Structural Surveying high level roof

problems and other high areas from cherry

pickers

Commercial Building Surveys

We can provide help and advice with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, independent valuations, property surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report or any other property matters on both commercial and residential properties .

High level surveying As you can see from this article we are happy to use cherry pickers or other access platforms such as scissor lifts and scaffolding as we think it is important that your decision to buy, rent or lease the property is based upon the best information available.
Our survey reports include sketches and photos as the feedback from our clients is that sketches and photos help them understand the reports and negotiate better when purchasing the property so they go in with their eyes wide open.	Viewing the roof from three storeys high

Meet the Building Surveyor at the property

We, of course, will happily meet you at the property during the survey and we are more than happy to talk to you about the reports. We also have a very fast turnaround time with regards to producing the surveys. Please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Why problems you can't see are often the biggest problems

In our experience of carrying out structural surveys over the years the areas that are difficult to get to or the areas that simply cannot be viewed from the ground are often the most problematic areas. Whilst a good surveyor can make an assessment of what the condition of the roof is like, for example from the interior of the property and understanding the age, type and style of the property it is never as good as physically seeing the roof and associated elements such as parapet walls and chimneys.

View from a Cherry Picker

High level access

Work over a few storeys height requires scaffolding and is therefore expensive. It is true to say that any work at any height requires safe access to it. This also normally ensures that you get better workmanship as the trades people can work confidently and as such scaffolding is often the only answer but this does put the cost up of the work. In fact sometimes the scaffolding can cost far more than the work and it is very important that you ensure that you are repairing the right problem. You should always start with proper investigation by having a Structural Survey or Schedule of Condition carried out.

Scaffolding

Ways for surveyors to view the areas

Below are photographs of two different cherry pickers. Interestingly the blue one can only go to a few storeys high whilst the red one can be used at over twelve storeys high.

Close up of cherry picker on the back of a vehicle	Cherry picker which was towed to site	Viewing platform

What do the red circles mean?

The red circles are a system that we use within our structural surveys and building surveys to highlight problem areas so that you are not left wondering what the problem is. In addition to this if the photographs do not, we believe, explain the problem enough together with our survey report we also add in one of our own sketches.

Have a roof survey

We were recently called in to carry out a roof only survey where the original surveyors had for whatever reason not carried out a survey of the roof. We are not blaming the surveyors in any way as many surveys that we carry out exclude the roofs but this had not been communicated to the company taking on the lease and they were disappointed when they got the survey back and asked us to go and carry out a separate roof survey.

What do surveyors look for on high level roofs?

Building Survey on Industrial buildings

If we are looking at commercial buildings such as industrial warehouses, offices, shops and even church roofs (in fact we have looked at almost anything which is large building wise), it really does depend upon the building as to what exactly we are looking at. For example on a commercial building we may be looking at what outwardly looks to be a nice profile metal clad roof, but does it have asbestos hidden within it?

Overclad asbestos roof

Or we could be looking for defective metal roof anchor bolts:

Anchor bolts	Green circle shows original fixing bolts, red circle shows new anchor bolts.	Red fixings indicated where anchor bolts have been changed

Finally, we could be looking at roof window problems, also known as Velux or roof lights:
	Roof window to sheet roof

Repair to roof light	Close up of repair, circle shows gap where water was getting in

Watertight joint where roof light meets asbestos	Roof repairs

Surveying Offices

Fifteen storey glass office block	Leaks were coming through the glass	Opening up

Mastic seal that was starting to deteriorate	High level scaffolding used in this particular case viewed from ground level

Surveying Church Roofs

The photographs below are of a church roof problem where we gained access to the roof. Ironically it turned out not to be a roof problem at all but a thermal bridging problem. Please see the following articles:

Condensation and Cold Bridging. Whats is Cold Bridging?

Condensation Problems

Do all houses have condensation?

Energy Efficiency. Have we got it all wrong?

Why you have never seen any surveys like ours?

Cold/Thermal Bridging Defined

Cold bridging is caused by a colder element in the structure allowing coldness to pass through the structure much quicker when warm moist air is present in the property, often caused by things like having a shower or a bath, cooking or washing, particularly if you are drying washing on the radiators. This is also caused by the general climate which results in condensation on the element.

Repairs had been carried out over the years	Close up

There is only so high a ladder can go	Scaffolding access

Opening up the roof	Leaking gutter that sits on the wall

Caveat Emptor

Caveat emptor means buyer beware and is why you need to have a building survey to find out if there are any problems within the property; the estate agent certainly will not advise you of any.

Independent Surveyors

If you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a building surveyor on a residential or commercial property, we are happy to do valuations, building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects reports, home buyers reports or any other property matters. Please contact us on 0 800 298 5424 to have a free of charge friendly chat with one of our surveyors.

The plus points, medium priority and high priority survey

We would like to introduce to you what we call our plus points, medium priority and high priority survey which is a commercial building survey which is sometimes known as a structural survey which we have developed over many years, in fact several decades. We have listened to feedback from our clients and amended and altered our commercial surveys to make them easy to read and describe issues clearly. The key factor we believe is our surveys are easy to understand in plain English but do not take our word for it call us on free phone 0800 298 5424 for an example of one of our surveys.

We have normally carried out a commercial building survey similar to the property you are considering buying/leasing and therefore we can show you an example of the type of structural survey you will be receiving. There are various ideas we have developed over the years to make our surveys more readable everything from 16x optical zoom digital photographs next to the problem which show and explain what the problem is, to sketches that clarify any issues particularly ones that we cannot photograph but know are present. We have commissioned our own sketches to explain property issues which you will not find with any other Surveyor.

Commercial Property

If you are looking for commercial property, whether it is freehold or leasehold, we would always recommend a survey as this will prevent dilapidations claims in the long run. You may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com , both of which we have been advised are very helpful!

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

The contents of the web site are for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.

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