Inspection Flashcards
1
Q
What is the typical high-level process for an inspection? (4)
A
- Consider your personal safety
- Inspection of the local area
- External inspection
- Internal inspection
2
Q
What to take on an inspection? (5+)
A
- Fully charged mobile phone
- Tape/laser measurer
- File, plans and other supporting information
- PPE
- Pen and paper
3
Q
What should you consider when ‘inspecting the local area’? (3)
A
- Location/local facilities/public transport/business vibrancy
- Contamination/environmental hazards/flooding/power lines/substations
- Comparable evidence/local market conditions/agent’s boards
4
Q
What should be considered on the external inspection? (5)
A
- Method of construction
- Repair and condition of the exterior (describe from the roof down)
- Car parking/access/ loading for industrial
- Defects/structural movement
- Site boundaries (OS map/title plan)
5
Q
How do you date a building? (5)
A
- Ask the client
- Research date of planning consent
- Land Registry
- Local historical records
- Architectural style
6
Q
What should be considered for an internal inspection? (7)
A
- Layout and specification
- Repair and maintenance
- Defects
- Services age and condition
- Statutory compliance (asbestos, health & safety, Equality Act 2010, fire safety etc.)
- Fixtures and fittings
- Compliance with lease obligations
7
Q
What are the different purposes of an inspection? (3)
A
- Valuation - understanding the factors that can influence the value
- Property management - lease compliance, statutory compliance, state of building, repair/maintenance
- Agency - marketability of building, flexibility, statutory compliance, services
8
Q
What are the four types of foundations? (4)
A
- Trench/strip
- Raft
- Piled
- Pad
9
Q
When is the trench/strip foundation generally used?
A
- Generally used for residential dwellings, walls, and closely spaced columns
10
Q
Explain raft foundation
A
- Slab foundation over the whole site to spread the load for lightweight structures such as remediated land and sandy soil conditions
11
Q
Explain piled foundation
A
- Long and slender reinforced concrete cylinders in the ground to a deeper state when less good load-bearing ground conditions/high loads
12
Q
Explain pad foundation
A
- Slab foundation under individual or groups of columns so that the column load is spread evenly
13
Q
Typical foundation used for an industrial unit?
A
Pad foundation
14
Q
Typical foundation used for offices?
A
Pile foundation
15
Q
Typical foundation used for small shops or houses?
A
Strip foundation
16
Q
What is solid wall construction?
A
- Contains headers and stretchers
- Normally at least one brick thick
17
Q
What is cavity wall construction? (2)
A
- Two layers of brickwork tied together with metal ties, with a cavity that may be filled with insulation
- No headers used
18
Q
Difference between a stretcher and a header? (2)
A
- Stretcher: brick laid horizontally, flat with the long side of the brick exposed on the outer face of a wall
- Header: brick laid flat with the short end of the brick exposed
19
Q
What is efflorescence? (2)
A
- White marks caused by salts in the brickworks
- Formed when water reacts with natural salt
20
Q
What is spalling?
A
- 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
21
Q
What is the institutional specifications for a shop? (5)
A
- Steel or concrete frame
- Services capped off
- Concrete floor
- No suspended ceiling
- Let in a shell condition ready for retailers’ fit out
22
Q
What are the two main methods of construction for an office? (2)
A
- Steel framed
- Concrete framed
23
Q
What is the difference between steel and concrete framed? (2)
A
- Steel framed buildings usually have fewer columns and a wider span between the columns
- Concrete framed buildings usually have more columns, lower floor heights and a shorter span between columns
24
Q
Where do you find the current institutional specifications for offices and what are some of them? (1+7)
A
British Council for Offices Guide to Office Specification, 2023
- Approximate ceiling height of 2.6-2.8m
- Air-conditioned
- Double-glazed windows
- Passenger lifts
- 1 cycle space per 10 staff
- 1 shower per 100 staff
- 8sqm to 10sqm general workplace density
25
What are the current institutional specifications for industrial/warehouses? (9)
- Steel portal framed
- Insulated profiled steel cladding walls and roof
- Minimum 8m clear eaves height
- 10% roof lights
- Minimum 30kn/sqm floor loading
- Full-height loading doors
- 5-10% office content
- LED lighting
- Approximately 40% site cover
26
Types of air conditioning systems (4)
- VAV - highest capital cost but more flexible
- Fan coil - lower initial cost, good flexibility but higher operating/maintenance cost
- VRV - lower capital cost but higher running and maintenance cost
- Static cooling - natural approach to climate control with lower capital/running costs but less flexibility
27
What air conditioning system has been banned?
