Core - Inspection (L3) Flashcards
What are the steps for carrying out an inspection?
(1) Before inspection I consider my personal Health and Safety and my firm’s policies on inspection, I then would consider the (2) local area, the (3) external aspects of the property, and then the (4) internal aspects of the property.
What should you take on an inspection with you?
- Mobile phone
- Tape measure/laser
- File, plans and other supporting information
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a fluorescent jacket, steel-toed boots, non-slip soled shoes, ear defenders, gloves, goggles and a hard hat
- Pen and paper / Dictaphone
What should you consider in the immediate surrounding area of the property when conducting an inspection?
- Location / aspect / local facilities / public transport / business vibrancy
- Contamination / environmental hazards / flooding / high voltage power lines / electricity substations
- Comparable evidence / local market conditions / agents’ boards
What should you consider when conducting an external inspection?
- Method of construction
- Repair and condition of the exterior
- Car parking / access / loading arrangements
- Defects / structural movement
- Check site boundaries with OS map and / or Title Plan
What are the different ways that you could date a building?
- Asking the client
- Researching the date of planning consent or building regulations approval
- Land Registry
- Local historical records
- Architectural style
- Architects certificate of practical completion
What are the THREE different purposes of inspection?
- Valuation - valuation influencers
- Property management - policing the lease
- Agency - marketability issues
If inspecting a property for valuation purposes, what would you be looking out for?
Factors which can influence the valuation of a property such as location, tenure, aspect, form of construction, defects, current condition, occupation details
If inspecting a property for agency purposes, what would you be looking out for?
Marketability issues -
The current condition of the building, repair and maintenance issues, statutory compliance, services, presentation and flexibility of the accommodation and its marketability
What are the TWO types of wall construction used?
- Solid wall construction
- Cavity wall construction
What is a solid wall construction?
Solid brickwork with headers, normally at least one brick thick, with different bricklaying patterns incorporating headers (e.g. Flemish bond) to tie together the layers of brick
What is cavity wall construction?
- Two layers of brickwork are tied together with metal ties, with a cavity that may be filled with insulation.
- No headers used
- Evidence of a cavity tray, air brick or weep holes may be seen
What is a stretcher?
Brick laid horizontally, flat with the long side of the brick exposed on the outer face of the wall
What is a header?
Brick laid flat with the short end of the brick exposed
What is efflorescence?
White marks caused by hygroscopic salts in the brickwork
• Formed when water reacts with the natural salts, by way of a chemical process, contained within the construction material and mortar
• Water dissolves the salts which are then carried out and deposited onto the surface by the natural evaporation that occurs when air meets the surface of the wall
What is spalling?
Damaged brickwork where the surface of the bricks starts to crumble because of freeze/thaw action, after it has become saturated in the winter months
What are the institutional specifications for shops?
- Most are constructed either of a steel or concrete frame
- Services i.e. gas/water/electricity is brought into the unit and capped off at the source
- Concrete floor and no suspended ceiling
- Let in a shell condition with no shop front, ready for the retailer’s fitting out works
What are the two main methods of construction for new office buildings?
- Steel frame: have fewer columns and a wider span between the columns
- Concrete frame: more columns, lower floor heights and a shorter span between columns
What can you refer to if you’re unsure about what form of construction is?
- Architect’s drawings and specification
- Building Manual
What are a shell and core fit out?
Where common parts of the building are completed, and the office floor areas are left as a shell ready for fit out by the occupier
What is the difference between a Cat A fit-out and Cat B, and why might you do Cat B?
Category A: a basic level of finish above that provided in shell and core. May include raised floors, suspended ceilings and internal surfaces, along with basic mechanical and electrical services
Category B: fit out complete to the occupier’s specific requirements.
What is the main method of construction for industrial buildings?
Steel portal frame building with insulated profiled steel cladding walls and roof
What is the difference between an inherent and a latent defect?
- Inherent defect: defect in the design or a material which has always been present
- Latent defect: fault to the property that could not have been discovered by a reasonably thorough inspection of the property
What is the purpose of snagging a newly built property?
- Check the newly built property to identify defects in the build
- Enables you to highlight them to the developer to allow them to fix the issues
What occurs after a new building is completed?
You undertake a snagging process, whereby the property is inspected against the construction plans to check that it has been finished correctly and that the construction is of sufficient quality to ensure the building operates as desired and designed. This process is carried out by a contractor under warranty.
What FOUR steps should you follow if you identify any building defects during an inspection?
- Take photos of the defect
- Try to establish the cause of damage whilst on site
- Inform your client of your investigations
- Recommend specialist advice from a building surveyor or in the case of movement, a structural engineer
What are the THREE common causes of defects?
- Water
- Movement
- Deteriorating building materials
What is subsidence?
The vertical downward movement of a building foundation caused by the loss of support of the site beneath the foundation. This could be as a result of changes in the underlying ground conditions
What is heave?
Expansion of the ground beneath part or all of the building. This could be caused by the removal of trees and subsequent moisture build-up in the soil
What are the common causes of cracks in a property?
- Subsidence
- Heave
- Cavity wall tie failure (indicated by horizontal cracking in brickwork)
- Shrinkage cracking (often occurs in new plasterwork during the drying out process
- Settlement cracks
- Thermal expansion/movement