Electrics and gas
The report places bonding conductors, pipes under the bath and a continuity test the covers stayed on for in one paragraph. Which of those were inspected, and which were merely named?
The bonding conductors and the pipes under the bath were inspected only where they could be seen. The continuity test was merely named, because the covers stayed on and the test was not done. Bonding is the green-and-yellow or bare link meant to join metalwork. Seeing a clamp is not measuring continuity. The survey can say what was visible under the bath. It has not tested the conductors and has not certificated the electrics. Pipes, clamps and a test are three different things in that paragraph.
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?
Under a bath, pipes may be copper, plastic or a mix, and a bonding clamp may be present, painted, loose or absent on the run you can see. Covers and bath panels limit that view. Continuity testing needs instruments and access, and it was not part of what the covers allowed. A named test that did not happen must not be read as a completed test. The paragraph is telling you the limit as much as the hardware.
Ask the solicitor for an EICR, which is where bonding and continuity belong if an electrician has already reported them. If there is no report, commission one rather than asking the survey to invent a reading the covers prevented. Tell a lender the pipes and any visible clamps were noted and the continuity test was not carried out. Do not say the bath is bonded just because the word appears in the paragraph.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were clamps and pipes only seen, with covers left on?
- Was the continuity test named but not carried out?
- Has electrical bonding been left without a certificate?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read visible pipes and clamps as inspection, not the continuity test.
- Ask the solicitor for an electrical condition report.
- Do not tell a lender the bath bonding was tested.
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
Does plastic pipe under the bath remove the need to look at bonding?
Not as a survey conclusion. Plastic runs can replace some metal, but mix-and-match plumbing is common and the covers stayed on. The survey did not test continuity and did not map every pipe. An electrician's report is the place for that judgement. This paragraph has not made it.
Is a clamp on one pipe proof the whole bathroom is bonded?
No. One visible clamp is one clamp. Other pipes, the bath itself, radiators and the consumer-unit end of the conductor were not proved by continuity because that test did not happen. Tell the solicitor the covers stayed on. An EICR, if you commission one, is what can join the clamps into a tested result.