Asbestos surveys, backed by UKAS-accredited analysis
We survey homes and commercial premises across London to find out whether asbestos is present, what type it is, and what condition it is in. Samples are confirmed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory, and you get a clear report you can actually act on. UKATA-trained, fully insured.
An asbestos survey tells you whether asbestos is present in a building, what type it is, and what condition it is in, with samples confirmed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory. It is the step that turns guesswork into a decision: whether a material is safe to leave in place, manage, or remove. This is our survey and testing hub: it explains the different surveys and tests, when each one applies, and what you get at the end. Each has its own page with the detail.
You may need a survey before buying or renovating, before any work that will disturb the fabric of a building, or simply because something looks suspect. A survey does not remove anything, and it does not assume the worst. Often the most useful result is confirmation that a material is safe to leave alone. We report in plain language rather than jargon.
Our surveys & testing services
Management survey
For a building in normal use. Locates asbestos that could be disturbed in day-to-day occupation and rates its condition, so it can be managed safely in place.
Asbestos management survey →Refurbishment & demolition survey
For before building work. A more thorough, intrusive survey that finds asbestos in the areas work will disturb, so it can be removed or made safe before tools go in.
Refurbishment & demolition survey →Testing & sampling
When you just need a suspect material identified. We take a controlled sample and a UKAS-accredited laboratory confirms whether it contains asbestos, and which type.
Asbestos testing & sampling →Air testing & clearance
Air monitoring and four-stage clearance, used to confirm an area is safe to reoccupy after removal. For independence, this should be done by someone other than the firm that did the removal.
Air testing & 4-stage clearance →Not sure which you need?
In short: a management survey if the building is simply in use; a refurbishment & demolition survey if you are about to do building work; testing & sampling if you just want one suspect material checked; and air testing & clearance after removal, to confirm an area is safe to go back into. Tell us what you are planning and we will steer you to the right one.
How a survey works
Inspection
We inspect the property, identify suspect materials, and record their location, extent, and condition.
Sampling
Where needed, we take small samples under controlled conditions, sealing the spot behind us so nothing is left disturbed.
UKAS-accredited analysis
Samples go to a UKAS-accredited laboratory, which confirms whether asbestos is present and which type it is.
Your report
You receive a clear report listing what was found, where, its condition, and what we recommend: leave, manage, or remove.
What people fear, and what they miss
A lot of a surveyor's job is managing panic, and the striking thing is how often the fear points the wrong way. People are frequently alarmed by materials that are completely harmless, while everyday items that genuinely can contain asbestos get ripped out, smashed, or chiselled without a second thought. After enough surveys you learn to reassure on one and look hard at the other.
The harmless things we get called out to most: horsehair plaster, cellulose loft insulation, grimy old mineral wool, and post-2000 fibre cement.
Dark, wiry horsehair in pre-1930s lath-and-plaster walls looks sinister but is just an animal-hair binder. Clumped grey cellulose insulation, essentially recycled newspaper, gets mistaken for loose-fill asbestos constantly, as does ordinary mineral wool that simply looks suspect after decades of gathered dirt. And corrugated shed and garage roofs built after the 1999 ban use safe cellulose or PVA fibres, often marked "NT". None of these need us, and we will tell you so rather than invent a job.
The reverse is what keeps us cautious. The materials people genuinely should not disturb are often the least obvious, and we have seen all of these cut, hacked, or scraped by homeowners and tradespeople who had no idea: the black bitumen sound-deadening pads stuck under 1960s to 1980s stainless-steel kitchen sinks, often reinforced with chrysotile; hardened putty in old wooden and Crittall window frames, which throws out dust when it is chiselled or ground out; heavy black Bakelite-style toilet cisterns from the mid-twentieth century; and the small woven flash guards tucked right behind the ceramic carriers in old rewireable fuse boxes. We treat every one of these as suspect until a UKAS-accredited sample says otherwise, because guessing by eye is exactly how people get caught out.
Diamond Asbestos survey team
South-East London
Why a survey from Diamond is worth having
A survey is only as good as the report at the end of it. A list of lab results means little if it does not tell you what to actually do. We survey as the people who also do the removal, so our recommendations are grounded in what the work would really involve, not theory.
- UKAS-accredited analysis.
Samples are confirmed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory, the recognised standard for asbestos testing, not a guess on site.
- Reports in plain English.
You get a clear account of what was found, where, its condition, and a straight recommendation, not a wall of jargon.
- Surveyed by the people who remove it.
If removal is needed, we can carry out the non-licensed work ourselves and tell you honestly when something needs a licensed contractor instead.
Not every suspect material needs removing. Where something is sound and safely left in place, we will tell you so, rather than turning a survey into a sales pitch for a removal you do not need.
What affects the price
We quote each survey to the property rather than a flat rate. The main factors:
What happens if the survey finds asbestos
If your survey finds non-licensed materials such as cement roofs, cladding, floor tiles, textured coatings, or soffits, we can remove them ourselves. If it finds higher-risk materials such as sprayed coatings, pipe lagging, or asbestos insulating board, which legally require a licensed contractor, we will tell you plainly and point you to a contractor who is licensed for it. Either way, you leave the survey knowing exactly where you stand.
Asbestos surveys, answered
Which survey do I need?
I've found something that looks like asbestos. Is it?
Does the survey damage my property?
How long does it take to get the results?
What if you find asbestos?
Do I need a survey to buy a house?
Book an asbestos survey
Tell us the property and what you are planning, and we will arrange the right survey and a quote, with samples confirmed by a UKAS-accredited lab and a clear report at the end.