Age and type of house
The cottage wall is random stone with no cavity the surveyor could find. Why should a high meter reading at the base not be copied onto a cavity-wall diagnosis?
A high meter reading at the base should not be copied onto a cavity-wall diagnosis, because the surveyor could find no cavity. The cottage wall is random stone. A cavity-wall story, bridged insulation, failed ties, rain trapped in a gap, needs a gap. This wall has not got one that was found. The high reading is a reading at the base of solid stone. It might have several causes. It is not evidence of a cavity defect, and the survey has not transferred it onto that diagnosis.
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?
Random stone is built as a solid thickness, often with a rubble core, not as two leaves and a void. Moisture at the base can be rain on a porous face, splash from the ground, salts, condensation, or moisture from below. A meter on masonry is a screening tool. It does not name the cause, and it certainly does not name a cause that belongs to a different wall. The surveyor looked for a cavity and did not find one.
Keep the reading, if you rely on it at all, attached to a solid stone wall, and ask a surveyor or a damp specialist who understands solid walls what investigation is actually relevant. Do not commission a cavity-tie or cavity-insulation contractor off this note. The solicitor should see the limitation in plain words: no cavity was found. The meter has not been promoted into a cavity-wall verdict.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where was the high reading taken, and on what stone?
- What search did you make for a cavity, and what was the result?
- Did you avoid a cavity-wall diagnosis because no cavity was found?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the high reading on solid random stone, not on a cavity wall.
- Do not instruct cavity-tie or cavity-fill work from this note.
- Ask for a solid-wall investigation if the base moisture must be explained.
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 stone is thick, could a cavity still be hidden in it?
The surveyor could not find a cavity, and the report should not invent one inside the thickness. Random stone of this kind is being described as solid. A hidden void would be a new finding, and it was not made. The high reading stays a base reading on the wall that was seen. It is not a cavity diagnosis waiting to be copied across.
Does the meter reading mean the floor timbers have decayed?
No. The reading is at the base of the stone, and the survey has not inspected the timbers from it. No cavity was found to carry a cavity-wall storey either. Timber condition needs its own look. A high number on masonry has not ruled the joists in or out, and it has not been turned into a cavity diagnosis.