Full Building Survey from £400 Inclusive
Bruce offers one type of Building Survey to home buyers which is a combined Building Survey, Structural Survey and Home Survey - this meets all the needs of the homebuyer in one single Building survey. The survey is provided within 48 hours.
Bruce stays under the VAT threshold and therefore does not charge VAT - This keeps his prices 20% below other Building Surveyors who are also members of Chartered Institutes.
For bespoke structural and other surveys, tailored to your needs, call Bruce on 07872016593
An Overview of Structural Surveys, Building Surveys, Home Surveys and the Building Surveyor by Bruce Spenser MSc MCIOB
Qualifications - Firstly your Structural or Building Surveyor must be suitably academically qualified. The Structural Surveyor or Building Surveyor should have a minimum of a BSc in Building Surveying and should have received this at one of the CIOB or RICS accredited University courses. Further information on qualifications can be viewed at: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/building_surveyor_entry_requirements.htm
Professional Membership - Secondly the Building Surveyor should be a member of a recognised body. The recognised professional bodies for Building Surveyors are:
Insurance - Third they must have professional indemnity insurance to cover the structural or building survey. This ensures that should the fail in their duty of care to you (Be negligent) you can, through the courts and damages, regain your previous financial position.
Experience - The author would recommend they actually have a diploma in Home inspections and have worked Building, Restoring, Renovating, Converting and Altering the properties they intend to Survey - The main advantage of a CIOB Building Surveyor is their on hands experience + their academic qualifications.
Offer and Contract - After your initial contact the Structural Surveyor should give you a clear offer of what he intends to do and any limitations. Compare this to others. Also ask if the survey will be carried out by a professional Structural Surveyor or a trainee. Ask if VAT will be charged.
Choosing your Surveyor- The question then arises how do you choose your Structural Surveyor or Building Surveyor? The author recommends that you then go for the symbiotic strength of the experientially and academically qualified Surveyor who will have continually professionally developed themselves by hands on construction experience, training and academic study.
· They understand by hands on experience strengthened by academic study and continual professional development what can go wrong in the construction, alteration, extension and refurbishment of dwellings and are therefore able to advise when a trail of suspicion emerges how the prospective purchaser can minimise or mitigate the inherent risks associated with their purchase - this after all is the reason you employ a structural surveyor.
· There are a number of surveys on the market at the moment which seem to be based on an escalating cost the more liability the surveyor takes on. The author would recommend a full structural survey plus a combined home report and in his view this will meet all the needs of the home buyer in one Structural Survey.
What can you then inspect your Structural Surveyor to do:
The Structural Surveyor provide professional services whereby they will inspect problems with existing buildings.
Their Survey should reveal the health of a building, hence the term Building Pathology and from that Building Pathologist.
They will have a thorough understanding of the the many construction processes over the centuries of dwelling houses. Through this understanding they are aware of the faults which affect these different constructions and their possibilities and they will advise you of them.
“I have ten thousand fighting men they taught me all I knew; their name is what and why and where and when and whom” - thanks to Rudyard K
Critical Analysis - Rudyard K describes the process of critical analysis. Critical analysis is an amalgam of education, experience, training and the correct use of logic and risk assessment*. The surveyor will gather the facts and by experience and by reference to scientific authority (published academic literature) diagnose why the problems have occurred and how the problem can be remedied.
Take for example cracks, by experience and by reference to academic journals and research for example the Building Research Establishment (BRE) guides the Structural Surveyor knows that Cracking is caused by:
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· Thermal expansion
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· Moisture expansion
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· Chemical expansion
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· Subsidence and heave
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· Creep
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· Over Stress by a combination of live and dead loads
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· Inadequate design
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· “Modern “design processes
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· Mid war building techniques
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· Adjacent Excavations and vibrations
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· Mining -
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· Foundation movement
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· Timber rot within the supporting structure
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· Removing structural support
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· Drains
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· Trees
The Structural surveyor will primarily assess the age of the crack and will seek to determine if the structure has reached a new equilibrium.
They will next assess the depth of the crack, where it is located and its shape. They know that nearly all buildings have cracks; their job is to advise you of the seriousness of the crack. The most serious cracks are associated with foundation movement, alterations in the loading of the structure, structural timber rot by for example conephora puteana (Wet rot) or Serpula Lacrymans (Dry rot).
By reference to BRE 251, “ the classification of cracks in terms of their reparability” The structural surveyor will be able to advise that if the cracks do not penetrate the full width of the brickwork the cracks would currently fit into category 0, 1 or at the very most 2 of the BRE classification - ie very little action required except aesthetic repair.
It will be noted that the Structural Surveyor’s degree will be a Science degree; Master or Bachelor of Science; Science is essential in the diagnoses of chemical attack, thermal expansion, moisture expansion, rots, trees, stress and creep. For example Sulphate attack of chimneys: rising damp, trees and roots, chemical reactions between natural salts and chemicals within building products, Electrolytic action between different metals, the use of the noble gasses as Insulants etc.
The structural surveyor should also have expert understanding of the Building Regulations and of their evolution, common law and statutes that affect dwellings for example the London Building Acts, The Party Wall Act, Construction, Design and Management Regulations etc.
Which is why the Structural Surveyor should not only be used for your home survey but also when making structural changes to an existing building or if designing a new building.