Academy Remedial Surveyors Limited

We needed a damp survey but specifically we needed a survey to clarify if the property we wanted to buy had cavity wall insulation which the primary survey suggested it might have and was not recommended for the house given its elevated and exposed site. I contacted Ray and Jenny and asked if with his survey he could definitively tell me if the house had cavity wall insulation. Retrospectively I noted he phoned me to reassure me that yes he could categorically tell me if there was or wasn’t but didn’t respond in writing to my email. We got the report at a cost of £427 which was largely a formulaic report based on a proforma and regarding the specific question of whether there was cavity wall insulation, it stated‘ I cannot categorically confirm whether or not retro fit wall insulation is in-situ or not however if it had been installed I would expect to visually find installation “filled” drill holes through the external renders and face brickwork always associated with the installation which I found no obvious, readily seen or apparent evidence of. Albeit conjecture based upon that seen and noted and the results of my test procedures we can reasonably assume it has not been installed.’ I was naturally upset about this unhelpful and legally defensive report but as we were in a hurry to complete the sale we proceeded based on the advice of Mr Bakers survey. Today, on removing a vent we discovered cavity wall insulation beads. We are unhappy .. to understate the matter.

Having had our mortgage offer expire just before exchange, we were under immense pressure to get a new mortgage offer in place. The new lender asked for a timber and damp survey which was inconvenient and had the potential to hold up the process quite a lot. I explained to AR and they turned our survey round very quickly, our new offer was sorted asap and contracts exchanged. Everything was easy to organise with AR and payment and communication was nice and straightforward. Thank you!

I cannot recommend AR Surveyors and Ray enough. Firstly, I have used Ray’s services for four properties over the last few years (as a portfolio landlord) and I have found his work to be accurate, reliable and realistic. Ray does not recommend traders and this ensures an unbiased assessment of any damp, mould, condensation concerns you may have. If you are purchasing an older property and there are any concerns with respect to damp or mould, I would highly recommend contacting Ray for an honest assessment. Many other firms offer “free” assessments, wherein which they would attend your property to ultimately tell you your DPC has failed and you need a new one and charge you upwards of £10k to needlessly chemically inject your walls. This is such commonplace and requires some regulation, but I have been lucky enough to come across AR and Ray who have been able to save me huge amounts of money. In my first property, the survey noted some damp and we contacted a “free” service who told us the usual and then we contacted Ray who identified it was an issue with the guttering causing penetrating damp, which was a far cheaper remediation than what the other service offered. In addition, Ray and Jenny at the office have always been available for follow up questions and clarifications. Not to mention their reliability and quality, their service is absolutely invaluable. Hope this helps anyone out there!

Very helpful at point of enquiry, excellent service (report) and just as helpful post-survey to discuss all findings in detail. Survey was completed on a Saturday and report was shared on the Monday, even though it was a bank holiday - excellent all round.

In the process of buying our flat we hired AR Surveyors to conduct a Damp & Timber survey which was efficient and thorough with lots of recommendations and information. Since buying the flat we have gone back to them a couple of times for further advice on how to tackle certain damp related issues which they have been incredibly helpful with and pointed us in the right direction. Invaluable support for first time buyers, navigating the challenges of renovating a Victorian flat.

As an ex asbestos surveyor, I have a reasonable eye for building reports. The report was thorough and contained the key info I needed to proceed with my purchase. Ray also explained it on the phone to me very patiently, even though I was having a slight technical issue with getting my computer to cooperate while I was working on it. Would recommend.

We contacted AR Surveyors to follow up on a recommendation in our building survey to review elevated moisture readings in a property for purchase. Within a week, the company had organised access to the property with the estate agent, attended the property, explained the main findings over the phone, delivered a written report, and answered some follow-up questions. The report itself contained detailed and helpful information relating to the short-term and longer-term maintenance of the property. The surveyor was kind enough to comment on some relevant sentences from the building survey. Overall, the conclusions seemed well reasoned and the recommendations make sense. I am very happy with the services provided by AR Surveyors.

I recently used Ray’s services for my new house. My surveyor suspected that we had a rising damp issue in the house due to meter readings and suggested that I commission a damp specialist. Ray made himself available very quickly and produced a comprehensive report. He suggested that the issue we had was was not related to rising damp issues and gave me evidence for that. Unlike other damp specialists that offer damp proofing services he has no financial motivation to convince you to spend a fortune on something that you don’t need. Instead he is giving an independent and professional advice. Finally and due to some unrelated issues that we had I asked him to come again and take a look on another matter and came immediately. Great service and honest professional!