How to hire
Start by naming the right problem, because damp, rot and woodworm need different fixes. Rising damp leaves tide marks and salts low on walls, penetrating damp shows as patches after rain, and condensation brings widespread mould on cold surfaces. Woodworm announces itself with small flight holes and fine dust, while dry rot spreads fast through timber and masonry with cuboidal cracking, fungal growth and a musty smell, and is far more serious than wet rot, which stays near the moisture source [5] [7]. When you first enquire, describe the room, the marks and when they appeared.
Pay for the diagnosis before you pay for the cure. A proper damp survey is a room-by-room inspection inside and out, with recorded moisture readings and a written report of findings, photographs and recommendations — without that written evidence it is an opinion, not a survey [7]. Treat a free survey from a firm that sells treatment with care, since the visit only pays for itself if it finds work to do [7]. If your lender has asked for a damp and timber report before approving the loan, confirm the exact scope with them before booking [7].
No mandatory registration applies to timber treatment, so membership is evidence of competence rather than a legal badge. Search the Property Care Association's find-a-specialist tool for damp and timber contractors, and check TrustMark's finder for firms assessed on trading practices as well as competence [1] [2]. Read the firm's reviews across every platform that holds them, not just the friendliest one, and ask for public liability insurance details in writing. A logo on a van proves nothing on its own — ask for the membership detail and check it yourself.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same written scope so you compare like with like [6]. Each quote should name the rooms and areas, the treatment method, how the moisture source will be dealt with, whether affected plaster comes off and goes back on, whether weakened timber is replaced, the guarantee terms, and VAT and payment stages — a contribution toward materials is normal, while full payment before completion is not [2]. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain.
Pin the guarantee down before work starts: how long it runs, exactly what it covers, who backs it if the firm folds, and whether it passes to the next owner when you sell. Ask whether replastering uses salt-resistant render where salts have contaminated the old plaster, and who clears away stripped timber and debris. File the survey report, the quote, the invoice and the guarantee together — you will need them at sale or re-let, and a lender may ask for them too.
Woodworm treatment kills what is active, but fixing the damp that let it in stops it coming back, so agree that part of the job rather than paying for spraying alone [4]. For dry rot, agree opening-up and timber replacement in the written scope, since the visible patch is rarely the full extent [5]. Do not pay the balance until the treated areas, the paperwork and the guarantee are all in your hands.
Tell the firm early if your home sits in protected streets. The borough holds eight conservation areas, with Wellington and Newport named among them alongside the Severn Gorge, and works there that would otherwise be permitted development can need permission [8]. Listed buildings need listed building consent for works affecting their special interest, inside and out [9]. In the Ironbridge Gorge, which sits mostly inside a conservation area, an Article 4 direction removes some permitted development rights for houses — and the council runs free planning surgeries for Gorge residents, which are worth a visit before any damp or timber work is specified [10].
A typical job runs in this order. You describe the room, the marks and when they appeared; the firm inspects inside and out with recorded readings; the written report names the problem, the method and the making-good. You then compare itemised quotes on that same scope, agree the start date, the payment stages and the guarantee terms, and the work goes ahead — usually opening up floors or stripping plaster before treating. You sign off only when the treated areas, the invoice and the guarantee are all in your hands.
Judge competing quotes on completeness rather than the bottom line: matching rooms, method, making-good, guarantee, VAT and stages tell you more than the final figure. At the end, expect a pack you can file and reuse — the survey report, the agreed quote, the invoice showing VAT, any treatment certificate, and the written guarantee with its length, cover and backer named. Photographs of opened-up areas and treated timbers are worth keeping in the same folder for the next buyer, lender or tenant.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: an independent damp survey £150–£300 for a typical home, rising toward £500 for large or complex properties [7]. Standard damp proofing usually falls between £500 and £2,000, depending on the damp type and extent [3]. Woodworm treatment runs £500–£1,000 for one room, £1,000–£2,000 for a whole loft or floor, and £2,000–£4,000 for a whole house, with a survey and report adding £100–£300 [4]. Localised dry rot repair starts around £500, while severe structural cases run to £20,000 or more [5].
What moves the price most is how far the problem has spread and how hard it is to reach: lifting floors, opening up, replacing weakened timber and dealing with the moisture source all add labour, and replastering after treatment is often a separate line [4] [5]. Older Telford terraces with salt-contaminated plaster cost more than a single accessible patch, and Telford usually sits below London and South East prices [4].
Within those ranges, each job has its own drivers. Surveys move with the size of the property, the depth of the investigation and whether the report must satisfy a lender [7]. Proofing moves with the damp type and the extent of the affected wall [3]. Woodworm moves with how many rooms or voids are affected and how reachable they are, with the survey and report sitting on top [4]. Dry rot moves with how far the opening-up goes and how much timber is replaced, from a localised repair to structural work [5].
Ask whether VAT is added on top of every figure, and whether the survey fee comes off the bill if you go ahead with treatment. One Telford firm in this round publishes a fixed report price, but none publishes treatment rates, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer.
Get the scope in writing before work starts — exactly which areas, which method, which making-good, which guarantee, and what changes the price if opening-up reveals worse damage than expected. Agree payment stages and keep every quote, invoice and certificate together [6].
Red flags
Calls it rising damp after waving a meter at the wall, with no written report of readings and photographs.
Quotes chemical injection without saying where the moisture comes from or checking for leaks, condensation or bridging.
Recommends full-house timber treatment without lifting a board or opening up to see how far it spreads.
Cannot name the guarantee length, what it covers and who backs it in writing.
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms [6].
Prices a large job as one fixed figure with no breakdown of labour, materials and VAT.
Lifts floorboards or hacks off plaster on the first visit, before any written diagnosis exists.
Says the firm is insured but produces nothing in writing when asked.
Will not put the scope, price and start date in writing before lifting a tool.