Inspection Flashcards
What are the different purposes for an inspection?
- Valuation
- PM
- L & T / Marketing
What matters can impact a markets perception of value?
- Surrounding area, communications and facilities
- Property characteristics - age, construction etc
- Site characteristics - risk of flooding, asbestos etc
- Potential for redevelopment
- Other - planning constraints
What enviro risks may impact a property?
- EPC - energy efficiency (sustainability)
- Flood risk
- Hazardous materials - asbestos
- Contamination
- Invasive non-native species
What is the 4 step process to an inspection?
- Pre inspection planning - Risk assessment, PP, Workman’s H&S procedure
- Inspect the local area
- External inspection
- Internal inspection
What are the key RICS docs for inspection?
RICS Guidance Note - Surveying Safely for Property Professionals (2018)
Asbestos: Legal Requirements and Best Practice for Property Professionals (2021)
Enviro Risks and Global Real Estate (2018)
What recommendations does Surveying safely have on inspections?
- Carry out a RA before attending - assess hazards and risks
- Consider the requirement for PPE
- Take appropriate equipment - phone measuring files pen etc
- Diarise inspection - inform tenants and colleagues
- Assess property conditions - unsafe, occupation, dangerous substances, access etc
- Secure site - sign in/out, inform colleague when you have left
What equipment should you take on inspection?
- Phone /camera
- PPE
- Measuring device
- Property files inc title plans
- Pen/paper
How would you prepare for an inspection?
- Read the lease and gather all info on the property - property files
- Look at title plans etc
- Plan journey
- H&S Risk Assessment - consider lone working, PPE etc
What needs to be considered prior to attending site?
- Travel
- Purpose of the visit
- Lone working
- Property condition
- Occupation
- Dangerous substances
- PPE
- Access arrangements
What would you consider in relation to the local area?
- Location - facilities, transport, parking, business vibrancy etc
- Enviro factors - contamination, flood risk, hazards etc
- Investigate local market - vacancies, tenant mix, occupancy rate etc
- Check map - site plans, OS map etc
What would you look for in an external inspection?
- Method of construction
- Age of the building
- Repair and condition of the exterior
- Car parking and access
- Defects - e.g. structural movement
- Check site boundary with OS map
How would you inspect internally?
- Repairs
- Any defects
- Statutory compliance
- Tenant activity - use, alterations etc
- Services - age and quality
- Compliance with lease obligations
What should you consider when you arrive on site and during an inspection?
- Structural stability
- Timbers, glass, sharp objects
- Unsafe environments
- Slips and trips
- Working from height
- Vermin and people
- Adverse weather
What are key signs of structural stability/instability?
- Cracking and signs of movement
- Leaning walls
- Rotten/corroded beams
What timbers, glasses and sharp objects should be looked for?
- Loose fixtures and fittings,
- Glass, nails etc
- Sharp edges
- Broken floors/stairs
What are examples of unsafe atmospheres?
- Confined spaces - lack of oxygen
- Mould/fungal growth
- Asbestos
How should you assess working from height?
- Whether required
- Hazards and risks - RA
- Equipment being used in working order
- Will you be working near edges
What hidden traps might you come across?
- Hazards hidden by water
- Manholes
- Lift shafts
What risks can be associated with other people on inspection?
- Dangerous animals (dogs)
- Squatters
- Angry tenants
What contamination risks are to be considered?
- Asbestos
- Chemicals in storage
- Contaminated water
What do i look for in an insopection?
Using Workmans inspection form i look for
- Site/area characteristsics
- External characteristics and condition
- Plant rooms
- Lifts/escalators
- Stairwells
- M&E condition
- Statutory h&S compliance
- Presence of contamination etc
- Any building defects
- Fire and emergency
What precautions do you make when inspecting a vacant unit?
- Diarise
- Inform colleagues
- Risk assessment
- Take a fully charged mobile
- PPE
- Refence code of Surveying safely
What would you do when you arrive on a construction site?
