Damp and moisture meters
How should a buyer separate granolithic, the old scullery and a crack at the gully when all three are mentioned together?
Separate the material, the room and the crack. Granolithic is the hard cement-and-stone floor finish, the old scullery is where that floor was seen, and the crack at the gully is the break in the finish beside the drain. Mentioning them together does not mean the granolithic has failed across the room, and it does not mean the gully was flow-tested. The survey has named the floor and recorded a crack. It has not decided the cause, and it has not tested the drain under the gully.
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?
Granolithic was laid as a tough scullery floor, bonded to a concrete base. It can crack where the slab has moved, where the layer was thin, or where a gully has been cut in and the edge has broken away. Those are different stories. A crack at the gully may be local to the grating, or it may run on across the floor. The surveyor sees the hard surface and the line. They do not see under the slab, and standing at the gully does not prove it leaks.
Ask the solicitor to keep the crack as a floor defect at the gully, not as a verdict on the whole scullery. A drainage firm can test the gully if you need to know whether water escapes there, because this visit did not. Someone used to solid floors can say whether a local patch is realistic. The survey has not specified that patch and has not decided the floor is unsafe. Do not replace the room because three names shared a paragraph.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the crack stop at the gully or run on across the granolithic?
- Was the gully grating loose, broken, or only next to the crack?
- Did you see damp staining, or only the line in the floor?
What are the typical next steps?
- Split the material, the room and the crack into three notes.
- Do not treat the gully as having been flow-tested.
- Ask for a drainage test only if you need one the survey did not do.
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
Is granolithic just another name for quarry tiles?
No. Granolithic is a hard cement-and-stone finish laid in place, not a tile. The old scullery is simply where this floor was seen. The survey recorded a crack at the gully in that finish. It did not compare it with other floors, and it did not test the drain. The material name is identification, not a damp reading.
Does the crack mean the buried drain has collapsed?
No. The crack is in the floor finish beside the gully. A collapsed drain would need a drainage inspection this visit did not carry out. The survey has not decided the pipe is broken. Keep the visible crack separate from any guess about the buried run. The gully itself was not flow-tested.