Flood risk
Flood air bricks with closable covers are fitted and the covers were not operated. What seal has not been tested, and what flood depth was not modelled?
The seal of those closable covers has not been tested, and no flood depth at this wall was modelled. Flood air bricks are fitted, and the covers were not operated, so nobody closed them, felt the seal, or watched whether they actually shut. The survey has seen the bricks and the covers. It has not tested the seal and has not modelled a depth of floodwater against the wall. A GOV.UK long-term flood-risk check is a separate map product. It is not a depth model produced by this inspection, and the covers were not tried.
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?
Closable covers are only a barrier if they close and seal. Leaving them unoperated means the survey cannot say they seat, that the fixings work, or that a cover is missing its gasket. An air brick that stays open is a vent. The same brick with a cover that does not shut is still a vent when the water comes. The inspection recorded the fittings. It did not run a flood test and it did not estimate how high water would stand on this elevation.
Use the GOV.UK flood-risk check as its own enquiry, and do not paste a map colour into the survey as if the surveyor had modelled this wall. Tell the solicitor the covers were not operated. If you need the seals tried, ask someone to operate them and record what they do. Do not tell an insurer the flood bricks passed. The survey has not tested the seal and has not produced a depth.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you operate any cover, or only see that covers are fitted?
- What of the seal, gasket or fixing did you leave untested?
- Are you making any flood-depth comment, or none?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the cover seals as untested.
- Do not read the survey as a flood-depth model.
- Use the separate flood-risk check for map risk, not as a test of these covers.
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 covers look new, has the seal been proved?
No. New covers show recent fittings. They were not operated, so the seal was not tested. A fresh cover can still fail to close. The survey has not modelled a flood depth either. Looks are not a seal test, and this visit modelled no depth of water.
Does the survey replace a GOV.UK flood-risk check?
No. That check is a separate product about long-term risk for an area. The home survey looked at air bricks and did not operate the covers. It did not model depth, and it does not stand in for the map check.