Timber decay and woodworm
The timber guarantee excludes the floors because the carpets were not lifted. What has that guarantee not done?
It has not inspected the floors, and it has not guaranteed them. A treatment firm that could not lift the carpets could not see the boards or the joists, so it wrote them out. That paper does not contradict a survey limitation on the floors, and it does not prove the floors are sound. The home survey did not lift the fitted carpets either.
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?
Guarantees cover the work described and the timber that was accessible on that firm’s terms. An exclusion for floors, or for any area where coverings stayed down, means those areas are outside the promise. Buyers sometimes file the certificate and hear only the word guaranteed. Read the schedule. If the loft was sprayed and the floors were excluded, you have a loft treatment record and an open question downstairs. The Property Care Association still expects moisture to be dealt with where timber is at risk. A spray upstairs does not dry a void nobody entered.
Ask the seller for the full guarantee, including the plan or the exclusions, not a covering letter. Ask the surveyor whether they inspected any floor timber or whether carpets and furniture stopped them. If both the treatment firm and the surveyor stopped at the carpet, say that twice, clearly, to anyone pricing work. Do not pay extra for a “renewal” of a guarantee that never included the floors and call it a floor inspection. If you need the floors seen, the carpets have to come up under an instruction the seller agrees to.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which areas does the paperwork you saw actually exclude?
- Did you inspect any floorboards, or were coverings down throughout?
- Please do not let a loft guarantee be read as covering the floors.
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the exclusions before you tell a lender the timber was guaranteed.
- Do not lift the seller’s carpets without consent in order to “make the guarantee apply”.
- If floor timber is the worry, instruct an inspection that includes it. The old certificate will not stretch.
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 an exclusion mean the floors are the worst part?
No. It means they were not in the job. They might be fine. Unknown is not a diagnosis.
Can the original firm extend the guarantee without a visit?
Not in any way you should rely on. Cover for floors requires someone to have seen the floors. Ask what they would need to do.