From real Vigilant surveys
Every photograph here is from a real Vigilant survey, published with the client's permission. This is what goes into your report.
£350 for the problem areas · £450 for the whole property, inside and out · £500 with costings
Independent damp and mould surveys across Stoke-on-Trent and its six towns, from Tunstall and Burslem to Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. Damp and mould are a symptom. Unless the cause is found and fixed, they come back. A Vigilant survey finds the cause, and we have no damp proofing, no treatment and no contractor payment to gain from the answer. Thermal imaging and calibrated moisture readings on every survey, included in the price, and a clear written report within 24 hours of the visit.
Buying a home, or want to know what the work should cost? Whole Property Survey with Costings, £500
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.
Every room, the loft spaces, and every outside elevation of the building inspected. The right choice when you want every room checked, or when a landlord or agent wants the whole picture on file.
Everything in the whole property survey, inside and out, every outside elevation included, plus indicative costs for the work needed to fix it, checked against West Midlands rates. For homeowners, buyers and sellers. Who it is for
Same price anywhere in our West Midlands area, with no travel charge. HMOs, commercial premises and unusually large properties are quoted individually. No payment is taken to book, and if what you describe does not need a survey, we will say so on the phone.
Stoke-on-Trent is six towns, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton, joined in 1910, and much of its housing was built around the potbanks and pits. Longton had more back to back housing than any other pottery town, and 27.6% of the city's homes are still terraced.
The city's private sector stock condition survey (2017) found that 19.2% of private homes were built before 1919, and 36.1% of those were non decent. Non decency was highest in Moorcroft and Burslem Central. Old solid walled terraces are exactly where rising damp gets blamed for problems that are really rain, condensation or salts.
About one home in five in Stoke-on-Trent is privately rented, 20.3% at the 2021 Census. For a landlord, a dated, independent report is the clearest record of a property's condition. For a buyer, it tells you what the damp is before you commit.
Every Vigilant survey follows the same method, wherever you are. We find the cause, not just the symptom, and we put it in writing with the evidence behind it.
Every Vigilant surveyor uses a class leading Protimeter MMS3. It measures moisture in the material, moisture beneath the surface without damaging it, humidity and dew point in the air, and surface temperature, which together show whether damp is coming through a wall or forming on it. But a meter doesn't diagnose damp, a surveyor does. That is why every survey ends in a written report with the readings, the photographs and a clear conclusion, to the same standard whoever books it.
See the method on a real job: The meter said damp. The building said otherwise. High damp readings flagged ahead of a sale, a buyer alarmed, and a survey that showed none of it was water. More case studies
Every photograph here is from a real Vigilant survey, published with the client's permission. This is what goes into your report.
Rated 5.0 on Google from 16 reviews.
“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.”
Jennifer Palmer
Landlord, Stowmarket
“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.”
Kit McNiel
Landlord, Norwich
“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.”
Ben Stone
Homeowner, Stowmarket
Everything in our Whole Property Survey, plus a realistic idea of what it will cost to put right.
We inspect the whole property inside and out: every room we can get into, the loft where access allows, and every outside elevation of the building. We find the cause of the damp, not just the symptom, then give you indicative costs for the work needed to fix it, checked against local rates. Your report is ready within 24 hours of the survey.
Know what the work should cost before the contractors arrive. You'll have the cause, exactly what needs doing and a realistic price range, so you can compare quotes like for like and spot one that's padded, or a damp course you don't need.
Know what you're taking on before you commit. The cause, how far it goes and a realistic cost to put it right, from someone with no interest in the answer. You can plan your budget, and make your decision, on facts.
A buyer's survey has flagged damp and the offer is coming down. An independent report gives both sides the same facts: the cause, what's needed and what it should realistically cost. Sometimes that's far less than the worst case being quoted. Sometimes it isn't. Either way, the conversation about price is based on evidence.
The costs are indicative ranges, not a quote. 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 the same thing whoever books it. It isn't a Level 2 or Level 3 building survey or a valuation, and it doesn't meet any lender requirement. The report is for the person who books it. You're welcome to share it, but only you can rely on it.
