What a Damp Survey Report Includes: a Real Damp, Mould and Water Damage Assessment Report

In short: a Damp & Mould Solutions report sets out what was found in each room, every instrument reading behind it with the photograph it came from, a risk band for each reading, and what the survey could not see. This one is 38 pages, 121 instrument readings across 9 rooms and 150 photographs, from a survey carried out in September 2026.

Questions answered on this page

What does the Damp, Mould and Water Damage Assessment report include?
What do the moisture readings mean?
How many readings and photographs do you get?
What did this survey find?
What causes were ruled out, and why?
What does an Assessment report recommend?
What can an Assessment not tell you?
How long does an Assessment report take, and how long is it valid?
How much does a Damp, Mould and Water Damage Assessment cost?
Who carries out and signs off the Assessment?
Can I see an Assessment report before I book?
Do I have to use you for the repairs?
Is the sample a real report?

What does the Damp, Mould and Water Damage Assessment report include?

It includes what was found in each room, every instrument reading behind those findings with the photograph it was taken from, a risk band for each reading, and what the survey could not see. The report on this page runs to 38 pages and 10 numbered sections.

Section	What it tells you
1. Findings at a glance	Every room's readings counted by band, with the highest and lowest reading on the property.
2. Executive summary	What was found in each room, in plain terms.
3. Instruction, scope and basis of inspection	Why the survey was carried out, and the limits of what a reading can and cannot show.
4. Inspection methodology and equipment	The instruments used, what each one measures, and the bands each reading is judged against.
5. Instrument readings: tabulated evidence	Every reading, room by room, with the photograph it was taken from.
6. Environmental and dew point analysis	How condensation forms, so it can be told apart from moisture in the structure.
7. Scope of this survey	What this survey does and does not establish.
8. Appendix A: photographic evidence	The photographs not shown in the body of the report.
9. Appendix B: reference standards	The standard the inspection is carried out against.
10. Appendix C: limitation of liability and validity	What the report covers and how long it stays valid.

What do the moisture readings mean?

Readings are taken on a relative scale (REL), which compares one part of a surface with another rather than giving a percentage. The report judges every reading against three bands, taken from the meter manufacturer's own instruction manual: below 200 REL is dry, 200 to 220 is at risk, and 221 or more is wet. Each room is then counted, so you see how much of it was wet rather than only its worst reading.

Band	Reading	What it means	Action required
Dry	below 200 REL	No active moisture at the point tested.	No remedial action required.
At risk	200 to 220 REL	Borderline reading, worth watching.	Monitor, act if it persists.
Wet	221 REL and above	Active moisture at the point tested. The relative scale reads to a maximum of 999.	Investigation and remediation.

This is the Findings at a Glance table from the report, counted room by room:

Room	Readings	Dry	At risk	Wet	Highest band
Master bedroom	17	17	0	0	Dry 183 REL
Smaller bedroom	23	23	0	0	Dry 184 REL
Landing	8	7	1	0	At risk 215 REL
Bathroom	11	11	0	0	Dry 188 REL
Downstairs front bedroom	5	5	0	0	Dry 152 REL
Living room	12	6	4	2	Wet 281 REL
Outside	6	4	2	0	At risk 217 REL
Kitchen	13	2	0	11	Wet 999 REL
Hallway	5	5	0	0	Dry 150 REL

Of the 100 relative-scale readings recorded across the nine rooms, 80 were dry, 7 were at risk and 13 were wet, 11 of them in the kitchen and 2 in the living room. Counting every instrument used, including wood moisture content, humidity, thermal and air quality readings, the report tabulates 121 readings in total, one of them approximate. Across the whole property the lowest reading was 66 REL (dry) and the highest was 999 REL (wet), the top of the meter's own scale. Two locations in the kitchen were photographed but returned no meter reading.

How many readings and photographs do you get?

This survey recorded 121 instrument readings across 9 rooms and 150 photographs. Every reading was photographed on the meter or instrument as it was taken, so any number in the report can be traced back to its picture. All of the photographs are on this page, grouped by room, exactly as the customer receives them.

Every photograph is captioned with the room and the value it shows, for example "Master Bedroom · 183 REL". Most of them carry the reading they show; the rest are the general room and context shots that give the readings their setting.

What did this survey find?