- Sign in
- Undertake site H&S check
- Obtain any ppe
What recommendation have you adopted in your work from Surveying Safely?
- Carrying out RA before attending site
- Checking PPE requirement
- Taking a fully charged mobile
- Diarise inspections
- Sign in and out of site
How do you minimise accidents during inspections?
- Undertake inspections in line with Surveying Safely
- PPE
- Carry out full risk assessment prior to inspection
How can you assess the age of a building?
- Speak with the client
- Planning history
- Look at build type - brickwork etc
What may you consider specifically for a property management inspection?
If occupied
- Lease terms
- Service charge budget
- Repairing obligations, alterations. subletting etc
If Vacant
- Security
- Insurance requirements
- Danger - illegal occupation etc
-H&S compliance
- Ready to let?
- Condition
What should be considered for inspections for valuation purposes?
Aspects impacting value
- Area
- Site characteristics - age and construction
- Physical condition of the building
- Enviro risks
- Hazardous substances
- Sustainability
- Occupation and tenure
What would you consider for an agency inspection?
- Condition
- Repair and maintenance
- Statutory compliance
- Presentation
How do you take good inspection notes?
- Use Workman standard inspection form
- Take lots of photos
How would you ensure safe working from height / on site with working machinery?
- Ensure risk assessment undertaken
- Ensure equipment tested with maintenance records kept
Tell me about the basic construction of a building you have recently inspected?
Yardley Business Park
- Industrial unit
- Steel portal frame under a pitched roof
- Metal sheet cladding
- Loading doors to the exterior
- Internally - 10% office coverage
Explain key issues raised by Surveying Safely?
- Ensure risks covered by TofE
- Identify areas to be considered in relation to insurance
- Focus on risk assessments
What characteristics do you look for in an inspection?
- Lease compliance
- Defects
- Hazardous materials
- Building construction
What do you consider before visiting a tenanted unit?
- Lease
- Statutory obligations
- Arrange access
- Any licences
- Risk assessment and PPE
What info may you gather other than nature of the building?
- Tenant - intentions, long term plans, business success etc
- Local area - many vacant boards etc
What is covered in Workman’s lone working policy?
Accord with Surveying Safely
- Charged phone
- Diarise
- Inform collages
- Risk assessment
What would you look for when inspecting a tenants fit out works?
- Compliance with Licence to Alter and specifications
- Impact on the property - good condition and protect LL
- Equalities Act and Building Reg compliance
- Evidence of structural damage?
What is a hazardous material?
Material hazardous to health e.g. asbestos, radon gas
What is a deleterious material?
Material which degrades with age, causing structural problems
What are examples of deleterious materials?
- Calcium chloride cement
- Mundic
- Aluminium concrete
What are some asbestos containing materials?
- Corrugated roofing
- Insulation boards
- Insulation
- Gutters and downpipes
- Asbestos cement
What is alumina cement?
- Popular in 1950s-70s due to rapid strength development
- Used in pre cast beams
- Building collapse in 1970s and it was banned
What is calcium chloride cement?
Used as an accelerating admixture in concrete until 1970s
- Caused corrosion in embedded materials
- Outlawed in 1977
When was asbestos outlawed?
1999
What is the difference between hazardous and deleterioris materials?
- Hazardous - harmful to health - must be managed
- Deleterious - deteriorate with age and make structure defective
What are common signs with issues with deleterious materials?
- Brown staining on concrete
- Concrete frame built in 60s/70s
What should you do if you discover asbestos at a property?
No need to remove if undisturbed
- Check and update the asbestos register
- Advise client and instruct necessary survey
What should you do if you find hazardous materials on inspection?
Recommend specialist report
- Make necessary assumption if required
What is radon?
Odourless gas found in rocks and soil - basements and living spices in contact with the ground are susceptible
How can you reduce the risk on radon?
- Remedial works - seal hatches, extra ventilation
What is the risk control hierarchy?
1) Eliminate risk
2) Substitute risk
3) Engineering control
4) Administrative control
5) PPE
What do you look for in a dilaps insepction?
