Inspection Flashcards
What is the difference between a survey and an inspection?
An inspection is visual and non-invasive to determine nature and condition of property
A survey is a detailed investigation into construction/services of a property to enable surveyor to give advice
What is the difference between disrepair and defect?
Disrepair - something wearing out over time
Defect - something missing that is causing an issue
What is patent and latent defects?
Patent - obvious
Latent - hidden
What does Chapter 5 of RICS GN’ ‘Technical Due Diligence of Commercial Property (2020)’ refer to?
The Inspection - requires methodical approach to collecting data in great depth
Inspection checklist so you do not miss anything
Note taking needs to be done and saved on file afterwards
What are you owed when you enter a property?
Duty of care
What is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974?
Codifies and places a duty of care on employers to take ‘reasonably practicable’ steps to ensure the health, safety and well-being of:
All employees (section 2)
Others not employed (section 3)
Of the premises (section 4)
Section 7 - general duties of employees at work
What is the difference between a hazard and a risk?
Hazard - an agent which has the potential to cause harm to someone
Risk - the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm
When should you undertake a risk assessment?
Before
During (dynamic risk assessment)
What is involved in a pre-inspection risk assessment?
- identify the hazards
- decide who might be harmed and how
- evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
- record the findings and implement them
- review the assessment and update if necessary
- advise all those affected
What should you do when going on inspection? (Suzy Lamplugh Trust guide)
- your own risk assessment
- means of communicating with others (charged phone)
- knowledge of plans whilst out
- site contacts
- inform others of your movements
- exit strategies if feeling unsafe
What is the suggested four step process for an inspection?
- Consider your safety (risk assessment)
- Inspection of local area
- External inspection
- Internal inspection
What should you take to an inspection?
- Mobile phone
- Camera
- Tape measure/distometer
- PPE (fluorescent jacket, steel toed boots, hard hat, goggles, gloves)
- Pen and paper
- floor plans/relevant documents
What should you look out for when inspecting the local area?
Location/aspect/local facilities/public transport/footfall
Contamination/environmental hazards/masts and high voltage lines
Agents boards/vacancy/comparable evidence
What should you look out for on an external inspection?
- method of construction
- repair and condition of exterior
- car parking/access
- defects/structural movement
- site boundaries
- dating building (architectural style)
What should you look for on an internal inspection?
- layout and specification
- repair and maintenance
- defects
- services
- fixtures and fittings/improvements
- compliance with lease obligations
What are the different inspection purposes?
- Valuation (valuation influencers)
- Property management (policing the lease)
- Agency (marketability issues)
What are 3 invasive species?
Japanese Knotweed/Giant Hogweed/Himalayan Balsam
What is Japanese knotweed?
An invasive plant that damages hard surfaces such as tarmac
Not easy to control, costly to eradicate and a specialist company must remove/dispose it
Is a criminal office if you allow it to spread
How can you identify Japanese Knotweed?
- spade shaped
- 20cm green leaf
- purple hollow stem
- can grow up to 3m tall
What are hazardous materials?
Material that is harmful to health
E.g. asbestos, radon gas, lead piping
Need to recommend specialist reports and make appropriate assumptions in advice
What are the types of asbestos?
65 types in the UK.
- White (most common)
- Brown
- Blue (most deadly as thinner and can get in lungs)
What are deleterious materials?
Materials that degrade with age causing structural issues
E.g. High alumina cement/mundic
What should you do if instructed to value a contaminated site?
- provide no advice until specialist report is commissioned
- caveat advice with appropriate disclaimer highlighting issue
- deduct remediation costs from site value
How should contamination issues be investigated?
Desktop study to consider previous uses of site, local history and planning register
Look for evidence of chemicals, oils, oil drums, subsidence, underground tanks etc
What is the wall cracking categorisation?
Cat 0 - Hairline (<0.1mm)
Cat 1 - Fine (<1mm)
Cat 2 - Easily Filled (<5mm)
Cat 3 - Opening up and patchable (5-15mm)
Cat 4 - Extensive damage (15-25mm)
Cat 5 - Structural damage (>25mm)
What should you do if you see a building defect during inspection?
- Take photos
- Try to establish cause of damage whilst on site
- Inform client of your investigations
- recommend advice from a building surveyor
What are the common causes of defects?
- movement
- water
- deterioration of building materials
What is subsidence?
The vertical downward movement of a building foundation due to loss of support under site foundation (because of changes in underlying ground conditions)
Solution - knock down building or underpin it
What is heave?
The expansion of the ground beneath part of a building (e.g. tree root growing and pushing up)
What is settlement?