R22 from 1st January 2015
28
What are the different types of office fit-out? (4)
- Shell and core:
Where the common parts of the building are completed, and office floor areas are left as a shell, ready for fit out by the occupier
- CAT A fit out:
Base condition of an office space provided by the landlord. Shell and core plus certain services like electricity, lighting, HVAC systems, plumbing
- CAT A+/Plug and Play:
Space that a tenant can occupy straight away, however, is not delivered tailored to the tenant's identity
- CAT B fit out:
Involves the customisation and interior fit-out to suit the specific requirements of the tenant
29
What is an inherent defect?
A defect in the design or a material which has always been present
30
What is a latent defect?
A fault to the property that could not have been discovered by a reasonably thorough inspection of the property
31
What should you do if you identify any building defects during an inspection? (4)
1. Take photographs of the defect
2. Try to establish the cause of the damage whilst on-site
3. Inform your clients of your investigations
4. Recommend advice from a building surveyor or structural engineer
32
What are the three most common causes of defects? (3)
1. Movement
2. Water
3. Defective/deterioration of building materials
33
What are the 3 main types of damp? (3)
1. Rising damp
2. Condensation
3. Penetrating damp
34
What are the different forms/evidences of damp? (4)
- Wet rot: caused by damp and timber decay. Signs include visible fungal growth and a musty smell
- Dry rot: caused inside by fungal attack. Signs include mushroom-like fruiting bodies, strong smell, cracking paintwork, crumbling of dry timber
- Rising damp: usually stops around 1.5m from ground level
- Condensation: caused by lack of ventilation and background heating. Signs include mould and streaming water on the inside of windows or walls
35
What damage could damp cause to a property/health?
- Could lead to mould which can be harmful to one's health
- Could result in rotting timbers
- Damage to plastering and masonry
36
Types of movement defects? (5)
- Subsistence
- Heave
- Horizontal cracking
- Shrinkage
- Thermal expansion
37
What is subsidence and what is its cause? (2)
- Vertical downward movement of a building foundation caused by the loss of support of the site beneath the foundation.
- Could as a result of changes in the underlying ground conditions
38
What is heave and what is its cause? (2)
- The expansion of the ground beneath part of all of a building.
- Could be caused by tree removal and subsequent moisture build-up in the soil
39
What causes horizontal cracking in brickwork?
Cavity wall tie failure in a brick wall
40
What are typical building defects in period residential / office / shop buildings? (4)
- Dry/wet rot
- Tile slippage on the roof
- Damp penetration at roof and ground level
- Structural movement
41
What are typical building defects in modern industrial buildings? (4)
- Roof leaks around roof lights
- Damaged cladding panels
- Cut edge corrosion
- Blocked guttering or burst pipes
42
What are typical building defects in modern office buildings? (6)
- Damp penetration at roof and ground floor level
- Water damage from burst pipes/AC units
- Structural movement
- Damaged cladding
- Cavity wall tie failure
- Efflorescence
43
What are the documents for contamination? (2)
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- RICS Guidance Note 'Contamination, the Environment and Sustainability, 2010 (3rd Edition)'
44
What types of contamination are there? (4)
- Heavy metals
- Radon gas
- Methane gas
- Diesel/oil/chemicals
45
What does a desktop contamination study consider? (3)
Considers:
- Previous use of the site
- Local history
- Planning register
46
What is a deleterious material?
