Getting a damp survey is easy and nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, we understand that there are many questions that homeowners have about damp surveys. In particular, homeowners want to know what kind of questions they will be asked on the damp survey. In this article we hope to explain what you’ll be asked and why.
There are lots of things we may need to ask you but please be sure that the information you provide us with is not shared with anybody else. Our staff fully understand the requirements under GDPR and the need to keep the information you provide safe.
The sort of questions you may be asked, when speaking to our Surveyors’ Secretary, include the following:
Your name and current address
So that the report can be addressed to you and the report is for your attention only unless you choose to share it with others.
Your contact telephone number(s)
So that we are able to contact you in the event there are any issues with the survey time once booked and also, after the survey report is provided. Our Surveyor may need to contact you on the day of the appointment to advise of the arrival time.
Your email address
The report will be emailed to you unless you specifically request a hard copy to be posted.
The address of the property you are wanting us to inspect
If this is not the property which you currently reside at, it is obviously important that our Surveyor knows which property to go to.
Whether there are parking restrictions locally
Some areas have residents parking restrictions for either the whole day, or part of the day and it is useful to know so that our Surveyor can factor in the time it takes to find parking. If you are able to provide parking vouchers, this is, of course, very helpful in such cases.
Whether or not you own the property, rent the property, are carrying out work on the property or are buying the property
It is important that we know who might be in the property, if you do not own it, as they would need to know when our Surveyor is due to attend.
The type and age of property
This is important to know so that we know roughly how long our Surveyor may need. We need to know whether it has a basement, is it a house (terraced, semi-detached, detached etc.) or a flat and if so, what floor is the flat on.
Whether or not the property is currently occupied
Again, if it is occupied but not by you, then the occupants need to know when we will be attending. If it is not occupied, we need to know who will meet with our Surveyor to let them into the property.
The size of the property i.e. the number of bedrooms
This helps to understand the size of the property once we know the age and type of property we are being asked to inspect.
The type of inspection you require
Are there specific problems in specific areas you know about or is the inspection more general? Do you require us to inspect for timber related problems i.e. wood-boring insects and fungal decay (wet rot and / or dry rot), or rising damp problems, basement waterproofing requirements or structural repairs such as brick stitching, movement cracks etc?
Whether you have any knowledge of specific problems we are to inspect
This helps us to understand the extent of the survey you are requesting.
Whether previous remedial treatment work has been carried out and is it under guarantee with a third party Company
This is important because if previous work has been carried out and is still under guarantee with another Company, then, in the first instance, it is that Company who should be given the opportunity to inspect the property.
Who will meet our Surveyor at the property
If it is not going to be you, then we need to know the relationship to you. It may be that you would prefer us not to discuss our findings with whoever is to meet us on site.
Confirmation of the date and time the survey will be carried out
Our appointments are generally time booked on specific dates and our Surveyors will always do their very best to ensure they arrive at, or before the booked time. If they are running late due to traffic etc. then they will contact you to advise of an expected arrival time.
Due to current situations in the country, we will also ask questions in relation to COVID-19.
If the appointment is booked, our Surveyors Secretary will email you prior to the appointment with a number of questions which need to be answered. If they are not answered, our Surveyor will not attend at the given date and time. It is important that we keep our staff safe and also, ensure you remain safe.
Hopefully, this provides some insight into the sort of questions you may be asked when booking an appointment. It may sound like a lot of questions but it isn’t really and it is important that we can build a picture of your requirements before attending the property.
Please contact us on 01276 66466, or email to info@preservationtreatments.co.uk for further assistance and we look forward to being of service to you.
