Condition ratings
A tide mark is confined to one chimney breast. Does that number apply to every wall in the room?
No. A tide mark confined to one chimney breast does not apply that number to every wall in the room. The breast is the chimney's projection. The other walls were separate surfaces. If they were dry and unrated, or rated more mildly, leave them there. Do not tell a decorator the whole room has the breast's problem.
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 chimney breast is the masonry of the stack as it passes through the room. A tide mark confined to it is a horizontal stain on that projection, often from the flue, the stack above, or salts in that masonry. The other walls of the room are different surfaces. Their ratings, if they have them, are their own. Rating 3 on the breast means the surveyor thinks that breast is serious, urgent, or both, and you should get written quotations before legal commitment for that breast. Rating 1 on another wall means no repair is currently needed there. Do not paint the room with the breast's number.
The what to do now note advises you about the rated element. It does not invoice the seller to treat every wall, and it does not say the mechanism. A breast can be wet from above while a party wall beside it is dry. Concealed flues and the back of the breast are not guaranteed sound because the face shows a line, so the rating is the mark they gave the visible defect, not a map of the stack. Ask how high the mark goes, whether the other walls were checked, and what rating each one carries. A decorator pricing a whole room from one breast has not read the element.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which rating is on the chimney breast, and which on the other walls?
- How far does the tide mark travel beyond the breast?
- Did you link this mark to the stack, or leave the cause open?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the tide mark on the breast named in the report.
- Do not regrade the other walls to match it.
- If the breast is rating 3, get quotations for that breast before you commit.
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 breast is rating 2, can the room still be lived in without a damp scheme?
Rating 2 means a repair is needed but it is not serious or urgent. It is not a whole-room scheme unless the report describes one.
Does the same mark upstairs change this room?
Only if the report says the defect continues. Another floor is another look.