See a real one. Download a real Vigilant pre purchase report with costings (PDF, 53 pages, 4 MB). Every reading, photograph and cost is as reported; only the client and the address have been removed, with the client's permission.
Most "free damp surveys" are carried out by the company that sells the treatment. The survey is the sales visit. It is no surprise when the answer is a damp proof course, an injection or a tanking system, whether or not the wall needs one.
Vigilant Surveys does no remedial work at all. No damp proofing arm, no contractor referrals, and no contractor paying us anything in connection with your survey. The report is the only product, so the diagnosis is never shaped by who fixes the problem. Quite often the real answer is far cheaper than the one you were quoted, and when the property does not need the treatment someone has proposed, that goes in writing.
You have been quoted for damp proofing and want to know whether the wall is actually damp, and why. An independent survey answers that before you spend thousands.
Your Level 2 or Level 3 survey flagged damp readings or a musty smell. What buyers book is our Whole Property Survey with Costings, so you know what you are taking on before you commit.
A tenant has reported damp or mould. An independent, evidence led report shows what was found, when, and what needs doing, and it stands up if the matter goes further.
Mould keeps coming back, plaster is blowing or there is a stain that grows after rain. You want the cause, not a guess, and a plan that fixes it once.
Call, WhatsApp or send the form below. We call you back, talk it through and confirm the fixed price. We can usually survey within 5 working days, and there is no payment to book.
Normally 1 to 2 hours on site. Thermal imaging across the affected areas, moisture readings room by room, relative humidity and surface temperatures, and, where the cause could be outside, the outside of the building checked as well.
Plain English, photographs, the readings and a clear conclusion, prepared within 24 hours of the survey and released once payment has cleared. Yours to keep and to hand to a landlord, agent, solicitor or contractor.
As well as Stoke-on-Trent itself, we survey across Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton, Longton, Cobridge and Penkhull, all at the same fixed price with no travel charge.
Elsewhere in the West Midlands: Wolverhampton · Birmingham · Walsall · Dudley · Coventry · Solihull · Sandwell · Telford · Stafford · Cannock · Lichfield · Sutton Coldfield · Worcester · Kidderminster · Shrewsbury · the whole West Midlands
£350 for the problem areas or £450 for the whole property inside and out, every outside elevation included, the same price anywhere in our West Midlands area, and the figure quoted is the total payable. There is no travel charge. If you want indicative costs for the work as well, that is the Whole Property Survey with Costings at £500, our only survey that includes them.
Yes, all six towns, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton, plus Cobridge and Penkhull, at the same fixed price with no travel charge.
Yes. Vigilant Surveys carries out no remedial work, sells no products, and takes no commission or referral fee from anyone who carries out repairs. We are paid for the survey and the report, and nothing else.
A Vigilant Surveys damp surveyor based in the West Midlands, working to the same method, equipment and written report as every Vigilant survey. We tell you who is coming when we confirm your booking.
Rising damp is ground moisture drawn up through a wall, typically affecting the lower metre. Penetrating damp comes in from outside through defects such as failed pointing, blocked gutters or cracked render. Condensation forms when warm moist air meets a cold surface and is the most common cause of mould in homes. They look alike on a wall and need completely different fixes, which is the whole point of diagnosing properly before any work is done.
Usually 1 to 2 hours on site depending on the size of the property and how many rooms are affected. We can usually survey within 5 working days of your call, and the written report is prepared within 24 hours of the survey.
No payment to book. Tell us what is going on and we will call you straight back to arrange a visit and confirm the fixed price.
Vigilant Surveys is an independent damp and mould surveying practice. We diagnose the cause of damp and mould. We carry out no remedial work, sell no products, and take no commission or referral fee from anyone who carries out repairs. We are paid for the survey and the report, and nothing else.
Founded by Rory Thorne in Suffolk, Vigilant Surveys covers East Anglia, North London and the West Midlands.