes the legal and regulatory environment that’s applicable to it.
Looking for a Chartered Surveyor? If you are buying a property, contact us for a building survey. Our panel of CIOB, RPSA and RICS surveyors will help you with the Level 2 or Level 3 property survey you need in Notting Hill. We can also assist you in Red Book Valuations, Party Wall Awards and other services. Reach out to us today for building surveyors, valuers and party wall surveyors in London!
