Residential Surveyor Providing Expert Services
When moving into a new property or updating an existing home, it's always important to ensure it’s in a suitable condition for you to live in.
Grays Surveying Services Ltd offers a range of services for residential customers from CAD drawings to party wall procedures, and please find below a summary of our services.
Measured Surveys and CAD Plans
We have vast experience preparing Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings for all of your design needs. From your initial measurement survey, we prepare detailed plans, elevations, sections, and design detail drawings for use by a contractor, designer, and for local authority approval.
Defect Diagnosis and Report
Our inspections are a thorough process enabling us to identify historic, current, and possible future defects within your property. Following this inspection we will provide you with a written report detailing the cause followed by advice on how to rectify those defects.
Condition Survey
A condition survey aims to inform the reader of the existing condition of the property, this looks to identify any visible defects and areas that require further investigation.
Our condition reports provide the following information:
Condition Survey
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The construction and condition of the property on the date it was inspected
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Any defects that require urgent attention or are serious
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Areas that require further investigation to prevent serious damage to the fabric of the building
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Defects or issues that may be hazardous to safety and where further enquiries are needed
Condition reports don't usually provide repair or rectification advice, valuation, or intrusive survey techniques, however we can tailor the survey to meet your exact requirements.
Homebuyers Survey
A homebuyers report is more detailed than a condition survey and in addition to identifying defects within your property, it will also provide you with advice on how to repair and rectify them.
A homebuyers report aims to tell you about:
Homebuyers Survey
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The construction and condition of the property on the date it was inspected
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Any defects that require urgent attention or are serious
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Areas that require further investigation to prevent serious damage to the fabric of the building
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Defects or issues that may be hazardous to safety and where further enquiries are needed
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Advice on remedying defects to include repair, reinstatement, or replacement
The homebuyers survey doesn’t allow for intrusive survey techniques.
Specification and Tendering
If you are planning to undertake a refurbishment project, create a new extension, or alter the layout of your existing property, the we can provide a comprehensive service to incorporate all aspects of your project to make it less time consuming and more cost effective.
We will prepare a schedule of works detailing all of your proposed building works so it can be easily priced by a third party. The schedule of works can be used to obtain competitive tenders from a selection of contractors to ensure value for money.
As part of this service we can also manage the project from inception to completion to ensure the works are completed on time, within the budget, and in accordance with the design drawings and schedule of works. We can also put in place a JCT contract between you and the contractor and act as the contract administrator throughout.
Planning Applications
We work with clients to provide management for your planning applications, with our experienced liaisons guiding you throughout the process to ensure your application is accepted as quickly as possible.
We will initially assess your proposals to confirm whether planning permission is actually required and to advise on the correct application procedure.
We will prepare a valid application for issue to the local planning department and liaise with them on your behalf to ensure that your proposals are validated and assessed correctly, and to provide any additional information that may be required.
We are also able to obtain permission for listed buildings and properties in a conservation area. These types of property have strict requirements that often lead to a failed application, however our close liaison with the council means we will identify these requirements quickly and effectively to ensure that your proposals comply.
If you are locked in a dispute with the local council, regarding any planning or building control matter, then we will liaise directly with the council to negotiate the terms of the dispute and provide them with the necessary documentation to ensure that the dispute is settled quickly and amicably.
If no suitable agreement can be reached then we can also prepare a planning appeal on your behalf for issue to the Planning Inspectorate
Building Regulation Consent
If you plan on undertaking refurbishment or alteration works to a property, then you may be required to submit an application to obtain building regulation consent. We will guide you through this process and assess if an application is required.
There are two types of application, a Full Plans Application and a Building Notice. The choice is determined by the urgency of the application, the extent of the work, and advice received from the local council.
Full Plans Application
This type of application is preferred for large-scale refurbishments to ensure that all aspects of the project comply with UK building regulations. It’s also used for smaller scale projects where clients would prefer to receive prior permission from the council.
A building surveyor will be appointed by the council to assess the works as they proceed on site by undertaking arranged inspections to ensure the contractor is complying with the building regulations and the submitted notice.