Happens in new buildings due to ground compacting beneath the building (structure causes soil to move)
What is wet rot?
Caused by damp and timber decay
What is dry rot?
Caused inside by fungal attack. Fungus spreads across wood in fine and fluffy white strands and mushroom like bodies
How high does rising damp stop?
1.5m above ground level
What can condensation cause?
Toxic mould as a result of lack of ventilation (showers/damp clothes)
What is a schedule of condition?
Signed at the start of term to record condition
No better/no worse scenario
Covers description of premises, photograph, condition points, items of property
Very subjective if not descriptive enough
What is a shops institutional specification?
- most new shops constructed steel or concrete frame
- services capped off
- concrete floor and no suspended ceiling
- let in shell condition
What is the difference between classifications and specifications?
Classification - Grade A/B/C
Specification - Shell and core/Cat A/Cat B
What is the institutional specification of a modern office?
- full access raised floors with floor boxes
- 2.6-2.8m ceiling height
- air con and double glazed windows
- passenger lifts
- 8-10 sqm workspace per person
What is a shell and core fit out?
Where common parts of a building are completed but office floor area are left in shell ready for fit out by occupier (no lighting, flooring or suspended ceilings)
What is a category A fit out?
Basic finishes to floors, wall and ceilings
Space is finished but with no fixtures/fittings such as partitions, meeting rooms etc
What is a category B fit out?
A finished office space that has been tailored to exact requirements of client - ready for occupancy
What is the difference between steel portal frame and steel frame (industrial buildings)?
Steel frame has supporting structures
Steel portal frame doesn’t
What are the institutional specifications of an industrial unit?
- 8m minimum eaves height
- 30kn/Sqm minimum floor loading
- full height loading doors (electronically operated)
- 3 phase electricity power
- 5/10% office content and WC facilities
- approx site cover of 40%
- LED lighting
What is a stretcher brick?
A brick laid horizontally, flat with the long side of brick exposed on outer face of wall
What is a header brick?
A brick laid flat with the short end of the brick exposed
What is common English bonding?
A pattern formed by laying alternative courses of stretchers and headers
What is the safe person concept as stated by RICS GN ‘Surveying Safely’ (2018)?
RICS regulated firms are obliged to ensure the health and safety of people at work by providing:
- a safe working environment
- safe work equipment
- safe systems of work
- competent staff
What are the organisational and individual responsibilities of the safe person?
Organisational:
- selection
- training
- information
- equipment
- safe systems of work
- instruction
- supervision
- PPE
Individual:
- performance
- control
- adaptability
- vigilance
- awareness
- teamwork
What is the Hierachy of Risk Control?
Mentioned in RICS Surveying Safely
Risks should be reduced the lowest reasonably practical level by taking preventative measures in order of priority
- Elimination (redesign activity e.g. use drone instead of working from height)
- Substitution (replace proposed work processes to less hazardous e.g. use pre-prepared components instead of cutting on site)
- Engineering controls (e.g. use work equipment to prevent falls/enclose dangerous machinery)
- Administrative controls (implement procedures needed to work safely e.g. work at day rather than nights)
- PPE (if other methods are ineffective at controlling risks then need to wear PPE)
How should you record inspection notes?
- written (or oral and transcribed)
- reflect on consequences
- how long were you on site
- use of sketches (if no floor plans)
- use notations + key
- address each element
What else causes cracking?
- thermal expansion
- shrinkage cracking in new plasterwork during drying out process
- horizontal cracking due to cavity wall tie failure
What is RAAC?
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
It is a deleterious material that was used between 1950s and 1990s which becomes weaker over time as absorbs water more
Are honeycomb in appearance and structural assessment needed if suspected
How big is a parking space?
2.4m x 4.8m
How do you identify a structural wall?
Measure across the door head - 150mm for non-structural
Go to basement or first floors and see if wall continues up
Knock on it and see if hollow
Check floor plans
How can you tell where the prime pitch is?
- Transport links
- Car parking
- Vacancy rates
- Best tenants
- Footfall
- Pedestrianised pitch
What are the types of damp?
Rising damp
From a burst pipe
Condensation
Penetrating damp (from outside wall)
Agent damp (from cleaning chemicals)
How can you stop mould growing in a bathroom?
Insulate walls to make it warm so doesn’t grow
Ventilate
What can give an indication as to whether the tenant will break?
How tenant is using it - have they outgrown it/are there not many people on site
If tenant has recently refurbished it
How do you identify a cavity wall?
All bricks laid horizontally (stretchers)
