Building Condition Surveys and Pre-purchase Property Appraisals

We undertake condition surveys of historic buildings and structures all over the UK and beyond.  These are tailored to the particular needs of each client and can vary from a walk-round appraisal to a full historic building condition survey, which is classed as a much enhanced RICS level 3 type.  We do not undertake level 2 / Home Buyer surveys as they are designated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as being unsuitable for old properties.

Unlike most survey firms we do not use standard template format reports – each of ours is specifically written for the property that is being looked at; as such, it is bespoke and tailored to cover the problems and defects that are encountered so that their severity can be properly explained.  In addition we try and determine the cause of such problems and that can enable us recommend the appropriate follow-on action that may be required.

Each survey looks at a building holistically, where the construction methods and materials are considered along with its age, and how it may have been changed, altered or adapted over the years.  We view each property as an historical structure with all the problems and foibles that arise with time and the use of what are now generally considered as archaic building methods, vernacular materials and styles.

Our expertise in dealing with old buildings allows us to consider each part of the structure as an individual element that makes up the whole – rather in the way that it would have been built.  It also gives us an insight into what we might expect to find during our investigations, and some of the otherwise un-expected aspects of the property’s development to look out for.  This enables us to make the most appropriate recommendations for repair and/or conservation for that particular building.

Each report is written in a narrative form to show clearly what we have looked at and explains what we have seen in as plain non technical English as possible with any necessary technical terms clarified.