Electrics and gas
A condensate pipe runs outside with no insulation and the visit was in warm weather. What freeze test was not possible, and what leak was not implied?
A freeze test was not possible, and no leak was implied by the bare pipe. The condensate run is outside without insulation, and the visit was in warm weather, so the survey could not watch that pipe freeze, block or split. It recorded the route and the missing insulation. It did not find water escaping, did not see ice, and did not treat a bare pipe as proof of a leak. Winter behaviour was not on show.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Condensate from a boiler is often taken outside in a plastic pipe. In a freeze that pipe can ice up, the boiler can lock out, and a joint can let go. None of that can be shown on a warm day. The survey can say the external length is bare. It cannot invent a leak that was not seen, and it cannot sign the pipe as fit for the next cold spell.
Ask a heating engineer whether that external condensate run needs insulation or a different route, as a separate check from the home survey. Tell the solicitor the report does not allege a present leak. Do not describe a warm-weather visit as a freeze test. The survey has not certified the boiler or the pipe, and it has not watched the joint through a cold night.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where does the condensate pipe run outside, and was any of it insulated?
- Did the warm-weather visit include any freeze observation, or was that impossible?
- Did you see an actual leak, or only an uninsulated pipe?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat a freeze test of the bare condensate pipe as not possible.
- Do not read the missing insulation as a leak already found.
- Ask a heating engineer about insulating or rerouting the external run.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the boiler was running, has the condensate been proved?
Running in warm weather shows the boiler could fire that day. It does not freeze the external pipe and it does not prove the joints. The survey saw an uninsulated outside run and did not imply a leak from that alone. A winter blockage was not tested. The note is the bare pipe, not a failed joint.
Should the seller be told the pipe is already leaking?
No. The survey did not see a leak, and the lack of insulation does not create one. Say what was recorded: an external condensate pipe with no insulation, seen in warm weather, with no freeze test possible. A leak would be a separate observation if water was escaping. It was not the finding here.