Buying a new home is one of life’s biggest milestones. From a first home to a multi million pound estate in Cowbridge, finding your perfect property in South Wales is an exciting journey. But before you get the keys, there’s a crucial step you can’t afford to skip: a pre-purchase property survey.
Hidden issues, especially damp, can turn your dream home into a costly nightmare. This is where a thorough, professional survey becomes your most valuable asset. At The Veteran Survey Company, we provide expert pre-purchase building and specialist damp surveys across South Wales, from Bristol to Carmarthen and the valleys in between, ensuring you buy with confidence.
What is a Pre-Purchase Survey?
Think of a pre-purchase survey as a complete health check for your potential new home. While a mortgage valuation is for the lender, a survey is for you. It’s an in-depth inspection designed to uncover any potential problems, structural defects, or urgent repairs that could be expensive to fix down the line. These are typically known as RICS Level 2 or 3 properties but RICS is only one of the regulatory bodies with the RPSA (Residential Property Surveyors Association) also very well regarded. Our team are members of both organisations but deliver our custom surveys to your needs.
Our surveys provide you with a detailed report on the property’s condition, giving you the power to:
- Make an informed decision: Understand the true state of the property.
- Budget for repairs: Plan for any necessary future work.
- Potentially renegotiate the price: Use the findings as leverage with the seller.
One of the most common—and concerning—issues we uncover during surveys is damp.
Understanding Damp: The Three Main Culprits
Damp isn’t just a bit of musty smell or peeling wallpaper. If left untreated, it can lead to timber decay, heat loss, and serious structural problems. In South Wales, with its historic housing stock and maritime climate, understanding the different types of damp is essential. Our team are ABBE and PCA trained and qualified, which combined with our building experience and survey expertise makes us one of the most competent organisations for damp surveys in South Wales.
- Rising Damp This occurs when groundwater travels up through the brickwork of a wall through a process called capillary action. It’s like a piece of paper sucking up spilled water. Rising damp is the most commonly diagnosed type of damp and is in the real world very rare. It’s often used by damp proofing contractors to sell a chemical damp proof course that is entirely unnecessary and won’t fix your problem.
Signs to look for: A visible ‘tidemark’ on the wall (up to 1.5 metres high), crumbling plaster, and decaying skirting boards. Damp proofing is often not needed, but careful works to de bridge or identify the correct reason for the issue.
2. Penetrating Damp (or Rain Penetration) This is caused by water leaking through the building’s fabric from the outside. It can be due to a range of external defects and often appears as isolated damp patches that are worse after heavy rain.
- Common causes: Blocked or broken gutters, cracked rendering, poor pointing in the brickwork, or faulty seals around windows.
3. Condensation The most common form of damp, condensation is caused by moist air inside your home coming into contact with a cold surface, like a window or an external wall. Everyday activities like cooking, showering, and drying clothes produce this moisture.
- Tell-tale signs: Water droplets on windows, black spot mould growing in corners and behind furniture, and a persistent musty smell.
Why You Need a Specialist Damp Survey in South Wales
Identifying the correct type of damp is critical because the treatments or remedial building works are completely different. Misdiagnosing condensation as rising damp, for example, can lead to unnecessary and expensive remedial work that doesn’t solve the problem.
This is why a specialist damp survey is so important. At The Veteran Survey Company, our PCA and ABBE (Property Care Association) qualified surveyors (P)roperty Care Association | Supporting Home & Land Owners) have the expertise and diagnostic tools to:
- Correctly identify the source and type of damp.
- Rule out other potential causes.
- Provide a clear, jargon-free report on the findings.
- Recommend the right course of action, saving you time and money.
Our team of solely ex forces surveyors work solely for you, not to sell chemicals or snake oil products that won’t do anything other than hide a problem for a few years. We are not damp proofing contractors, but expert surveyors alongside individual trades at The Veteran Building Company who advise us on specialist issues.
Whether you’re buying a Victorian terrace in Cardiff, a 1930s semi in Swansea, or a modern build in Newport, a professional eye can spot the subtle signs of damp that are often missed.
Protect Your Investment with The Veteran Survey Company
Your new home is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. Don’t leave its condition to chance. Our expert, independent surveys give you the peace of mind you need to move forward with your purchase.
Are you buying a property in South Wales? Contact The Veteran Survey Company today to book your essential pre-purchase or specialist damp survey. We cover Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, the Valleys, and all surrounding areas.