UK damp &
decay control

Revised prices for surveys and written reports, effective from 19th July 2010

Damp Survey: £200.00
Timber Decay: £200.00
Combined Damp & Timber Survey: £350.00

Dry rot surveys-please phone or e-mail with details of problem so we can advise on price of dry rot survey

Mortgage specials-mini surveys and reports to satisfy stricter
Building Society lending criteria.

Mini damp survey and report/quote: £150.00
Mini timber survey and report/quote: £150.00
Combined mini damp/timber survey and report/quote: £250.00

Surveys can be arranged by phoning 0800 028 1903 or via e-mail on enquiries@ukdamp.co.uk

Each damp and timber survey includes a written report with recommendations if any works are to be carried out. If we carry out the work ourselves then the survey fee is deducted from the price of the job. All work is covered by long-term guarantees.

We can also provide quotations for any remedial damp and timber decay repairs which have been specified by a Chartered Surveyor (RICS) or any independent Remedial Surveyor (CSRT) who is a member of the Property Care Association or Institute of Specialist Surveyors and Engineers

Looks that this recession/depression is set to continue for another 10 years or so and Loudon Wainwright III ( Rufus's dad) has brought out this great album to cheer us up.

July 2010

We are now looking for experienced surveyors so if you are interested and have the right qulifications then please get in touch by texting 07736 631527 or e-mailing enquiries@ukdamp.co.uk and leave a smuch information as possible about yourself. 

Due to demand from customers we have now started a Property Care and Building Conservation division and are consequently looking to employ skilled plasterers and carpenters and various other trades who have experience in renovation and refurbishment work.For more information please phone 07595 611585 or e-mail enquiries@ukdamp.co.uk

Reports in the papers and on the radio over the last few days indicate that the housing market may have started to bottom out, I think this means that there is more activity in property purchases or could it just mean that price falls are now starting to slow down?

Anyway we are out at the pointy end seeing people who are either buying or selling and requesting surveys as part of mortgage requirements and it seems that there are more housing transactions going through in the last couple of weeks.

Buyers invariably need a mortgage and this often leads to request from the Building Surveyor for a damp and timber survey being carried out in order to get the money from most lenders. This can often lead to purchasers getting a ‘free’ survey/quote which invariably recommends lots of damp-proofing and timber treatments. Most of this work is expensive,disruptive and also avoidable but the purchaser will often use he findings of the ‘free survey’ to negotiate a discount on the already reduced price. Not wanting to lose their buyer the seller is often forced to knock another  few thousand off the price to avoid losing money spent so far on legal fees etc and then having to start the whole process again.

To avoid being gazundered like this the vendor should make sure that fabric of the property is weatherproof and watertight as dampness and timber defects are top of the list when a survey is undertaken and even when there is no apparent dampness, woodworm or fungal decay a surveyor will always alert his client to the possibility of these occurring in the future.

It doesn’t take much to ensure that property will pass and inspection. Basically you need to stop any moisture ingress from outside and make sure that air bricks are not blocked. For more information on how to prevent dampness becoming a problem then please refer to the Environmental Control section on the website.

For more advice on damp and timber surveys when buying or selling a house then please ring 0800 028 1903 or email enquiries@ukdamp.co.uk.

So the Bank of England has started this ‘quantitative easing’ which is supposed to get money or credit moving through the system and kick-start the economy. What the government don’t seem to realize is that the world has changed and everybody has battened down the hatches and has stopped spending so in effect consumerism is dead and that spending levels will never recover to what they were before this recession started.

There will still be demand for some goods and services but these will now tend to be for stuff that we need rather than simply want. This is why supermarkets like Lidl and Morrisons are getting a larger share of the market as shoppers go back to basics and the so called posher ones like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are suffering a bit and are having to copy the stores at the bottom end with similar value lines.

The need/want principle also applies to the car market. I can’t see the point of the Government stepping in to save the manufacturers as they will just churn out hundreds or thousands more cars that can’t be sold when all the cars on the road right now will last for a good few years yet as long they are maintained properly. Eventually cars will be sold but only when people need them and also only when manufacturers reduce prices to affordable levels or they finance sales themselves instead of bleating on about banks not lending money cause if they were so sure of their product then they should have the confidence to lend the money directly to the consumer and get the money back through hire purchase agreements over 3 to 5 years.

The housing market is also suffering pretty badly and we have noticed this in the last 6 months as the majority of our surveys come as the result of Building Society surveys recommending further investigation for dampness and timber defects. However with the interest rates coming down to nearly zero mortgages are getting cheaper and providing buyers have got enough deposit then there are plenty of cheap deals around so the housing market will pick up a bit in the next few months. It will never get as busy as it was before the price crash but this is probably a good thing as the property market had gone a bit daft with lots of us were just using our houses to fund non-essential purchases like cars and holidays.

I reckon that we are in for a long recession but it won’t be the end of the world and there will be still be opportunities for work for lots of people. With us we are still getting loads of calls about damp and timber decay simply because of the bad winter we have had , with all the rain, wind and snow there is bound to be some moisture ingress to the inside and then damage to plaster and timber that needs fixing. Hopefully other builders and contractors are also getting more enquiries as well because houses always need maintenance and somebody’s got to do it.

Anyway just ignore what the government and all the experts are saying as they are just guessing at the outcome and their forecasts are usually wrong so just get on with it cause, as Michael Jackson said last week ‘This is it’.

Watch this space for tips and information to help beat the recession and save you money.