- Condition of carpets/walls/windows/fixtures etc
- Look for damp and structural damage
- Use BS - competence
What are the different types of foundation?
Deep and shallow
What are the shallow foundations?
- Strip - along e.g. each load bearing wall
- Raft - cover whole base
- Pad - slab foundation under individual load points
What are deep foundations?
Piled - long concrete cylinders in ground to a deep strata - used for poor load bearing ground conditions
What are the two main types of brickwork?
- Solid brick wall
- Cavity brick wall
What makes up a solid wall construction?
- Two layers of brick - stretchers in one course and headers in the next
Contains headers and tied together by flemish bond - Common in older buildings
- 230mm thick
What are the key issues with sold wall consruction?
- Less sound proof
- Less water proof
What are cavity brick walls?
- More modern form of brick construction
- Two walls of ‘stretchers’ roughly 50-70mm apart, tied together by cavity wall ties
- Gap between the two may be filled with insulation
- No headers
- 280mm thick
How can you tell if there is a solid or cavity wall?
- Presence of headers
- Age of construction
What is the key difference between Cavity and solid brick?
Solid - 2 layers with no spacing - headers and stretchers
Cavity - 2 layers, spaced apart and tied together - better insulation
What are headers and stretchers?
Header - when brick laid down and short end showing
Stretcher - laid down horizontally
What is efflorescance?
White markings on brick work
Caused by reaction between salts used in brick construction and water
What is spalling?
Damaged brickwork - where surface of bricks starts to crumble from freeze/thaw action
What are cavity wall ties?
Ties bringing together two layers of a cavity wall
3 types
- Butterfly
- Vertical twist
- Double triangular
What is the size of a brick?
215mm x 12.5 mm x 65mm
*block 440mm x 100mm x 215mm
What is a hidden valley gutter?
When two roofs pikes form a valley in the middle of a roof - easily blocked
Where does surface and foul water drain do?
Surface water - storm drains and soakaway
Foul water - sewers
What is a rafter or purlin roof?
Roof with the presence of rafters and purlins, common in small industrial units
- Rafter - diagonal beam, meeting at the top of a gable
- Purlin - horizontal beam used for structural support
What are roof trusses?
Structure consisting of pieced straight wood in triangular shapes to support the wight of the roof
3 types
- Monopitch
- Asymmetrical
-Attic
What is a building frame?
Structure which weight is carried by a skeleton or framework rather than being supported by walls - steel and reinforced concrete
What is an apex?
Highest point on a building - top of a pitched roof
What are the institutional specifications for shops?
- Steel or concrete frame
- Concrete floor and no suspended ceiling
- Left in shell condition with no shop front ready for tenant fit out
- Location key - footfall
- Modern unit - rectangular with depth 3/4 times width
What are the main construction methods for offices?
- Steel or concrete frame
- Steel - less columns and wider span
- Concrete - more columns, less height and shorted span
What office specifications are there?
Grade A, B and C
What is the key institutional spec for an office?
- Steel or concrete frame
- Suspended ceiling (300mm) and raised floor (150mm)
- 2.6-8 ceiling height
- Disability access
- Passenger lifts
- Cycle spaces and showers
- Excellent BREEAM, EPC
- Amenities - gym, security, café etc
- Located in desirable areas
What is a category B office?
Similar to A, but 10-20 years older
- Ageing M&E equipment
- Lifts etc not market leading
What is category C office?
- Old dated office accommodation in less desirable arears
- Out of date furniture
- Poor M&E
- Air con needs replacing
- No elevators or disabled access
What are the main fit out types for office?
- Shell and core
- Cat A
- Cat B
- Cat A+
What is shell and core?
State of a building after completion when area left as a shell before fit out - concrete metal frame, no lighting Ac
What is cat a fit out?
Fit out to grade A spec to a basic finish
- Raised floor / suspending ceiling
- M&E
- Fire detection and prevention
- Internal surface
- Blind
What is a cat B fit out?
