£350 for the problem areas · £450 for the whole property
Black mould on the walls, condensation running down the windows, a damp patch that keeps coming back. Damp and mould are a symptom. We find the cause, so it gets fixed once.
These are the signs people call us about. Each one has more than one possible cause, which is why the inspection finds out which it is before anyone spends money fixing it.
Mould grows where moisture sits on a surface. Most often that is condensation, but a cold spot, a leak or water coming in from outside can do the same.
Warm, moist air meeting cold glass. If the windows stream every morning, the air in the home is wet, and that moisture settles on cold walls too.
Where the patch is tells us a lot. Low on a wall, under a window, round a chimney breast or on a ceiling below a bathroom all point to different causes.
Plaster that sounds hollow or crumbles away has usually been wet for a long time, or is full of salts carried in by water.
Moisture behind the finish pushes it off the wall. In kitchens and bathrooms it is often condensation, elsewhere it can be water getting in.
Salts left behind as water dries out of brick or plaster. They show water has moved through the wall, and they can make a moisture meter read high long after the wall is dry.
Often mould you cannot see yet: behind furniture, inside a cupboard, under the floor or in the loft. We look in the places the smell is coming from.
Mould spray, anti mould paint and a dehumidifier deal with what you can see. If the moisture feeding it is still there, the mould comes back, often within weeks. The same goes for an expensive damp treatment put in for the wrong cause. Finding the cause first is usually the cheapest way to fix it once.
The most common cause of black mould in homes. Moist air from cooking, washing, drying clothes and breathing settles on the coldest surfaces. The fix is usually ventilation, heating or insulation, not damp proofing.
A cold spot in the structure, such as a concrete lintel over a window, an outside corner or a gap in the loft insulation. The inside surface stays colder than the wall around it, so moisture condenses there first. That is why mould so often starts in corners and above windows. Thermal imaging shows it straight away.
A plumbing leak, a blocked gutter, failed pointing, cracked render or a roof defect. Thermal imaging and moisture readings follow the water back to where it comes in.
Ground moisture drawn up through the base of a wall. It does happen, but it is often blamed for damp that has another cause, so we prove it with evidence rather than assume it.
The affected room or rooms, plus every room, roof space, subfloor or outside wall that could be causing it. You are not charged by the room.
The whole house, loft spaces, all rooms and a full outside inspection. The right choice when mould is showing in more than one place, or when you want every room checked.
The figure quoted is the total payable, the same across East Anglia, North London and the West Midlands. No payment is taken to book, and if what you describe does not need an inspection, we will say so on the phone. Buying a home? Start here.
Who carries out the inspection. Every inspection is carried out by an Elmhurst trained Damp and Mould Assessor.
Independent. Vigilant Surveys is an independent damp and mould surveying practice. We carry out no remedial work, sell no products, and take no commission or referral fee from anyone who carries out repairs, so the report says what is causing the problem and nothing else.
Salt, not damp: the meter said damp, the building said otherwise. High damp readings had been flagged ahead of a sale and the buyers were alarmed. Every reading was real, and none of it was water. It was salt in the plaster. The whole survey is published, with the client's permission.
A real damp and mould report: mould around the windows of a flat. Condensation on cold steel framed windows, not rain, not a leak and not rising damp. Download the whole report (PDF, 16 pages, 2 MB). Every reading and finding is as reported; only the client, the address and anything personal have been removed, with the client's permission.
Call, WhatsApp or send the form below. Rory calls you back, usually within a couple of hours, talks it through and confirms the fixed price. No payment to book.
Normally 1 to 2 hours on site. Thermal imaging, moisture readings, humidity and surface temperatures in the affected rooms, and the outside of the building checked wherever the cause could be outside.
Plain English, photographs, the readings and a clear conclusion on the cause, within 24 hours of the survey. Yours to keep and to hand to a landlord, agent or contractor.
"Rory surveyed one of my rental flats in Norwich and identified condensation as the cause of mould in the bathroom. A simple fix, he recommended installing an extractor fan, but good to have it properly assessed and documented."
"I live overseas and rent out my home in Stowmarket, so having a reliable, trustworthy surveyor I can call on is really important to me. Rory found the cause of mould in the bathroom straight away."
"I called Rory in to survey my semi-detached in Stowmarket after noticing some damp issues. He identified the cause straight away, blown render on the external wall allowing water to penetrate. Really impressed by how thorough he was."
Because cleaning removes the mould but not the moisture it grows on. As long as the surface stays damp, whether from condensation, a leak or water coming through the wall, the mould returns, often within weeks. The inspection finds where that moisture is coming from so it can be stopped.
Often it is the same moisture. Condensation on the windows shows the air in the home is holding a lot of water, and it also settles on cold walls, in corners and behind furniture, which is where black mould usually starts. Mould can also come from a leak or penetrating damp, so we measure humidity, dew point and surface temperatures to show which it is.
£350 for the problem areas or £450 for the whole property, inside and out, the same across East Anglia, North London and the West Midlands. The figure quoted is the total payable. Both include thermal imaging, moisture readings and the written report. HMOs, commercial premises and unusually large properties are quoted individually.
They can look alike on a wall and need completely different fixes. Condensation forms on the surface when moist air meets a cold wall. Rising damp is ground moisture drawn up through the base of a wall, typically within the lower metre. Readings on the surface and in the wall, together with humidity and temperatures, tell them apart, and the report sets out the evidence.
No. We carry out no remedial work, sell no products, and take no commission or referral fee from anyone who carries out repairs. You get the cause and what needs doing, in writing, so you can have it put right by whoever you choose.
Yes. Tenants, landlords and agents all book us. We record what is there, measure it and say what is causing it, in a written report that belongs to whoever books it.
Usually 1 to 2 hours on site, depending on the size of the property and how many rooms are affected. The written report is prepared within 24 hours of the survey.
No. It is a damp and mould inspection, focused on finding the cause of the damp or mould you are seeing. It does not replace a Level 2 or Level 3 building survey or a valuation, and it is not designed to meet a lender requirement. Buying a home? Start here.
No payment to book. Tell me what you are seeing and I will call you straight back, usually within a couple of hours, to arrange a visit and confirm the fixed price.
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