Summers-Inman has expanded its Scottish operation with the creation of a specialist damp and mould assessment team.

Working closely with local authorities, housing associations, registered social landlords and government departments, the firm has undertaken more than 250 damp and mould assessment surveys across Scotland in 2023.

With demand showing no sign of slowing down, a dedicated team headed by senior building surveyor Craig Stewart has been assembled at the company's Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh.

Investment has been made in some of the latest technology to assist with assessment and diagnosis, while industry experts have also been brought in to increase the team's skills and knowledge of the issues.

The team is qualified to a minimum of degree level, including chartered building surveyors and Property Care Association certified staff.

"Damp and mould assessment is a key skill of any building surveying practice but we have aligned a specialist team headed up by Craig Stewart, who is very experienced in this area, having previously worked for a damp treatment and timber preservation firm and a housing association before joining us," said Aynsley Cheatley, Regional Managing Director (Scotland).

-- Advertisement --

"These surveys have always been a service provided by us but in recent times we have noticed an increasing demand from our housing association and local authority clients.

"We have been instructed mainly on tenanted properties that are experiencing issues relating to the symptoms of damp and mould.

"Our clients, who are the registered social landlords, instruct us to provide independent assessments of the conditions, diagnosis of the cause and more importantly provide recommendations to eliminate the damp and mould conditions and prevent them from returning.

"Our specialist team within our already well-established building surveying team, ensures we are able to provide our clients and their tenants with a dedicated reactive service."

Some of the specialist equipment now at the team's disposal includes thermal imaging cameras to show areas of heat loss, dampness and areas where insulation is potentially missing or has slumped; environmental data loggers which are left in the property for a set period of time, recording fluctuations in humidity levels and air temperatures and anemometers which assess the performance of the existing mechanical ventilation.

Craig Stewart said: "Dampness and mould have always been an issue with the older stock of housing property in the UK which are generally poorly insulated, poorly heated and often have insufficient ventilation.

"The cost-of-living crisis is making it more difficult for people to heat their homes. It's especially difficult for those who cannot afford to heat their homes, however, that only exacerbates the issues as you then get a reduction in temperatures within the home, typically leading to condensation problems.

"There's pressure on landlords to address these problems and deal with them as quickly as possible.

"We're meeting the demand with the right resources and have modernised our approach. Our investment is allowing us to streamline our processes internally, which means we can undertake surveys and prepare in-depth reports in a much shorter timescale."

Summers-Inman recently won a place on Procurement for Housing Scotland's Compliance Solutions Framework for Lot 2C Damp and Mould Surveying as 1 of 3 selected suppliers.

The estimated maximum total contract value is up to £15 million for the three-year framework period (12-month extended option).