Damp surveys across Yorkshire
Damp is a symptom, not a diagnosis. A specialist damp survey establishes what is actually causing the problem in your property, how far it has spread and what it will take to put right, before anyone recommends a single treatment.
When you should have a damp survey carried out
Most people call us for one of six reasons. If any of these sound like your situation, a survey is the right first step.
You are buying a property
A mortgage valuation is not a damp survey. The valuer is establishing what the property is worth, and a damp meter reading in the wrong hands can flag a problem that is not there, or miss one that is. Read our guide on whether you need a survey before buying.
A retention has been placed on your mortgage
If a lender has held back funds pending a specialist report, we can carry out the inspection and produce a report and quotation in the format lenders expect, usually within a week.
You can see damp, mould or salting
Peeling wallpaper, tide marks, black mould, blown plaster or a musty smell all point to moisture, but they point to very different causes. Here are the ten warning signs worth knowing.
You are a landlord or letting agent
Damp and mould in a rented property carries real legal weight under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act and Awaab’s Law. A written report from a qualified surveyor gives you a defensible record of the cause and the action taken.
You have been given a quote you are unsure about
If a contractor has recommended an injected DPC or tanking without investigating why the wall is wet, a second opinion from a CSRT surveyor is worth having before you commit.
You are about to start building work
Extensions, conversions, new floors and re-plastering all go wrong when there is an unresolved moisture problem underneath. Better to know before the work starts.
One wall, three completely different problems
Rising damp, penetrating damp and condensation can produce almost identical marks on the same wall, and each one is treated a completely different way. This is what the survey is for, and it is why we will not quote for work we have not investigated.
Rising damp
Groundwater drawn up through the masonry where there is no damp proof course, or where the existing one has been bridged by raised external ground levels. Treated with a damp proof course and salt-retardant re-plastering.Tell-tale sign: a horizontal tide mark up to about a metre, with salt bloom in the plaster
Penetrating damp
Water tracking laterally through the building fabric: eroded pointing, cracked render, blocked gutters, defective flashings. The fix is repairing the defect, not treating the wall.Tell-tale sign: a patch at any height that gets noticeably worse after heavy rain
Condensation and mould
Moisture the building cannot shift, sitting on cold surfaces. Nothing is wrong with the walls. Resolved through ventilation and condensation control, and diagnosed properly with a condensation survey.Tell-tale sign: black spotting in corners and window reveals, worst between October and March
Not sure which one you are looking at? Our guide on telling condensation and rising damp apart covers the differences in more detail.
What happens during your damp survey
Every survey follows the same structure, whether it is a one bedroom flat or a four storey commercial building.
Get in touch
Call, email or use the form. We ask what you have noticed and confirm the fee before anything is booked.
External inspection
Ground levels, pointing, render, gutters, downpipes, air bricks and the DPC line. Much internal damp starts outside.
Internal inspection
Room by room, including cellar and roof space. Readings taken at multiple heights so the pattern tells the story.
Diagnosis
Readings interpreted alongside how the building is constructed, to separate the cause from the symptom.
Written report
Findings, cause, photographs and recommendations in priority order, in the format lenders and solicitors expect.
Your quotation
An itemised, fixed-price quotation for the recommended work. No obligation, and nothing booked until you are ready.
What your damp survey includes
- Internal, external, basement and roof space inspection where accessible
- Moisture meter testing across all relevant walls, at multiple heights
- Salt analysis where rising damp is suspected
- Assessment of ventilation, heating and how the property is being used
- Inspection of accessible timbers for wet rot, dry rot and woodworm
- Photographs of the affected areas, annotated where it helps
- A clear explanation of the cause, in plain English rather than jargon
- Recommendations for remedial work, in order of priority
- An itemised, fixed-price quotation for any work we would carry out
If the honest answer is that your property does not need treatment, that is what the report will say. We would rather tell you to improve the ventilation and repoint a gable than sell you a damp proof course you do not need.
Most inspections take one to three hours on site. We aim to inspect within a few days of your enquiry, with the written report normally inside a week and sooner where a sale is depending on it.
Your survey is carried out by a qualified surveyor
All Dry was founded by Simon Cooper, known throughout the industry as Damp Sam. Every survey is carried out by a surveyor holding the recognised industry qualifications, not by a salesperson with a moisture meter.
