Building Surveying and Party Walls

Building Surveying

Combining a high level of skill in construction detail and processes, with expertise in a broad range of specialist building surveying disciplines, our building surveying group offers clients a proactive and reliable solution to building maintenance and construction issues.

Employer’s Agent & Contract Administration

With an emphasis on refurbishment, alterations and extensions projects, where technical knowledge of construction detail is critical, the Building Surveying team act as both Employer’s Agent and Contract Administrators. Projects are directly supervised by professionals with the experience and judgement to make high level decisions, compared with many larger practices, who will delegate control to a less experienced level.

We provide a range of individual services allowing our clients the flexibility to choose a service tailored to their individual needs.

These include:

  • Building design – refurbishment, alterations and extensions
  • Repair and maintenance specification
  • Employer’s agent
  • Contract administration
  • Feasibility studies
  • Procurement advice
  • Contractual advice

The services are backed by the design and CAD expertise of our in-house Architect’s team.

Access Consultancy

Our comprehensive service has guided organisations in the public and private sector. When acting on behalf of our clients, we are committed to a policy of equality, inclusion, accessibility and their delivery of services to members of the public, as well as providing employment opportunities to their existing and future staff.

Our access consultancy provides clients with a pro-active service ensuring that potential sources of discrimination are addressed in both the physical attributes of their building, its uses and in the management practices and procedures they adopt.

Services include:

  • Access audits
  • Design appraisals
  • Design and costing advice
  • Access statements
  • Design of remedial solutions managing implementation

    Surveys

    Working with clients involved in property acquisition, management and disposal, we offer a range of surveying services, identifying defects, liabilities and the risks associated with the building. With a detailed understanding of the pathology of continuing defects, the team has the experience of dealing with problems before they arise, ensuring the cost efficient maintenance and improvement of building stocks.

    Services include:

    • Pre-acquisition surveys
    • Building condition and stock condition surveys
    • Planned and cyclical maintenance
    • Costing advice
    • Statutory compliance
    • Defect diagnosis
    • Portfolio surveys
    • Schedule of condition
    • Dilapidations
    • Health & safety audits

      Party Wall

      Where building works are proposed which fall within the scope of the Party Wall Act, formal procedures need to be instituted at an early stage. Failure to do so entails a risk that works may be delayed and significant costs incurred, should an injunction be taken out by an adjoining owner. We provide a comprehensive service acting as both Building and Adjoining Owner’s Surveyors, ranging from individual properties to large developments with many awards. The team is led by two members of the Pyramus and Thisbe Club – the party wall specialists’ forum.

      Services include:

      • Building Owner’s Surveyor/Agreed Survey
      • Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor
      • Third Surveyor
      • Initial site appraisal
      • Service of notices
      • Schedules of condition
      • Drafting party wall agreements
      • Agreement of party wall awards
      • Monitoring condition
      • Post completion inspections
      • Resolution of disputes

      Ancillary Services include:

      • Scaffolding agreements
      • Crane over-sailing negotiations