A material that can degrade with age causing structural problems
47
What are examples of a deleterious material? (3)
- RAAC
- High alumina cement
- Calcium chloride
48
What is a hazardous material?
A material that is harmful to health
49
Examples of hazardous materials? (3)
- Asbestos
- Lead piping/paint
- Radon gas
50
What is Japanese Knotweed?
An invasive plant that can damage hard surfaces such as foundations and tarmac
51
Why is Japanese Knotweed a problem? (5)
- Can damage hard surfaces such as foundations and tarmac
- Not easy to control
- Costly to eradicate
- Specialist company must remove and dispose of it
- Lenders may be refused a loan if it is present or nearby to a property
52
What does Japanese Knotweed look like?
Purple/green hollow stemmed with green leaves
53
How can Japanese Knotweed be disposed of legally? (4)
- Using a specialist company
- Using chemical treatment
- Digging it out and removing it from site to a licensed landfill site
- In accordance with the Environmental Protection Act 1990
54
What are the documents for Japanese Knotweed? (2)
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- RICS Professional Standard - Japanese Knotweed and Residential Property 2022
55
What are the punishments for allowing Japanese Knotweed to spread?
- Magistrate's court can impose £5,000 fine and/or a maximum prison sentence of 6 months
- Local authorities can impose £2,500 per person or £20,000 per company
56
What are some of the issues with inspecting a vacant building (6)
- Squatters
- Structural issues over time
- Water ingress/weather damage
- Are the services still working?
- Fly tipping
- Property maintenance issues
57
What is a Promis report?
- A research report on a specified location and asset type
58
What does a Promis report include? (7)
- Socio-economic trends
- Supply and demand
- Rent
- Yields
- Investment trends
- Occupiers
- Development pipelines
59
What hazardous materials could be found in fly-tipping? (4)
- Asbestos
- Chemicals
- Medical waste
- Oils
60
What type of risk assessment would be relevant for inspecting a business park? (3)
- Site specific risk assessment
- Dynamic risk assessment
- Health & safety risk assessment
61
Why did your client instruct you to inspect the vacant land?
- For property management purposes
- As part of my team's agreement with this client, we have agreed to perform an inspection at each of their sites at least once a year
- Ensure there its statutory compliance, security arrangements etc.
62
What legal advice would a commercial landlord need to install a CCTV camera? (4)
- Would need advice to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 as it is subject to strict rules and regulations, for example:
- You need to register as a CCTV operator with the ICO and specify your intentions
- Use appropriate signage indicating CCTV operation
- Ensure following regulations, including data retention and deletion
63
What type of qualified contractor did I recommend to my client regarding fly tipping?
- Report the incident to the local authority or the Environment Agency
- If suspected chemicals dumped, advise chemical engineer
- If suspected asbestos, instruct an HSE licensed contractor
64
What requirements are there towards the Equality Act 2010? (4)
- As a retail unit and a global/public client, my client was obliged to ensure showing that they were not discriminating
- Must make reasonable adjustments to meet customer's needs and plan ahead to meet customer's needs
- Guidance states that all people should be able to reach a building's main entrance and access its facilities
- The Equality Act itself doesn't state specific measures but has the goal that so far as is reasonably practical to make reasonably adjustments
65
What do you require from a contractor who is working on one of your sites? (2)
- Public liability insurance
- Risk assessments
66
What are the two types of disabled toilets? (2)
- Regular wheelchair accessible
- Changing places
67
Why would your client need a disabled toilet?
- Under the Equality Act 2010, every building that is open to members of the public, must make reasonable adjustments to any physical feature that might put a disabled person at a disadvantage to others
- Part M of the Building Regulations suggests that where there is only room for one toilet in a building, it must be wheelchair accessible
68
Why would the client not have to comply with Part M of the building regulations?
Part M of the building regulations only applies if:
- A non-residential building is erected
- A non-residential building is extended
- A non-residential building undergoes a material alteration