The Certificated Surveyor in Remedial Treatments and the Certificated Surveyor in Structural Waterproofing are the two qualifications that matter in this trade. We hold both. More about the team.
Properties that need a more experienced eye
Not every survey is a semi with a damp patch. Some buildings behave in ways a standard inspection will miss, and getting the diagnosis wrong on these is expensive.
Commercial premises
Shops, offices, workshops and industrial units, including pre-purchase reports for commercial buyers. Larger floor areas and mixed construction mean more ground to cover and more places for moisture to enter.
Older and period properties
Solid stone and brick walls, lime plaster and breathable construction do not behave like a modern cavity wall, and treating them as though they do causes real damage. Yorkshire has a great many of them.
Rented and managed property
Portfolios, single lets and blocks managed on behalf of owners. We report in a form that stands up when a tenant, an agent and an owner all need to agree on what is happening and who is fixing it.
What a damp survey costs
The fee depends on the size and type of property, how far we are travelling and whether the inspection covers cellars, roof spaces or commercial premises. We confirm the fee before booking, so there are no surprises.
Full detail is on our pricing page.
Your survey fee comes off the cost of the work
While our current offer is available, we will deduct the survey fee from the cost of the recommended damp remedial work if you instruct All Dry to complete it. In practice the diagnosis costs you nothing if you go ahead with us.
See a survey through to the finished job
Two write-ups that follow a property from the first inspection and the readings taken, through the diagnosis, to the completed work.
Rising damp treatment in a Barnsley property
A failed damp proof course diagnosed on survey, then treated with a chemical DPC and salt-retardant re-plastering. Photographed at every stage.
Read the case study
Cellar sump and pump drainage in a Barnsley coal store
Below ground water ingress that no damp proof course would have solved, resolved with a designed drainage system after a CSSW inspection.
Read the case studyMore completed projects are on our recent work page.
What our customers say
Verified reviews from homeowners, landlords, letting agents and property buyers across South and West Yorkshire.
Damp surveys across South and West Yorkshire
We are based in Barnsley and survey throughout Yorkshire. We also travel further afield for pre-purchase reports, quoted individually.
Damp survey questions we are asked most
A mortgage valuation establishes what a property is worth to the lender. The valuer will usually carry a damp meter, but interpreting the readings correctly is a specialism in its own right. Where there is any doubt, lenders increasingly require a report from a PCA member company with a qualified surveyor, which is what a damp survey provides.
The fee depends on the size and type of property, the location and whether cellars, roof spaces or commercial premises are involved. We confirm the fee with you before booking. Guide figures are on our pricing page.
While our current offer is available, we will deduct the survey fee from the cost of the recommended damp remedial work if you instruct All Dry to complete it.
We aim to inspect most properties within a few days of your enquiry, with the written report normally following inside a week. If you are working to a deadline on a purchase, tell us when you call and we will be straight with you about whether we can meet it.
Photographs are a useful starting point and we are happy to look at them. They will not usually be enough to establish the cause with confidence, though, and an accurate quotation for remedial work almost always needs an inspection.
Seeing damp tells you there is moisture. It does not tell you where the moisture is coming from, and rising damp, penetrating damp and condensation are treated entirely differently. Treating the wrong cause is the single most expensive mistake property owners make.
Our reports are produced in the format lenders and solicitors expect, including the findings, the cause, the recommended remedial work and a costed quotation, prepared by a CSRT qualified surveyor working for a PCA member company.
Yes. We work with landlords, letting agents and managing agents across Yorkshire. A written report from a qualified surveyor gives you a clear record of the cause and the recommended action, which matters where damp and mould are disputed.
Yes. We carry out damp and timber surveys on commercial and residential premises, including pre-purchase reports on commercial buildings.
Then the report will say so. Part of what you are paying for is an independent answer, and that sometimes means being told the walls are fine and the problem is ventilation, a leaking gutter or the way the property is being heated.
More answers on our FAQ page.
Find out what is really causing the damp
Tell us about your property, where it is and what you have noticed. We will explain the most appropriate next step and confirm the survey fee before anything is booked.
01226 287181