A full plans application must include plans and specifications detailing all the works covered by the regulations, and once the application has been submitted it can take 6 to 8 weeks for a decision to be reached.
Building Notice
Building Notices is used for most residential projects and some minor commercial projects. A building notice informs the council of your proposed works and start date, allowing you to commence the works almost immediately based on a specified notification period to the council.
Like a full plans application the council will appoint a surveyor to carryout inspections on their behalf.
For both types of application we will liaise with building control throughout the entire process to ensure a valid application is submitted, and to ensure that the works are successfully signed off.
Party Wall Procedures
If you or a neighbour wish to undertake alteration works that may affect a dividing wall or floor in joint ownership, create an extension where the foundations may effect the neighbouring properties foundations, or any other works which fall on the boundary of your property. We will act in our capacity as administrators and consultants to ensure that all parties involved comply with the Party Wall Act 1996.
A person wishing to undertake works to a shared wall or boundary is known as a building owner and the neighbour is known as the adjoining owner. We act as a party wall surveyor for either a building owner or an adjoining owner to ensure compliance with the Party Wall Act and to resolve any disputes.
Building Owner
We will assess the scope of work and advise the building owner on any additional drawings or permissions that may be require before preparing and issuing the required notices to the adjoining owners informing them of your intentions.
We will liaise directly with all parties to ensure all necessary permissions are obtained, which will include preparing a schedule of the condition of the adjoining properties.
Should the adjoining owner dispute the works then a party wall award will also be required.
Adjoining Owner
Should a neighbouring property inform you of their intention to undertake notifiable works, then we will act on your behalf to check the validity of any notices served and respond on your behalf.
We will examine the proposed works to check for any possible concerns and oversee the condition survey, carried out by the building owner's surveyor, to ensure that it is accurate. Upon completion, we will inspect both properties to check that the building works have been carried out in accordance with the agreed proposals, and more importantly to ensure there is no damage to your property.
Agreed Surveyor
We will act as the agreed surveyor for both the building owner and adjoining owner to ensure both parties are treated fairly and in accordance with the Party Wall Act 1996.
Licence Applications
If your renting a property or your a leaseholder in an apartment block then as part of your contract/lease agreement you may be required to obtain a Licence from the Landlord
before undertaking refurbishment/alteration works.
As experienced Licence administrators we can prepare existing and proposed drawings, along with a report detailing your proposals, and submit them for approval.
We will act as a direct liaison between you and the Landlord or Property Management Company to ensure your proposed works comply with their requirements, and to offer consultation should the proposals have to be revised in any way.
Landlord and Property Management Services
We believe that the key to safeguarding a building and its residents is to ensure that building works, either existing or on-going, are subject to a strict approval process and closely monitored from start through to completion. In the past we have helped to develop and enforce this within a number of blocks by close liaison with the management board and property managers.
This continued liaison and close working relationship has allowed us to create precedents thereby ensuring the protection of the building and its residents for years to come.
The most effective way to control construction works within a building is through a licence agreement. We have years of experience preparing and administering
Licence applications and preparing the Licence document, which allows us to undertake the following tasks:
Landlord and Property Management Services
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Liaise directly with the residents to ensure that their proposals adhere to the buildings own regulations and restrictions
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Ensure that all additional permissions have been obtained by the resident
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Advice the landlords accordingly and obtain approval
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Prepare the licence document
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Ensure the contractor has sufficient insurance in place and has provided all required documentation to include risk assessments and contact details
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Monitor the construction works through to completion
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Sign off the works and obtain all necessary service certification
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Ensure building works comply with the local authority
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Ensure building work not requiring a licence is subject to the same conditions e.g. working hours for contractors, and routes of access
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Ensure continual development of the licence document to reflect changes in the buildings/landlord’s requirements and current legislation
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Provide a close working relationship with board members, house managers, and property managers to develop and enforce rules and regulations within the building
Other Services
We offer a range of other services, these include:
Other Services
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Contract administration of minor and major building works
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Project Management
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Site inspections
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Checking and preparing interim and final valuation payments
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Snagging inspections and completion processes