The damp and timber survey that finds what is feeding the rot

£350 for a typical London house or flat - one dwelling, up to three storeys - booked online, with the written report included. The price does not change with the number of rooms affected. Independent London damp and timber surveys published elsewhere run from about £190 to £400, and free surveys from treatment companies are priced into the treatment they recommend. Blocks of flats, larger properties and commercial premises are quoted from the scope.

An in-person inspection of accessible structural and joinery timbers - floors, sub-floor voids, roof timbers, lintels, skirtings and stairs - probed and moisture-read, plus the walls, external defects and ventilation that supply the moisture. The report, within 48-72 hours, identifies the organism, whether it is active, the extent of damage timber by timber, the moisture source and a prioritised repair sequence, and is written to be forwarded to a lender, solicitor, contractor or landlord as it stands.

Look at the holes and what is under them. Active woodworm leaves fresh, clean-edged flight holes with pale, gritty bore dust (frass) beneath or inside them, and adult beetles emerge between May and September. Old holes are dark, weathered and empty, and in most London homes that is what they are: historic common furniture beetle in pre-1960s softwood that ended decades ago. The survey states which it is, whether the species found can damage structural timber, and whether anything needs doing - because the PCA's position is that treatment is only justified where there is evidence of active infestation.

Wet rot is any of more than fifty fungi that attack timber above roughly 30 per cent moisture content and stay where the water is - a leaking gutter, a damp joist end. Dry rot is one fungus, Serpula lacrymans, which takes hold at a lower moisture level and can travel through masonry and behind plaster to reach new timber. The two need different scopes of repair, and misnaming wet rot as dry rot is how a localised job becomes a whole-room strip-out. Woodworm is neither - it is beetle larvae, not fungus. The survey names the fungus from the evidence - mycelium, fruiting bodies, cracking pattern, moisture profile - not from a price list.

Only if it is active and in timber that matters. Historic flight holes in sound softwood - the most common finding in London - need no treatment, and the PCA's own guidance is that treatment should be carried out only where there is evidence of a live infestation. Where activity is confirmed, the report says which timbers, whether the species can weaken structure, and what the moisture behind it is, so any treatment is targeted rather than a whole-house spray. Damp Surveyor Near Me sells no treatment, so a dead infestation is reported as dead.

Historic woodworm in sound timber rarely affects a sale or a mortgage. An active infestation, or any mention of dry rot, is different: lenders commonly make the mortgage conditional on a specialist damp and timber report, and buyers treat the findings as a negotiating point. An independent report that states the organism, whether it is active, the moisture source and the repair cost is what settles the condition - and because it carries no treatment quotation, it is the evidence a lender, solicitor or buyer can rely on.

Yes. When a valuation or a Level 2 or Level 3 survey notes rot, damp or woodworm, lenders commonly ask for a specialist damp and timber report before completing. This survey is that report: independent, written to be forwarded to the lender or solicitor as it stands, and with no treatment quotation attached. If you are buying and want the whole property assessed as well, the RICS Home Survey from Damp Surveyor Near Me includes the damp and timber diagnosis in the same visit.

Yes - it has to. Rot and most insect attack only establish in timber that is damp, so the moisture is investigated as part of every survey: a leaking parapet gutter, a bridged damp-proof course, a blocked sub-floor vent, a bathroom above. That is what makes the repair order right - stop the water, dry the fabric, replace what is structurally gone, treat only what needs treating, and leave alone what can safely be left.

The survey is non-intrusive by default: hatches, voids, loose boards and accessible timbers are inspected and probed. Fixed boards are lifted only with the owner's permission and only where the evidence demands it, and the report says where further opening-up is worth the cost. Nothing is drilled, sprayed or cut on the day.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces - suspended ground floors over an unventilated void, joist ends built into solid walls, a century of blocked air bricks - are the classic wet rot address, and common furniture beetle is very common in their pre-1960s softwood. Converted flats and basements, where a small leak behind tanking runs for years, are the classic dry rot address. Loft conversions find rot in rafters and purlins under a roof that has leaked at the valley or parapet.

Because it is not free - it is priced into the treatment it recommends, which is why timber treatment firms recommend treatment so often and why historic woodworm gets sprayed. An independent survey is priced to get the diagnosis right: Damp Surveyor Near Me carries out no timber treatment or damp proofing, so a dead infestation is reported as dead, wet rot is not called dry rot, and where work is justified the report defines the timbers, the organism and the purpose of the repair - avoiding both the strip-out that was never needed and the spray that never addressed the leak.

For council and housing association tenants in England, yes from 30 November 2026, when Phase 2 of Awaab's Law extends the fixed investigation and repair timescales to structural collapse and falling elements - which includes floors, ceilings and stairs weakened by decay - alongside excess cold and heat, falls, fire, electrical and hygiene hazards. Damp and mould have been covered since 27 October 2025. Private tenants are not yet covered; the government opened a consultation on extending the law to private tenancies in October 2026.