SurveyMate Academy · Free

Damp Surveying Fundamentals

A free, structured introduction to diagnosing damp in UK buildings. Most damp is misdiagnosed for a handful of predictable reasons. This course is about not making those mistakes.

Modules
7
Lessons
39
Assessment
52 Qs
Cost
£0

What you'll be able to do

Curriculum

Seven modules, 39 lessons and 52 assessment questions. Module 1 is open to everyone with no signup at all; the rest unlock with an email address, and the final assessment issues your certificate.

  1. 1

    Introduction to Damp

    Open — no signup

    What damp actually is, why buildings develop it, the four mechanisms behind almost every case, and why so much of it gets diagnosed wrong.

  2. 2

    Buildings & Moisture Basics

    Free with email

    How walls, floors and roofs are actually built, and how each construction type handles moisture — or fails to. The building science you need before you can diagnose anything.

  3. 3

    Types of Damp in Detail

    Free with email

    Each mechanism in depth — including hygroscopic salts, bridged damp-proof courses, and the mixed-cause cases that account for most of the difficult jobs.

  4. 4

    Tools & Equipment

    Free with email

    Moisture meters, hygrometers and thermal cameras — what each one actually measures, where each one lies to you, and the PPE the job requires.

  5. 5

    Conducting a Damp Inspection

    Free with email

    The full method, start to finish: pre-inspection questions, the external sweep, the room-by-room walkthrough, ventilation assessment, red flags, and evidence capture.

  6. 6

    Reporting Skills

    Free with email

    Turning evidence into a report that survives a second opinion: structure, neutral language, what to leave out, and recommendations you can safely stand behind.

  7. 7

    Final Assessment & Certificate

    Free with email

    A consolidated recap of the whole course, then a twenty-question assessment. Pass at 70% and your certificate is issued to your name.

Who it's for

It is not an accredited qualification and does not replace PCA or RICS training. It is the reasoning and method that formal training tends to assume you already have.

You've learned the method. Now get the work.

A qualification tells a client you know what you are doing. A listing is how they find you in the first place, and a report is what they judge you on.

  • Listed in the SurveyMate directory — client enquiries into your CRM
  • Reports branded with your firm's logo and colours, written to the structure this course teaches
  • Evidence, photos and readings captured on site and carried straight into the report
  • Awaab's Law deadline tracking, so statutory clocks are not something you have to remember

Every SurveyMate plan includes a directory listing. Cancel any time during the trial.

Common questions

Is the course really free?
Yes. Module 1 is open to anyone with no signup at all. The remaining modules are also free — we ask for an email address so you can pick up where you left off and so we can issue your certificate at the end.
Is this an accredited qualification?
No. This is a structured introduction to damp diagnosis, not an accredited qualification, and it does not replace PCA or RICS training. It is written to give you the reasoning and method that formal training assumes you already have.
Do I need any experience to start?
None. The course begins with what damp actually is and builds through building science, the individual damp mechanisms, equipment, inspection method and report writing.
How long does it take?
Each lesson is a six-to-eight minute read with an assessment at the end of every module. Most people work through a module in a sitting and the whole course over a couple of weeks.
Do I need to buy SurveyMate to take the course?
No. The course stands on its own and nothing in it requires the software. SurveyMate is what a lot of people use to apply the method afterwards, but that is a separate decision.