Sign of damp
Swollen wood and laminate
Door frames that have darkened and split at the bottom, bathroom doors that stick, kitchen cabinet bases with swollen, crumbling particle board, laminate edges lifting, and wooden flooring that cups or gaps. Often there is a dark stain where the wood meets the floor or wall.
What it might mean in a flat
Doors, frames and cabinets that swell or delaminate.
Wood and particle board soak up water and show it quickly, so swelling is often the clearest evidence of a long-running damp problem. A swollen bathroom door frame usually means water is reaching the floor or wall at the threshold. Swollen cabinet bases point to a leak inside the cabinet or in the wall behind it.
Common causes
- Door frames set into a wet wall or floor, wicking water up from the bottom
- A leaking sink trap, RO outlet or supply line inside a kitchen or vanity cabinet
- Water spreading from a bathroom with no threshold or the wrong floor slope
- Wardrobes built against a damp external or bathroom wall
- High humidity through the monsoon
What an inspection checks
How we confirm it.
- Pin meter readings in the wood itself, which is what pin meters are calibrated for, compared with dry wood elsewhere in the flat
- Pinless and thermal scans of the wall and floor behind and under the joinery, with cool areas checked by the meter
- The bathroom threshold, floor slope and grout next to swollen door frames
- Plumbing inside kitchen and vanity cabinets for drips, stains and wet bases
When to worry
Signals that it's active.
- Wood reads wet with the pin meter, not just stained
- The wall behind built-in wardrobes or cabinets reads wet
- Swelling is new, which suggests an active leak rather than old damage
Where it usually comes from
Questions buyers ask
The door frame is swollen but the wall looks dry. What now?
The water is often coming from the floor at the threshold, not the wall. The inspector checks the floor next to the frame, the bathroom slope and the grout.
Should I replace swollen cabinets before buying?
Find out why they swelled first. If the pipe or wall behind them is still wet, new cabinets will go the same way.
Does the inspector move furniture?
The inspector scans what is reachable without dismantling joinery or moving heavy furniture. Areas that cannot be reached are listed in the report.
Not ready to book? Walk the flat with our 10-minute self-check and get a snag list to take to the seller.
Start the Damp CheckFind the damp before you pay for it.
Book a moisture and thermal inspection. Report on WhatsApp within 24 hours.