We survey every type and size of building, but we specialise in the old, damp unloved ones that are generally given such bad press mainly because of bad advice. We love old buildings, we love everything about them for their undulating slated roofs, leaking gutters, rotting windows and delaminating stone as well as for their damp interiors.
We will explain how your house was supposed to function, the materials it was built with and what has gone wrong since. We are also licenced drone operators allowing us to provide detailed, high-quality images of otherwise difficult to access areas such as roofs and parapets. Because we can provide you with the knowledge that will allow you to make them dry, comfortable, efficient and wonderful places to live in.
We understand old buildings. We understand the materials, the methods of construction, the way they were designed to work, the common defects (and very unusual ones) and can identify what has gone wrong, when it has gone wrong and why it has gone wrong but, more importantly, and not generally provided in other building surveys, especially not in RICS building survey reports - how to remedy these defects - for good.
We will explain how your house was supposed to function, the materials it was built with and what has gone wrong since. We are also licenced drone operators allowing us to provide detailed, high-quality images of otherwise difficult to access areas such as roofs and parapets. Because we can provide you with the knowledge that will allow you to make them dry, comfortable, efficient and wonderful places to live in.
We understand old buildings. We understand the materials, the methods of construction, the way they were designed to work, the common defects (and very unusual ones) and can identify what has gone wrong, when it has gone wrong and why it has gone wrong but, more importantly, and not generally provided in other building surveys, especially not in RICS building survey reports - how to remedy these defects - for good.
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Just like to say on behalf of the family, thanks for the work you put in to achieve the desired result. Hopefully using your input, the buyers bring it back to being a loved and beautiful house that it is! Your work saved either us or buyer thousands of needless expense which would be better used making a good house even better.
We specialise in surveying older, solid-walled, historic or listed buildings, but are equally experienced in surveying any type of building, where it is more common for there to be complex failures of several elements rather than just one. This is usually the result of inconsistent maintenance or the wrong materials being used or poor quality repairs being made in the past.
A timber & damp survey or dampness survey is our most common type of defect survey by far. A dampness survey is only named so the damp industry can pigeonhole their services. Really, a dampness survey is a 'defect survey' using 'building pathology' to determine the cause(s) of particular symptoms - such as dampness.
Home Reports are a necessary part of the current house-buying system in Scotland (now 10 years old), and may eventually reach England and Wales, but they provide very little real information instead passing off that responsibility to so-called 'specialists' even though the Home Report surveyor, seldom a Building Surveyor, more usually a valuation surveyor, should know better and be able to comment themselves on defects.
Reviews (2)
Ben Stimpson
Nov 07, 2020
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We found John though several searches looking for a specialist in heritage houses, being first time buyers and buying an 200+ year old building we were obviously nervous, and desperate to avoid using chemicals both having been brought up to do things traditionally where possible. John had excellent communication leading up to the survey ( which is of itself a brilliant read) answered any and all questions we had even after we had purchased the property and had begun renovating it . Whilst not as cheep as an off the shelf survey it was more than worth it both in highlighting a defect that the home
Michael Hodges
Jul 01, 2020
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