Mould growth was recorded in the bedrooms and the bathroom, and very high moisture readings were recorded in the kitchen. Moisture at wet level was recorded in 2 of the 9 rooms with readings: the kitchen and the living room. Each room is set out in turn below, and the reasoning behind the kitchen's readings is set out separately.

Master bedroom

Relative humidity in the room was 57.3% at a temperature of 27.1°C, with a dew point of around 18°C. Air quality was checked and PM10 was recorded at 15.0 µg/m³, which is good air quality. A few small patches of mould were recorded in the corners of the room, mostly on the front wall. Moisture readings taken at these areas showed no sign of dampness in the walls. The patches are likely to have formed after furniture was placed against the front walls, with residual condensation over the winter months allowing mould to grow. No other issues were found in the bedroom at the time of the survey, and the mould will need to be treated.

Smaller bedroom

Relative humidity in the room was 57.8% at a temperature of 26.5°C. Air quality was very good, with PM10 recorded at 4.6 µg/m³. Mould growth was recorded on the external wall on the left-hand side when entering the room, and in a corner. It was discovered behind the bed when the bed was moved away from the wall. This is the same situation as in the master bedroom: the external walls were covered by furniture placed too close to them, which restricts ventilation and allows humidity to build up, creating conditions for condensation and mould growth. The walls and ceiling were checked with a thermal camera and no concerns were found. Moisture readings were low throughout apart from the corner where the mould is, where readings were slightly high and on the borderline, consistent with condensation on the wall. The mould will need to be treated.

Landing

Yellow staining was recorded on the wall in the left-hand corner above the bathroom and on the left-hand side above the stairs. The staining appears to be from an old leak, thought to have come from the roof. These areas were checked with a thermal camera and no evidence of moisture was found, so the leak is not active and has dried out. The remaining landing walls were checked with the moisture meter and showed no sign of dampness. Taken together with the bedrooms, this supports the view that the previous occupants dried clothes indoors, did not ventilate the property enough and kept furniture too close to the walls, allowing condensation to appear and mould to grow.

Bathroom

The extractor fan is working. No damp readings were found in the bathroom. Some mould growth was recorded in places and in the shower, which appears to be the result of poor maintenance of the room. Apart from this, no damp was found in the bathroom.

Downstairs front bedroom

The walls in the bedroom, including those around the chimney breast, were dry at the time of the survey. The condition of the bricks at the front bay is not the best. There was no evidence of active dampness within the wall at the time of inspection, but a few construction details need to be corrected to prevent further problems. The external ground level is very high. The damp proof course (DPC) could not be located and needs to be properly established and finished so that it is not bridged by render. The subfloor ventilation should be improved. The detailing around the front bay window is poor, and the window needs to be inspected and repaired or replaced where necessary. The wall itself is dry, but the high external ground level remains a concern. As the DPC could not be located, in heavy rain water could enter the wall, probably through the air brick, or from groundwater. Paint is flaking on the external wall, which is a sign that moisture has previously entered the wall. If the wall is rendered back without a damp proofing solution, it is likely to become damp again, especially in winter.

Living room

The living room was inspected and tested following removal of the internal plaster. Moisture readings were fairly localised and recorded in isolated areas. In the surveyor's assessment the readings are only marginally elevated and do not show a pattern indicative of active rising damp. The exposed masonry is a mixture of historic brickwork and the former chimney flue, which may influence the comparative electronic moisture readings. Readings extending into the former flue area appear to be historic contamination rather than active moisture. There are also visible signs that a previous chemical damp proof course treatment may have been carried out, with regularly spaced holes along the lower mortar course. The internal walls were also checked and none recorded high readings.

