Electrics and gas
The underfloor heating manifold was visible. Did the survey run the loops?
No. Seeing the manifold, the gauges and the actuators is not running the system, and the survey did not balance the loops or test the heat source. If that heat source is gas, a Gas Safe registered engineer does the gas work, while the manifold note stays visual.
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?
A manifold is a row of valves, usually in a cupboard, feeding pipes in the floor. The surveyor can see leaks, missing actuators, a gauge at zero, or a cupboard full of stored paint. They cannot see the pipes in the screed, and they cannot say a room will heat. Labels on the loops may be wrong. A cold floor means the system was off, a valve was shut, or something has failed. One visit does not choose. Do not turn every loop up during a viewing. Electric mat heating is a different system. Do not mix this cupboard with a bathroom thermostat unless both are actually there.
Ask the seller which boiler, heat pump or other source feeds the manifold, and for any layout drawing. The drawing is not a test. Service history of a gas boiler is not a certificate that the loops are clear. HSE’s gas guidance does not turn the surveyor into the engineer. An owner-occupier need not already hold a landlord gas safety record. If rooms matter to you, ask a heating engineer to run the system when it can be run, and keep gas safety with a Gas Safe engineer. There is no flush, and no pass, hiding in the photograph of the gauges.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where is the manifold, and what did you see leaking or missing?
- Did you run any loop?
- Do you know what heats it, or is that unknown?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not adjust the valves.
- Ask the seller for a layout and for how the system is heated.
- If you need it operated, agree that as its own visit. The survey has not done it.
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 a pressure gauge above zero mean every room heats?
No. A reading on the day is not a tour of the loops.
Is this the same as electric underfloor heating?
No. A manifold is piped. An electric mat has no row of water valves.