Damp & mould inspection

Find out where the water is coming from.

Damp in a Portuguese house usually comes from one of three places: water rising from the ground, rain getting in from outside, or condensation from the way the house is heated and aired. Each one has a different fix, and paint over any of them lasts about a month. We find out which one you’ve got and what it will cost to stop.

Send us photos of the damp What we check
What we check

The cause first. Then the cost.

A damp meter on its own tells you the wall is wet. It doesn’t tell you why. We look at the whole route the water could be taking, inside and out.

  • Moisture readings across walls, floors and ceilings
  • Thermal imaging to find cold spots and hidden wet patches
  • Gutters, downpipes and ground levels outside
  • The roof, terraces and parapets above the damp
  • Window and door junctions
  • Bathroom and kitchen extraction, switched on and tested
  • What the walls are built from: granite, brick, render, paint
  • Signs of earlier cover-ups

What you get. A written report within 24–48 hours: where the moisture is, where it’s coming from, what we’d do about it with the specification, and a cost range for the work. In English, with a Portuguese version you can send to a landlord, a seller or your builder.

Fixed price in writing before we book, set by the size of the property and where it is. Send us the address and a few photos on WhatsApp.

Damp staining and blistered paint above a skirting board

We can quote the repair ourselves, or hand you a specification to give your own builder. You don’t have to use us for the work.

Real numbers from our reports

What fixing it has actually cost.

  1. Granite quinta with no gutters. Gutters, downpipes and a French drain, €10,500–17,500. Then €2,000–4,000 to replaster once the walls had dried out.
  2. Top-floor flat with a wet wall under the terrace. €3,500–7,000 to cut back, dry out and replaster inside. The roof itself was a condominium job.
  3. New bathroom with extract fans that didn’t run. €500–1,500 to get the extraction working, plus resealing and regrouting.

Ranges as given to each client at the time, ex IVA. More in what we found this year.

Background reading

If you want to understand it first.

Damp in Porto: where the water comes from · Why Portuguese houses are cold and damp · Mould in renovated homes · Damp in stone houses

Won’t a dehumidifier sort it?
For condensation it helps. For rising damp or a leak it hides the problem and runs up the electricity bill.

I’m renting. Can you do this for a dispute with my landlord?
Yes. See our defect report, which is written so it can go straight to the other side.

Tell us where you’re at.

WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us and we answer the same day. Or send the details below and we’ll come back to you today.

WhatsApp +351 969 718 294 Email us

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