Pre-refurbishment surveys
Find hidden mould, damp and dry rot before strip-out, so it's scoped and priced up front.
Who this is for
Find defects before the programme does
Mould, damp and dry rot often stay hidden until a refurbishment or fit-out opens up walls, floors and voids. Found during strip-out, on a live programme, they become an emergency: work stops, the contractor waits, and the cost lands as a surprise. Found before the programme is fixed, the same defects are a plannable line item: scoped, priced and built into the sequence rather than fought against it.
Before strip-out
We survey the building using moisture mapping and targeted investigative openings, informed by laboratory sampling where contamination is suspected. The aim is to establish where problems exist and how far they extend, without opening up more of the building than necessary.
Findings are set out in a report your design team and contractor can price against: what was found, where, and what it will take to put right. Where nothing significant is found, that’s useful information too; it lets you commit to the programme with fewer unknowns.
During strip-out
Even with a survey done up front, further hidden decay sometimes only becomes visible once strip-out is under way. When that happens, we can assess, contain and remediate alongside your main contractor, working to keep the programme moving rather than stopping it. Every instruction closes with clearance testing before the affected area is handed back to the trades that follow.
What you receive
- A pre-strip-out survey report, with findings referenced to laboratory results where sampling was taken.
- A scope of works that can be priced and sequenced into the refurbishment programme.
- If defects are found during strip-out: contained remediation and a clearance report before handover.
- If you want it: remediation and reinstatement from the same contractor, priced as one job.
Stop at the survey, or hand us the whole job
How much you hand over is up to you:
- Survey only: a report and scope your own design team and contractor can price and sequence.
- Survey and remediation: we deal with what the survey finds, alongside your main contractor, and hand affected areas back with clearance results.
- Survey, remediation and reinstatement: we take the affected rooms or areas from survey to finished handover. This is how most of our hotel bathroom work runs; see refurbishment and our end-to-end service.
Who uses it
Hotel groups planning room or floor refurbishments, property owners and developers ahead of a fit-out, and facilities teams working through planned maintenance all use pre-refurbishment surveys the same way: to turn a hidden defect into a decision made before the programme starts, not during it. See our pages for hospitality and hotel groups, commercial property and facilities management.
If a defect has already been found during works already under way, see our mould remediation and dry rot services, or our hotel case study for how a targeted, phased approach worked in practice.
Common questions
What is a pre-refurbishment survey?
A pre-refurbishment survey investigates a building for mould, damp and dry rot before strip-out begins, using moisture mapping, targeted investigative openings and laboratory sampling where contamination is suspected. It turns a hidden defect into a decision made before the programme starts, not during it.
Is a pre-refurbishment survey the same as a strip-out or pre-renovation survey?
Yes. The same service is sometimes called a pre-strip-out survey, pre-renovation survey, fit-out survey, or hidden or latent defects survey, depending on the sector. We use pre-refurbishment survey as our standard term.
When should a pre-refurbishment survey be carried out?
Before strip-out begins, while the refurbishment or fit-out programme is still being planned, so any findings can be scoped and priced into the sequence rather than discovered once work is under way.
What does the survey involve?
Moisture mapping and targeted investigative openings, informed by laboratory sampling where contamination is suspected.
What do we receive after the survey?
A pre-strip-out survey report referenced to laboratory results where sampling was taken, and a scope of works that your design team and contractor can price and sequence into the refurbishment programme.
Can you carry out the remediation and refurbishment as well?
Yes, if you want one contractor for the whole job. You can stop at the survey, have us remediate alongside your main contractor, or hand us the survey, remediation and reinstatement together, which is how most of our hotel bathroom work runs. See our refurbishment and end-to-end service pages.
What happens if a defect is found once strip-out has started?
We can assess, contain and remediate alongside your main contractor, working to keep the programme moving. Every instruction closes with clearance testing before the affected area is handed back to the trades that follow.