Building Surveys

Peter Glover

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781136442872
• Edition: 7
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Since the first edition was published in 1983, Building Surveys has been the core text in its field for students and professionals alike. Covering everything needed for initial inspections such as equipment, know-how and procedures to writing an accurate report, this book is a proven indispensable guide. It considers all the structural elements required when surveying a property for example, foundations, walls and roofs as well as what to look out for and how to deal with it. Legal considerations and recent cases are used to illustrate good working practice making this a comprehensive text to this important subject.

Chapter 1

Organization

It is highly important to ordinary members of the lay public that a surveyor should use proper care to warn them regarding matters about which they should be warned over the construction or otherwise of a piece of property and that they should be told what are the facts.

Mr. Justice Hilberry – Rona v. Pearce (1953)

The purpose of a Building Survey is to give an independent professional opinion on the condition of a property. The traditional relationship is for the surveyor to be acting for a potential purchaser but a surveyor could also be instructed to prepare a report in other circumstances some of which are described later in this book including reports for litigation, dilapidations or for a vendor prior to marketing the property. Various levels of inspection and testing may be appropriate and there are many possible formats for the report.

Site Notes, Field Sheets and Checklists

A written record of what was done during the survey is required and should be kept on file for future reference. This may be needed to deal with further enquiries from clients at a later stage and would certainly be necessary in order to defend a complaint or claim. The record should show details of the conditions applicable at the time of inspection, the checks made and what was seen. It should also show, for the avoidance of doubt later on, what may not have been seen and what parts of the building were inaccessible.

The written record should be clear enough that another surveyor could look at the notes later and be able to understand what was done and seen during the inspection. There could be circumstances where the original surveyor is no longer available to translate his or her handwriting and there may be a complaint or claim to deal with.

The normal way to do this is for the surveyor to use an A4 clipboard with pro forma site notes, field sheets and checklists. This will demonstrate methodology. The surveyor will have in front of him or her, the necessary prompts and reminders and a system of recording information. An example of a pro forma field sheet for a Building Survey is shown on the following pages. When completing the form it is always a good idea to consider how it might appear later if it were produced in court in relation to a negligence claim.

So the barrister for the claimant may be cross-examining the unhappy surveyor:

Mr. Glover, did you go into the loft?

Indeed I did and on page 2 of my field sheet there is a sketch of the roof timbers and a check list of the various parts of the roof construction with my comments.

Equipment

Lighting is needed for roof spaces, under floors, cellars and other dark areas. I find it advisable to carry a lead light with extension lead so that mains powered lighting can be used whenever mains electricity is available. There is no better substitute for mains lighting for this purpose and a 100 or 150W rough service bulb is ideal. When mains electricity is not available one of the modern rechargeable halogen torches is best although the rechargeable batteries to these generally have a fairly short life and they need to be charged up frequently.

Tapes, laser measuring devices and folding wooden rules are useful for taking dimensions. Short steel tapes are best for small dimensions with longer tape measures for external and land measurements. Wooden rules can be inserted between floor boards to check the depth of floor joists.

Ladders are needed for gaining access to roof voids and for inspecting low-level roofs externally. There are a number of ‘s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Organization
• Chapter 2: House Surveys
• Chapter 3: Foundations
• Chapter 4: Walls
• Chapter 5: Floors
• Chapter 6: Roofs and Chimneys
• Chapter 7: Joinery and Woodwork
• Chapter 8: Finishes and Surfaces
• Chapter 9: Services
• Chapter 10: The Report
• Chapter 11: Home Condition, Homebuyer and Other Pro Forma Reports
• Chapter 12: Reports on Non-residential Buildings
• Chapter 13: Reports on Flats and Apartments
• Chapter 14: New Buildings and Buildings Under Construction
• Chapter 15: Reports on Older Buildings
• Chapter 16: Reports on Leasehold Properties
• Chapter 17: Reports for Prospective Mortgagees
• Chapter 18: A Typical Building Survey Report
• Chapter 19: Legal Considerations
• Chapter 20: Dilapidations
• Chapter 21: Conservation and the Surveyor
• Chapter 22: The Surveyor as Expert Witness
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• List of Court Cases
• Useful Addresses
• Index