Electrics and gas
Underfloor loops are said to sit in the screed and none were traced. Were the loops confirmed as continuous?
No. The loops were not confirmed as continuous. Underfloor loops are said to sit in the screed, and none were traced, so the visit did not follow a pipe from one end to the other or prove an unbroken circuit. A statement that loops are in the floor is a claim about something hidden. The survey records the claim and the limit. It has not verified continuity, and it has not tested how the circuit performs.
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?
Screed hides whatever was laid in it. Continuity means the pipe runs without a break, a missed joint or a loop that was never connected. Tracing would need access and a method the home survey did not use. The surveyor cannot see through the screed and should not be read as having done so. Approved Document L is energy-performance guidance for building work. This visit does not issue a building-regulations certificate and did not decide the underfloor circuit complies with it.
Ask the solicitor for as-installed drawings and any commissioning record that traces the loops, and keep those papers separate from this report. A specialist can test continuity if you need it known. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a grant route in England and Wales toward a heat pump or biomass boiler, not in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The survey has not decided eligibility and has not quoted a grant. Untraced loops remain unconfirmed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Who said the loops sit in the screed, and where is that recorded?
- What tracing or test does the report say was not done?
- Does any drawing in the pack actually show the loops?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat continuity of the loops as unconfirmed.
- Ask for as-installed drawings and commissioning papers.
- Do not describe the hidden pipes as a proved circuit.
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 warm patch of floor confirm the loops are continuous?
No. A warm patch shows heat at that spot on the day, if it was even felt. It does not trace a loop through the screed or prove the pipe is continuous. None of the loops were traced. The survey has not confirmed continuity and has not tested the circuit as a whole.
Has the survey certified the underfloor work under Approved Document L?
No. Approved Document L is energy-performance guidance for building work, and the survey does not issue a building-regulations certificate. The loops were not traced and were not confirmed as continuous. Compliance of the hidden installation stays outside this visit. Any certificate would have to come from the papers, not from the untraced screed.