Outside

Several external details were identified that could contribute to future damp-related issues. The timber decking has been installed very close to the base of the external walls and sits near the existing low-level air brick, which may restrict effective ventilation and can also hold moisture around the lower wall. The external render extends down to a very low level and may be bridging the damp proof course in some locations. Localised damaged render, previous patch repairs and exposed areas were also noted. The DPC line should be clearly identified and kept free from render, decking and other external finishes where required. The lower render should be cut back to create a clear separation above the DPC. The existing air bricks should remain unobstructed and subfloor ventilation should be improved. The rainwater pipes and drainage arrangements should also be checked to ensure all joints are watertight and that rainwater discharges effectively away from the building, rather than collecting around the base of the walls. The external decking is also positioned very close to the rear door threshold. The limited clearance around the frame and sill may allow moisture and debris to accumulate, increasing the risk of water penetration around the door opening. The area should be cleared, the threshold and perimeter seals checked, and adequate drainage and clearance maintained between the decking and the building fabric. At the front of the property, the external render and painted finishes show localised cracking, flaking and discolouration, particularly at low level. Cracking was also noted at the window seal. This area should be repaired and properly sealed to reduce the risk of rainwater penetration. The existing DPC level should be exposed and kept clear, and the air bricks should remain fully unobstructed to maintain ventilation beneath the suspended floor. The junctions around the front window frames and sills should also be checked and resealed where necessary, as deterioration in this area can provide a route for moisture to enter.

Kitchen

Two areas of very high readings were recorded, most of them up to 999 REL. The first is at the bottom of the wall on the right when entering the garden from the kitchen. The second is on the wall opposite the exit to the garden, on the left when entering the kitchen. Elevated readings were also found on some tiles in the kitchen. Further investigation was needed to establish what was being dealt with, so salt tests were taken from both locations. The results are set out under Salt Analysis - Conclusion below. The wall would need to be stripped out to establish what can be done to stop the damp coming through, and it would also need to be dried out before it is replastered. The options for the kitchen units will need to be discussed, as the damp is likely to be behind the units as well.

Hallway

No elevated moisture readings were detected in the hallway.

What causes were ruled out, and why?

This report's cause analysis is concentrated on the kitchen, where two wall locations returned very high readings. Salt analysis was carried out on plaster samples from both, and both produced positive nitrate results, which the surveyor sets out as characteristic of rising damp by capillary action through the masonry.

Cause considered	Reasoning given in the report
Rising damp at the kitchen's two affected wall locations	Salt analysis was undertaken on plaster samples from both walls. Both produced positive nitrate results. Positive results at two separate locations, rather than one isolated point, indicate a wider pattern of salt contamination associated with moisture migration through the masonry.
Whether one salt test alone is proof	The report states that no single salt test should technically be regarded as absolute proof in isolation, though the combined evidence from both walls makes rising damp the most probable cause.
Active rising damp in the living room	The surveyor's assessment is that the living room's readings are only marginally elevated and do not show a pattern indicative of active rising damp.

What does an Assessment report recommend?

This report does not set its next steps out as a separate numbered list. Instead, each room's findings state directly what is needed: the mould in the bedrooms and bathroom needs to be treated, the downstairs front bedroom needs its damp proof course properly established, and the kitchen wall needs to be stripped out, dried and replastered once the damp is stopped.

Treat the mould recorded in the master bedroom, the smaller bedroom and the bathroom.
Properly establish and finish the damp proof course at the downstairs front bedroom and outside walls, so it is not bridged by render, decking or high ground levels.
Improve subfloor ventilation and check rainwater goods and drainage around the building.
Strip out, dry and replaster the affected kitchen wall once the source of the damp is addressed, with the kitchen units assessed separately.

What can an Assessment not tell you?

A non-intrusive survey records what the surveyor could see and measure on the day. This report is explicit that it does not establish how long a moisture condition has been present or when it began, and that a reading is only recorded when the meter's display could be read with confidence.

REL is a relative scale, not a percentage: it shows how wet a surface is compared with a dry one on the same meter, not a moisture content out of 100.
A reading does not appear in this report for one of three reasons: the meter's display in the photograph was too unclear to read with confidence, the area was not visible to the camera, or it was not accessible to the surveyor on the day.
This survey records the condition of the property on the day of inspection. It does not establish how long the moisture conditions recorded have been present, or when any leak or moisture ingress began.
The report remains technically valid for 12 months from the report date, subject to no material change in the condition of the property.

How long does an Assessment report take, and how long is it valid?

Your report follows within 3 to 5 working days of the visit. The report states that it remains technically valid for 12 months from the report date, as long as nothing material changes at the property. After that, a re-inspection is recommended before the report is relied on for any new commercial, lettings or insurance purpose.

How much does a Damp, Mould and Water Damage Assessment cost?

We confirm the price on a written quote once we understand the problem. Any remedial work is quoted separately after the report, and there is no obligation to use us for it. The report is yours to keep and use with any contractor.