What are the 4 steps during an inspection?
1) Personal safety and what to take on inspection
Firm’s lone working and H&S policy
Take mobile phone, camera, measuring equipment, plans, PPE and pen and paper/Dictaphone
2) Consideration of local area
Location, public transport, nearby facilities and amenities
Contamination and environmental hazards
Comparable evidence and agents’ boards
3) External inspection
Method of construction (brick and block, timber construction, steel and modular)
Repair and condition from roof down
Car parking and access
Defects/structural movements
Check site boundaries using OS map or title plan
Check date of building (either ask client, look at planning, land registry or style)
4) Internal inspection
Layout and specification
Repair and maintenance
Defects
Services
Statutory compliance
Fixtures and fittings
What are the 3 different inspection purposes? What should you be looking out for on each?
- Valuation
Location
Tenure
Form of construction
Defects
Condition - Agency (marketability)
Repair and maintenance
Services
Presentation and flexibility of accommodation
Marketability
Statutory compliance - Property management (policing lease)
Lease compliance
Statutory compliance
Repairs/redecoration
Security arrangements and vandalism/damage (unoccupied)
What are the different foundations?
- Trench/strip: Used for residential, walls and columns
- Raft: Slab foundation over whole site
- Piled: Long and thin reinforced concrete cylinders when high load/weak ground
- Pad: Slab foundation under columns to spread load
What do you know about brickwork and the different defects?
- Solid wall (at least one brick thick with flemish bond (header) to tie brick together)
- Cavity wall (two layers of brick with cavity in between)
- Stretcher brick, lad horizontally with long side facing outer wall
- Efflorescence: White staining on brick when water reacts with natural salts. Not harmful can be a sign of water entering foundation.
- Spalling: Surface of brick crumbles due to freeze/thaw action.
What is the general retail specification?
- Most new shops steel or concrete frame
- Services capped off and concrete floor with no suspended ceiling
- Let in shell condition or whitebox specification
- Whitebox: Unit that has been generically fitted to meet current occupier demands with a standard template. Often have HVAC fitted and white painted. Like CAT A for offices. Blank canvas for tenants.
What are the 2 different types of frames for office buildings?
- Most offices are steel or concrete frame
- Concrete more columns than steel and lower floor height
What are the different types of office fitouts?
Shell and core: Buildings basic structure with basic services and structural walls exposed
CAT A: Basic condition with essential infrastructure and finishes. Often used for rent reviews or reinstatement obligations. Like whitebox for retail. Blank canvas for tenants.
CAT A+/Plug and Play: CAT B specification with no customisation/branding.
CAT B: Customisation with meeting rooms, partitioning, upgrade to services and customisation.
What is the general industrial specification?
- Steel portal frame with double skin cladding systems (two layers of painted steel with insulation between them.
- Specification:
Minimum 8m eaves height
Floor loading
Plastic coated cladding and blockwork walls to approximately 2m.
Services capped off
3-phase power
40% cover
5-10% office and WC facilities
What to do once you have identified a defect?
1) Photograph
2) Try to establish cause of damage onsite
3) Inform client of investigation
4) Recommend advice from building surveyor or structural engineer (if caused by movement)
What are the 2 different types of defects?
- Inherent defect: Defect in design or material which has always been present
- Latent defect: Fault undiscoverable during thorough inspection
What can protect an investor from defects?
- Warranties from building during construction
What are the different types of movement?
Subsidence – Vertical downward movement of a building foundation due to loss of support beneath
Heave – Expansion of ground beneath building. Could be caused by removal of tree and build-up of moisture
Horizontal: Brickwork cracking may indicate wall tie failure in wall
Shrinkage cracking: New plasterwork drying out
What is the difference between mould and damp?
- Damp: Build-up of moisture
Mould: Fungus that thrives in damp environments
Often found together
What are the different types of damp?
Condensation: Warm air condensing on cool glass/walls. Symptoms are water droplets and mould. Prevented by increasing ventilation through opening windows/trickle vents.
Rising damp: Ground water moving through wall/floor. Symptoms are damaged skirting boards, peeling paint and tide marks on wall. Prevented by damp proof course and membrane.
Penetrating damp: Water leaking through walls. Damp patches worsening during rain. Prevented by repairing cracks or guttering.
What is the difference between wet rot and dry rot?
Dry rot: Caused by fungus and usually in places with high humidity and poor ventilation. Early sign is condensation on windows. Other signs are white fruiting mushroom like bodies, cuboidal cracking of timber and cracking paint.
Wet rot: Grows in high moisture content and caused by damp or timber decay. Signs include wet and soft timber, black fungal growth and musty smell.
What are common residential and retail defects?
Dry rot, wet rot, roof tile slippage, damp penetration and structural movement.
What are common office defects?
Damp penetration, structural movement, damaged cladding or cavity wall failure.
What are common industrial defects?
Roof leaks around roof lights, damaged cladding and water damage through poor guttering.
What is the legislation and RICS guidance regarding contamination?
Environmental Protection Act 1990 and RICS Professional Standard Environmental risks and global real estate (2010).
Who pays for contamination remediation?
Polluter or landowner pays for remediation
What are some of the causes of contamination?
Contamination can by heavy metals, radon or oil.
What are some of the things included in the contamination checklist and where is it found?
Contamination checklist in professional standard including smells, discharges and irregular topography
What should be included in the site investigation for contamination?
- Typical investigation:
1) Review of site history, inspection and investigation
2) Further investigation to identify extent of contamination with soil samples
3) Remediation report
What are the options when valuing a contaminated site?
1) Don’t provide advice until receipt of specialist report
2) Special assumption or appropriate caveat
3) Capital deduction for remedial costs
