Your survey covers the building. Nobody looks at the plumbing.
A RICS surveyor notes that a boiler exists and moves on. A Gas Safe engineer walking the same property sees a discontinued model, lead pipework and a cylinder with no certificate. Full Property Health Check, £300 including VAT, before you exchange.
Book a Health Check Call 020 3764 2713What a RICS survey leaves out
Surveyors exclude the services from their reports and say so plainly in their own terms of engagement.
The services are not their field
A Level 2 or Level 3 report tells you a boiler exists and roughly how old it looks. A surveyor is a building specialist, not a heating engineer. They are not reading the model number, working out whether parts are still made, or noticing that the pipework was never sized for two bathrooms.
You find out after completion
The first cold morning in your new home is when the boiler fails to fire. By then the money has moved, the seller has gone, and the bill is yours.
Nobody else looks
Gas Safe engineers see these systems every day and know at a glance what is coming. Nobody thinks to send one round before exchange, because engineers get called after something breaks rather than before you buy it.
One missed fault costs more than the check
These are the bills that land on buyers in the first year. Every one of them leaves signs an engineer can see before you exchange.
The Full Property Health Check is £300 including VAT, fixed and payable in advance. No hourly rate, no extras, and the price does not change once we are on site. See our rates.
Boiler beyond economic repair
£4,500 to £6,500A twenty year old boiler can look fine and still be past saving. We record the make, model and age, and tell you whether parts are still made for it. Boiler installation →
Failed or uncertified cylinder
£1,800 to £3,500An unvented cylinder with no G3 paperwork, a seized expansion vessel or a leaking discharge pipe. Illegal to leave as found, and the cost falls on whoever owns it. Cylinders →
Lead incoming main
£1,200 to £3,000Still common in older London properties. It is a health concern and it caps your flow rate at around 20 litres a minute, so every shower in the house is limited by it. Water pressure →
Collapsed or damaged drain
£2,000 to £8,000Root damage, a cracked clay run or a failed connection under the garden. Excavation is what makes this expensive, not the pipe. Drain repairs →
Hidden leak in the pipework
£800 to £5,000A weeping joint under a floor or behind a wall. The pipe repair is cheap. Replacing the floor, the ceiling below it and the damaged plaster is not.
Full or partial repipe
£3,000 to £9,000Corroded steel, undersized 15mm runs feeding two bathrooms, or a system patched so many times it cannot be extended. Easier to see before the furniture arrives.
Typical London replacement costs for guidance. Your report gives you what your property needs, and we quote separately if you want us to do the work.
Nine things we look at
A Gas Safe engineer walks the property and records what they find across all nine.
This is a visual inspection. We do not dismantle anything, pressure test the system or carry out a gas safety check. What you are buying is a trained eye on the parts of the property your surveyor is not qualified to assess.
Boiler
Inspected for leaks, corrosion and damage, with the make, model and age recorded. We tell you whether parts are still made for it and what a replacement would cost.
Radiators
Inspected with a thermal imaging camera. Cold spots show sludge, trapped air or a blockage in the circuit, and the camera reads them without touching a floorboard.
Pipework
All accessible pipework inspected for leaks, damage and corrosion, including whether any of the supply is lead.
Drainage
Accessible drainage inspected for signs of blockage or damage, including standing water, staining and movement around the runs.
Water pressure
Checked to confirm it sits within a normal range. Weak pressure in a London flat is usually the pipework rather than the water company.
Taps
Every accessible tap outlet inspected and its condition recorded.
Cylinder
Inspected and its condition recorded, including whether an unvented cylinder carries the G3 certification the law requires.
Stopcocks
Internal and external stopcocks located and their condition recorded. Knowing where yours is matters the day a pipe bursts.
Written report
Every issue identified, with the repairs and maintenance we recommend. Yours to use however you like, including in a price negotiation.
From booking to report
Book the visit
Call, book online or use the contact form. Tell us the address and roughly when you need to exchange.
Pay the fixed fee
£300 including VAT, in advance. That is the whole price for the visit and the report.
We arrange access
Usually through the estate agent or the seller. We need access to the boiler, the cylinder and the stopcocks.
You get the report
Every finding, what it means and what we recommend. Take it to the seller, your solicitor, or whoever ends up doing the work.
This does not replace your RICS survey
Buy both. They do different jobs and neither covers the other.
Your surveyor assesses the structure, the roof, damp, timber and the value of the property. That report is what your lender wants and we are not qualified to produce it.
We look at the plumbing, heating and drainage, which a surveyor is not qualified to assess. The difference is not the equipment, it is who is doing the looking. An engineer who works on London systems every day reads a boiler, a cylinder and a run of pipework the way a surveyor reads a roof.
Together the two reports tell you what you are buying. The survey on its own leaves the heating, hot water and drainage unexamined, and those are usually the costliest things to put right.
What we cover
- Boiler, make, model and condition
- Radiators, thermally imaged
- Pipework and supply
- Accessible drainage
- Water pressure
- Taps, cylinder and stopcocks
What we do not cover
- Dismantling or pressure testing
- Gas safety certificate (CP12)
- Structural assessment
- Property valuation
- Damp and timber reports
- Roofing and the building fabric
- Electrical installation condition
Book it before you exchange
The report is worth most while you can still act on it.
Before exchange, a failing boiler is a reason to renegotiate or to ask the seller to put it right. After completion it is your bill. Nothing in the report changes, only what you can do about it.
We can usually attend within a few days. If your exchange date is tight, say so when you book and we will tell you straight away whether we can make it.
Worth booking when
- Your offer has been accepted
- The survey came back with services excluded
- The property is older or has been empty
- You are buying a flat with a communal heating system
Find out what the survey missed, before you exchange
Full Property Health Check, £300 including VAT, anywhere in London. A nine point visual inspection by a Gas Safe engineer and a written report you can negotiate with.
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