Fully operational workspace designed to unique standards
- Branded material
- Furniture
- Partitions
- Kitchen area etc
What is a Cat A+ fit out out?
Between A and B
- Function space tenant can move in to and make minimal adjustment
- IT, furniture and kitchens included
What is the modern construction make up of an industrial building?
- Eaves height - 8-12 metres
- Steel portal frame, metal sheet cladding and pitched roof
- 30kn/m2 floor loading
- Loading bays/dock levellers etc
- 10% office fit out
- 30-40% site coverage
What is the modern construction make up of an industrial building?
- Steel portal frame, metal sheet cladding and pitched roof
What is a portal frame?
Type of structural frame
- Beam supported by columns
- Rigid joints between beams and columns
- 15-50 metres
- frame spacing 6-8m
- rof pitched between 5-10 degrees
What are the main benefits of portal frame structures?
Cost effective to cover a large area
What spec would you expect for industrial?
- Grade / cat A
- Raised floor, suspended ceiling, M&E
What is the institutional spec for industrial?
- Eaves height - 8-12 metres
- Steel portal frame, metal sheet cladding and pitched roof
- 30kn/m2 floor loading
- Loading bays/dock levellers etc - electric l;oading doors
- 10% office fit out
- 30-40% site coverage
- Pitch roof 5-10 degrees
- Phase three electric supply
What fit out is provided by industrial developers?
- Office with carpet
- Landscaping
- Roller shutter
What is a dock leveller?
- Used to bridge the gap between warehouse floor and vehicle
- Height adjustable platform to ensure transition between dock and truck, preventing accident
What is the appropriate depth of an office building to allow adequate natural light?
12-15mm
What are required floor loadings for office and industrial?
- Industrial - 30kn/m2
- Office - 2.5-3kn/m - plus 1 for partitioning
What is the British Council for Offices?
BCO
- Research develop and communicate best practice in apsects of office sector
What air-con systems are there in offices?
HVAC - Heating Ventilation Air Con
VAV - Variable air volume
VRV - variable refrigerant volume
Fan coil - use coil and fan heat to ccol room
What is R22?
A low temperature refrigerant - odourlous gas
- Use and rplacement of r22 illegal from 01/01/2015
- Exisiting r22 must be modified to become more efficient
Why do you need to look at title deeds?
- Title boundary
- Who owner is
- Recent transactions
What is the difference between comfort cooling and air con?
AC conditions air whereas comfort cooling recirculates
What are the usual sizes of ceilings and floor voids in a new office building?
- Ceiling - 350mm
- Floor - 150mm
When you inspect, how do you look for defects?
- Start from roof and work down in a horizontal sequence
- Take photos and note details
- Notify client
- Recommend specialist advice
What is an inherent defect?
Defcet in design or material that has always been present
What is a latent defect?
Fault in the property that could not have been discovered through a reasonably through inspection
What are the main causes of movement?
- Movement
- Water
- Defective materials
What is the suggested 4 step process for dealing with a defect?
1) Take photos
2) Try and establish cause when on site
3) Inform client
4) Recommend specialist advice
What common defects are you aware of in shops or period offices?
- Structural movement / settlement
- Dry wet rot
- Damp
What common defects are you aware of in modern offices?
- Damp - defective AC or burst pipes
- Structural movement and poor mortar joints in brickwork
What defects are common in industrial buildings?
- Leaking gutters
- Damaged cladding
- Settlement/cracking in brickwork
What is wet rot?
Caused by damp and timber decay
- Seen through wet and soft timber - fungal growth
What is dry rot?
Caused by fungal attack
- Signs include fungus spreading across wood
What is damp?
Unwanted moisture from outside or contamination, 4 types:
1) Condensation
2) Rising
3) Penetrative
4) Plumbing failure
How high does rising damp go?
1.5 metres
What causes condensation?
Lack of ventilation or backgorund heating
What are the signs of condensation?
Mould and streaming water on inside of windows/walls
What are three causes of rising damp?
