ATi Damp SurveyHome / Services / Independent Damp Surveys
Independent damp surveys: a report with nothing to sell
The problem with most damp reports is structural rather than technical: the firm diagnosing the problem is the firm that would be paid to fix it. ATi carries out no remedial work of any kind. We do not install, we do not treat, we take no commission and we recommend no contractors, so a report concluding that nothing needs doing costs us exactly the same as one that does not.
Who instructs us
- Buyers whose homebuyer or building survey flagged damp and referred it on
- Owners holding a quote for invasive work who want to know whether it is justified
- Landlords and managing agents who need a defensible position before a claim, not after
- Leaseholders in dispute with a freeholder over where water is entering
- Solicitors who need a report written to survive the other side reading it
What the survey involves
Calibrated moisture readings across a grid rather than at the worst looking spots, so the profile is recorded and not just the peak, because the shape of the moisture is what separates rising damp from a leak from lateral water. Surface temperatures against comparison points where condensation is in question, so a cold bridge is demonstrated rather than asserted. Air temperature, humidity and the resulting dew point.
Measured ventilation performance, which is the single most useful number in most London damp reports and the one most often missing. A full external inspection: ground levels, lightwells and their drainage, gullies, rainwater goods, roof coverings, parapets, valley gutters, flashings, render and pointing. Internal construction, finishes and any accessible timber.
What the report contains
The diagnosed cause with the evidence for it, the readings and where they were taken, photographs, and what should be done in order of priority. Where something cannot be established without opening up, it says exactly where to open and how little will answer the question, which matters twice over on listed and conservation property.
Where the water crosses from one part of a building to another, it describes the route in the terms a lease uses, so the question of whose repair it is can be applied to established facts. We do not interpret leases and we do not need to.
What we do not do
We do not carry out damp proofing, waterproofing, timber treatment, ventilation installation or building repair. We do not tender for the work we identify. We do not recommend contractors and we take no referral fee from anyone you instruct.
That is not a limitation, it is the product. A report from a practice with no interest in the remedy is the one that carries weight with a seller, a freeholder, a managing agent, an insurer or a tribunal, and it is the reason people instruct us rather than the firm that quoted for the work.
Book an independent survey
Same day response to every enquiry, and a written, evidence-based report within 24 hours of the visit. Put your postcode in the form and we will confirm cover and fee the same day.
Book a surveyOr call 020 3355 4944.
Questions
Why does it matter that you do no remedial work?
Because it removes the conflict that sits underneath most damp diagnoses. When the party inspecting is the party who would be paid to treat, a recommendation to treat is worth less than it looks, however honest the individual surveyor. Our fee is the same whatever we conclude, so "no work is required" and "this needs a full treatment" cost us identically to write. That is what makes the conclusion worth something to a third party.
Our building survey said to get a damp and timber specialist. Is that you?
Yes, with one important difference. That referral usually goes to a firm that carries out damp proofing, which means the diagnosis gets made by the business that would carry out the treatment. We are a specialist practice that surveys and reports only. You get the specialist assessment the referral asked for, without the referral quietly becoming a sales appointment.
Will your report be accepted by a solicitor, insurer or tribunal?
It is written on the assumption that somebody will read it looking for reasons to reject it. That means recorded readings against locations rather than general statements, comparison points, measured ventilation performance rather than description, photographs, and clear separation between what was observed, what was measured and what is concluded from them. Independence is the other half of it, and it is why we structured the practice this way.