BUILDING SURVEY- ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
A building survey, previously known as a full structural survey, is one of the most comprehensive property surveys you can have when buying a house. It’s similar in many ways to the homebuyers report, but a building survey is better suited to older or unusually constructed buildings and results in a much more thorough report.
Things which are covered in the building survey:
The building survey will include a thorough external and internal inspection of the property, resulting in a comprehensive survey report. The property surveyor will inspect all the visible and accessible areas of the property including walls, cellars, floors, windows, doors, roofs, garages and more.
This will be confirmed in their terms and conditions to you once you have confirmed you would like to proceed. The surveyor can take into consideration specific concerns and can pay particular attention to those areas. This can be reflected in their report.
- Check for defects that could potentially be serious
- Scan property for hazardous materials such as asbestos
- Examine property for any signs of damp within walls
- Highlight any structural work done without permission
- Find out what material the property is made from
- Check for any damage to the roof or structural timbers
- Assess any threatening trees near the property
- Recommend solution for any areas of concerns
Use the following to act as a building survey checklist:
Internally:
- Woodworm and rot
- Dampness and condensation
- Ceilings
- Walls and floors
- Chimney breasts and joinery
Externally:
- Roof space: Full inspection of the roof
- Chimneys
- Gutters
- Main walls
- Windows and doors
- Drainage and boundaries
Other:
- Garages
- Conservatories
- Tenure
- Services
Types of Surveying Instruments and Their Uses
Measuring Tapes
It is made up of cotton, coated linen, or any other synthetic material. Centimeters or decimeters are marked on the tape. They are available in length of 20, 30, or 50 meters.
Surveying Chains
The chain is used to measure the distance on the ground. It gives much more accurate measurement as compared to tape. A chain is a surveying instrument that is made up of connecting links of galvanized mild steel. The mild steel wire is bent into a ring and joined to each other with three small circular or oval rings. Each connecting link measures 20 cm.
Arrow
Arrows are used for marking and are made up of hardened, and tempered steel wire of good quality.
10 arrows are usually sold with a chain. Its length is about 25-50 cm. One of its ends is sharpened while the other end is bent into a circular loop.
Ranging Rods
Ranging rods are 2-3 meters in length and are painted with alternate bands of two colors like white and black, red and white in succession. Each band is kept at a length of 20 centimeters. Ranging rods are made of well–seasoned timber. Their cross-section is kept either circular or octagonal with a 3 cm nominal diameter. They are used to range an intermediate point on a survey line.
Plumb Bob
It is used to transfer the points to the ground on a slope while chaining. It is also used to make the ranging poles vertical.
In theodolites, compass, plane table, and other surveying instruments, it is used for centering purposes.
Surveyor’s Compass
The graduated ring is directly attached to the box instead of the needle in the surveyor’s compass. The needle is allowed to float freely over the pivot, but it does not orient itself to the magnetic meridian as in the case of a prismatic compass. Object vane and eye vane are similar to that of the prismatic compass, however, no prism is provided. The instrument is to be fixed on a tripod.
The readings through this compass are taken against the north end of the needle by looking through the top glass vertically. When the line of sight coincides magnetic meridian, north and south ends are at 0°. While the east and west end correspond to 90°.
Leveling Staff
It is a straight rod with graduation marks with zero from the bottom. It helps in determining how much above or below the station from the line of sight. There are two types of leveling staff- self–reading staff and target staff.