No damp proof cause
Defective damp proof cause
Bridged damp proof cause
What is subsidence?
Vertical downward movement of a building foundation caused by a loss of support of the site beneath foundations
What are the common types of cracking brickwork?
1) Horizontal
2) Triangular
3) Stepped
4) Cracking running to the floor level
What causes horizontal cracking?
Cavity wall tie failure
What causes triangular cracking?
Linted failure
What causes stepped cracking?
Structural movement
What causes cracking running to the ground?
Below ground movement
What are the 4 types of movement?
- Subsidence
- Heave
- Cracking
- Thermal expansion
What is heave?
Expansion of the ground beneath part or the whole of the building - caused by e.g. tree removal
Why are building warranties important?
Comprehensive insurance policy provided by a developer to an owner / buyer
- shows building constructed to a standard set by a warranty provider
What do you know about structural movement?
4 types
- Subsidence
- Cracking
- Heave
- Thermal Expansion
Usually small and undetectable, only when distortion appears is safety threatened
Why is a three phase power supply reuqired for industrial?
Power capacity required for activities and machinery
What key legislation relates to contamination?
Environmental Protection Act (1990)
What does the RICS publish on contamination?
RICS Guidance Note - Contamination and Enviro Sustainability (2020)
What does the RICS Guidance on contamination recommend?
- Surveyors must understand obligations, know their responsibilities and comply with law
Why does contamination exist?
- Heavy metals
- Radon
- Methane gas
- Deisal/oil contamination
What are the key signs of contamination?
Evidnece of chemicals oil, drums, subsideance etc
What is the three phase investigation process for contamination?
1) Reviews site history - investigation and desk top study
2) Investigation - identify nature of contamination e.g. soil samples
3) Remediation report setting out design requirements and monitoring
What should you do if there are concerns a site is contaminated?
Suggest a specialist report
- May also report e.g. to the HSE
What should you do when valuing a site with contamination?
- Dont provide advice until report comissioned
- Provide relevnet special assumption
- Deduct remedial costs from your gross value
What is the Land Remedial Relief?
- Form of tax relief applying to contaminated land or derilict land
- Allows compoanies to claim up to 150% tax deduction for remedying derelict sites or those affected by Japanese Knotweed
How would you undertake a contamination survey?
I wouldnt be competatnt - instruct specialist
- If contamination suspected, i would
- take photos
- inform client
- instruct specialist
What is Japanese Knowtweed?
Non native invasive species
Damaging to hard surfaces such as tarmac and foundations
Fast growing and dense
Why is Japanese Knotweed a concern?
Hard to control
Costly to remove
Damaging
Lenders may refuse loan if present at a property
What does Japanese Knotweed look like?
- Purple and green stem
- Lots of green leaves
- Creamy white flower produced in late summer
What consequences are there for allowing Japanese Knotweed to grow?
Criminal Offence - Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981)
- Maj Court - £5k fine or 6 months in prison
- Crown court - unlimited fine or 2 years in prison
What are other non-native species?
- Japanese Knotweed
- Himalyan Balsum
- Giant Hogweed
What is the structure to surveying safely?
- responsibilities of members and firms
- assessing hazards and risks
- RICS members places of work
- Occupational hygeine and health
- visiting site
- fire safety
- residential
- procurement and contractor management
What are organisational responsibilities in surveying safely?
- H&S policy - identify and reduce risk
- Lines of accountability for H&S management
- Training
- Managing contractors and services
- Have appropriate insurance
What are individuals responsibilities for Surveying Safely?
- Undertake RA
- Ensure H&S policies and procedures practical
- Be competant
- Understand risk
- Responsible for personal and others H&S
What does the law say about Japanese Knotweed?
Criminal offence to grow and allow spread
What is an enviro impact assessment?
Process detailing enviro impact of a project
- Used to approve development projects
What RICS Guidance is there on Japanese Knotweed?
RICS Guidance Note - Japanese knotweed and residential property
