Inspection

RICS Surveying Safely

- Consider personal safety 

- Inspect local area

- Internal inspection 

- External inspection

- Phone / torch 

- PPE 

- Property plans / maps / goads 

- Laser measuring device

• Asbestos register 
• Fire safety risk assessment

• Wayleaves 
• Access 
• Rights of light (need to have 20 years uninterrupted light to gain rights of light)

- Contamination 

- Local amenities such as transport links, parking etc. 

- Marketing boards, vacancies, new lettings

- Parking

- Method of construction and age 

- Repair / condition of the property 

- Structural damage / defects 

- Check site boundaries with OS map

- Layout / specification 

- Repair 

- Services (age and condition) 

- Statutory compliance such as Asbestos report, fire safety risk assessment 

- Fixtures & fittings

Valuation: Factors that affect value such as location, tenure, occupation 

Property management: Lease compliance, repair, user

Agency: Marketability of property, statutory compliance, repair, presentation of property

- Pile: used for tall buildings, weak ground and high loads 

- Trench: used for resi

- Raft: slab foundation used for soil earth, spread the load of the whole building

- Pad: slab foundation under individual or groups of piles

215 x 102.5 x 65

Solid wall construction - usually 1 brick thick with headers 

Cavity wall construction - usually 2 brick thick with metal ties and cavity wall insulation

• There are air holes or cavity trays visible for cavity wall insulation 
• Patterns of the laying

• Flemish bond 
• English bond

A brick laid horizontally flat

A brick laid flat with the short end of the brick exposed

White marks on bricks caused when water reacts with salts in the brick causing a chemical reaction leaving salt depositaries

Freeze / thaw action making the brick expand thus cracking / damaging the brick

Steel frame = less columns, more spaced apart 

Concrete frame = more columns, closer together, lower FTC heights

Property to be handed over in;

• - Steel or concrete frame 
• - Shell condition with capped off services 
• - Concrete floor 
• - No shop front

• - Steel or concrete frame 
• - Full accessed raised flooring (150mm)
• - Min floor loading of 2.5-3 kN/sqm 
• - Min FTC height of 2.6m (350mm ceiling void) 
• - Passenger lifts 
• - air con 
• - Double glazed windows 
• - Good parking ration dependant on local authority 
• - LG7 compliant lighting 
• - Planning grid of 1.5m x 1.5m 
• - Max depth of 12m - 15m

• VAV - High cap cost but most flexible 
• VRV - Lower cap cost, higher running cost 
• Fan coil - Lower cap cost, higher running cost, flexible

Cat A: As standard 

Cat B: Plug and play fit out that is bespoke for tenant 

Shell & core: Common parts of building are finished with office parts in a shell like manor reading for tenants fittings

• - Steel portal frame
• - Insulated profiled steel cladding 
• - Min 30 kN/sqm floor loading
• - Min 8m floor to eaves height
• - 10% of roof to consist of roof lights 
• - 5-10% amenity space (office and WC) 
• - 40% site cover 
• - Full height loading doors 
• - 3 phase electricity (415 volts)

- Water: damp, we rot, dry rot 

- Movement: subsidence 

- Common building defects

Defect in the design or a material which has always been present

A defect which can't be discovered by a reasonable thorough inspection

4 step process 

• - Take photographs 
• - Try and establish the cause of the defect 
• - Report to your client 
• - Recommend specialist advice

• Subsidence such as cracks going in a diagonal action upwards 
• Heave is expansion of the ground underneath the property from the removal of tree for an example 
• Horizontal wall cracking is evidence of cavity tie failing

- Photograph the defect 

- Try to establish cause of defect 

- Inform client 

- Provide recommendations on remedial

Wet rot: Caused by damp and timber decay. Caused timber to be wet, soft and visible fungal formation 

Dry Rot: Caused by fungal attack with mushroom like formations occurring

Damp: rising damp is caused by leaking plumbing, insulation and aircon units

Period resi / commercial building = dry rot, wet rot, rising damp, tile slippage 

Modern industrial buildings = roof leaks around roof lights, damaged cladding panels and burst pipes 

Modern office buildings - damp penetration from AC units, burst pipes, damaged cladding, cavity wall tie failure

RICS Guidance Note 'Contamination, the Environment and Sustainability 2010' 

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Evidence of chemicals, oils, subsidence, dead vegetation or animals and landfill

Duty holder 

If vacant, landlord. If occupied, tenant

Carry out a desk top examination and look at local history, planning uses, previous site

• Phase One
• Review the history of the site with a desk top study and site inspection

• Phase Two
• Investigation to identify the nature and extent of contamination

• Phase Three
• Remediation report setting out remedial options

- High alumina cement 

- Woodwool shuttering 

- Calcium chloride

Materials that can degrade with age causing structural damage 

Brown staining on concrete frames of buildings from 60's / 70's

A material that can cause harm to health

- Radon Gas

- Asbestos 

- Lead piping

• - Invasive plant that can penetrate through hard surfaces 
• - Green / purple hollow stem with green leaves 
• - relevant law surrounding it is the Environmental Protection Act 1990 
• - It needs to be disposed of legally by a specialist contractor 
• - Some lenders won't provide a loan if it is a concern

- Architects drawings 

- Client 

- English heritage

Lack of ventilation 

When cold air meets hot air

Form of tax relief which applies to contaminated or derelict land in the UK which allows companies to claim up to 150% corporation tax deduction for expenditure in remediating contaminated or derelict sites including Japanese knotweed

• Assisted in inspecting for Agency purposes 
• Works had recently been carried out on the property to return it to a magnolia box 
• I checked to determine if there was anything that may affect the marketability of the property 
• Nothing posed as a hazard and couldn't notice any issues
• Took photos and reported to my client ready for marketing 
• Reported to my client

• Assisted in inspecting a property for valuation purposes 
• I noted 4 new lettings within the immediate vicinity of the property which would help in the RR proceedings 
• Unit was also a handful of units up from Dalston Junction therefore would add value 
• Collated comparable evidence

• Inspected for agency purposes 
• Looked at the condition of the property as they were largely vacant for some time 
• Assessed the layout and specification which was in a shell condition 
• I noted that the unit was far too big for tenant requirements for Peterborough 
• Advised my client to split the unit in order to fulfil tenant requirements

• Inspected a property for agency purposes as works had just complete on a unit we were bringing to market 
• I took a local area inspection, internal and external inspection 
• I noticed a leak coming from a tap 
• Took a photo, assessed that a valve may have been leaking for some time, informed my client immediately and recommended take further prof advice from a plumber before marketing the property