Inspection Flashcards
What do you take with you on an inspection?
- Mobile
- Camera
- Tape measure/laser
- File, plans and other supporting information
- Personal protection equipment (PPE) such as fluorescent jacket, steel-toed boots, non-slip soled shoes, ear defenders, gloves, goggles and hard hat
- Pen and paper/Dictaphone/iPad
What do note of the immediate area on 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’ board
What do you look for during the external inspection?
- Method of construction (make sure you know these)
- Repair and condition of the exterior (Describe from the roof downwards)
- Car parking/ access/ loading arrangements
- Defects/ structural movement
- Check site boundaries with OS map and/or title plan
- Ways to date the building include asking the client, researching the date of planning consent
What do you look for during the internal inspection?
- Layout and specification
- Repair and maintenance
- Defects
- Services
- Fixtures and fittings compliance
- Fixtures and fittings and improvements
- Compliance with lease obligations
What statutory compliance of a property can you check on inspection?
asbestos, building regulations, health and safety, Equality Act 2010, fire safety and planning compliance
What are the THREE different inspection purposes?
Different inspection purposes
Valuation (valuation influencers)
Property management (policing the lease)
Agency (marketability issues)
What are the FOUR common forms of foundation?
- Trench or strip footings
- Raft
- Piled
- Pad
What are the two types of wall construction?
Solid wall & cavity wall
What is efflorescence
White marks caused by hydroscopic salts in the brickwork. Water dissolves salts in the bricks which are carried out and deposited onto the surface when the water evaporates
What is spalling
Damaged brickwork, surface of the bricks start to crumble due to freeze/thaw, after it has become saturated in the winter
What are the two ways to lay bricks in a wall?
Stretcher: brick laid horizontally, flat with the long side of the brick exposed
Header: brick laid flat with the short end exposed
Standard load bearing capacity of an industrial unit?
30 KN/sq m
What are two types of building defects?
- An inherent defect is a defect in the design or a material which has always been present
- A latent defect is a fault to the property that could not have been discovered by a reasonably thorough inspection of the property
What is an inherent defect?
- An inherent defect is a defect in the design or a material which has always been present
What is a latent defect?
- A latent defect is a fault to the property that could not have been discovered by a reasonably thorough inspection of the property
What are the FOUR steps to follow if you identify any building defects during an inspection?
- Take photographs of the defect
- Try to establish cause of the damage whilst on site
- Inform your client
- Recommend advice from a building surveyor or structural engineer
What are THREE common causes of building defect?
- Movement
- Water
- Defective/non-performance/deterioration of building materials
Can you name any problems caused by damp?
- Wet rot caused by damp and timber decay. Signs include wet and soft timber, fungal growth, musty smell
- Dry rot is caused by fungal attack. Signs include fungus, strong smell, cracking/ crumbling of dry timber/paintwork
- Rising damp usually stops around 1.5m above ground level
- Condensation can be caused by lack of ventilation
- Damp can also be caused by leaking plumbing/air conditioning units
Can you name any problems caused by movement?
- Subsidence is the vertical downward movement of building foundations caused by loss of support of the site beneath the foundation
- Heave is the expansion of the ground beneath part or all of the building. Could be caused by tree removal and moisture build up
- Horizontal cracking in brickwork may indicate cavity wall tie failure
- Shrinkage cracking often occurs in new plasterwork during the drying out process
- Other cracks may be due to differential movement such as settlement cracks
- Thermal expansion/movement can also cause cracks
Can you name any common building defects?
- Period resi/office/shop buildings – dry rot, wet rot, tile slippage, damp penetration at roof and ground floor, water ingress, structural movement
- Modern industrial buildings – roof leaks around roof lights, damaged cladding panels, cur edge corrosion, water damage from poor guttering or burst pipes
Modern office buildings – damp penetration and roof and ground floor level, water damage from burst pipes, cavity wall tie failure end efflorescent and poor mortar joints in brickwork
Do you know any legislation regarding contamination?
Environmental Protection Act 1990
Do you know any RICS Guidance relevant to contamination?
RICS Guidance Note: Contamination, the Environment and Sustainability, 2010 (3rd ed)
* Surveyors must understand their obligations, know their responsibilities and comply with the law
* General principle is that polluter or landowner pays for remediation
Can you name any signs of contamination?
- Signs of contamination are evidence of chemicals, oils, oil drums, subsidence, underground tanks, bare ground
Can you describe the THREE phases of investigation of contamination?
- Phase 1 – Review of site history with desktop study, site inspection and investigation
- Phase 2 – Investigation to identify nature and extent of contamination with detailed soil samples taken using bore holes
- Phase 3 – Remediation report setting out remedial options
