Building Surveyors have been called the ‘GPs of the property world’: our role is to deal not just with building defects, but to ensure that they are well maintained so that they continue to work well for their owners and occupants. We have a passion for buildings: how they work - or don't, why and how they suffer from problems and how they can make a difference to our world.
WSP’s highly experienced team of qualified, chartered Building and Structural Surveyors provide a single-source offering for professional surveying, contract administration and project management services. Our team can take our clients’ projects through the full lifecycle from the original surveys and defect identification, through design & specification, procurement, construction and forward maintenance planning.
Surveys and Audits
- Conditions Surveys and Schedules of Condition
- Technical Due Diligence
- Dilapidations & Disposal Surveys
- Pre-acquisitions & Pre-demolition Surveys
- Planned Preventure Maintenance Schedules
- Building Pathology & Defect Analysis
- Accessibility Audits
- Damp & Timber Surveys
Our team is experienced in undertaking surveys and assessments of all property types, producing reports to deliver each client’s exact requirements. We obtain accurate information from the outset, capturing and reporting on individual elements within a property and providing advice on element lifespans to inform Asset Management, purchase or disposal strategies. We have experience of undertaking a range of assessments on properties including: maritime institutions; airport hangars; data centres; offices, educational/teaching spaces; laboratories; commercial and domestic properties.
Here are some project examples:
- High-rise tower blocks in central London for HS2
- Fire Officer training towers for South Wales Fire & Rescue
- Police stations & custody suites for Dyfed Powys Police
- Military Flight Training Centres across the UK
- Chemistry & Bioscience laboratories for Cardiff University
- TV & film facilities for Pinewood Studios
WSP has extensive expertise and experience in building pathology and remedial specification. With a wealth of specialist knowledge and investigation techniques at our disposal, our team of experts bring a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to building investigations for remedial work, risk management and future-use purposes.
Our holistic approach to investigate, diagnose and report on building failures forms the basis for developing sustainable solutions to tackle building defects, so reducing risks to your properties and your portfolio. To obtain robust results, we combine practical experience, a wide range of minimally intrusive investigations and specialist instrumentation and laboratory facilities.
As experts in resolving and preventing building defects and decay, we help you act in good time to mitigate potential losses and risks. We offer cost-effective services and specialist advice that is tailored to the individual requirements of your project.
Due Diligence Reports
We provide due diligence reports for both vendors and buyers, as well as building owners who are re-financing. We are used to working within the stringent timelines that often occur in the building transaction world and we always put ourselves in our clients’ shoes to better understand what is important in a transaction. We identify concerns early in the process before they become problems, which enables our clients to make informed decisions.
One such example is the Pre-acquisition surveys we performed on behalf of HS2:
- Chase Road, London: Two commercial warehouses
- Euston Estate, London: Four occupied high-rise buildings
- Landor Street, Birmingham: Rail cargo transit shed and offices
- Saltley Business Park, Birmingham: 47-acre site, 22 commercial units
- Victoria Road, London: 18,415 m2, five-storey distribution warehouse
Our vast experience in the field and our report delivery and quality control processes, enables us to provide technically accurate property condition assessment reports, reliable recommendations and detailed budgeting, helping our clients to make appropriate business decisions. Beyond the support we provide during building purchase or financing, our due diligence process provides clients with ongoing value after closing. Our reports form a starting point to manage the facility's capital needs over time.
Future Ready: WSP’s extensive network of experts understand the building lifecycle, including world-class building surveyors, building services engineers, structural engineers, facade designers, green building professionals, corrosion experts and concrete restoration specialists. By understanding a building’s systems, we can help implement plans that reduce costs, improve occupant comfort, increase safety and consider the full building lifecycle, from the initial design, through construction, to using and maintaining the building, and even its possible future demolition. We consider all aspects of a building; insulation, heating & ventilation, glazing, renewable energy; space efficiency & flexibility/versatility – designing and specifying buildings which are sustainable now and in the future.
Working alongside our Architecture and M&E colleagues, we helped UWE deliver the comprehensive redevelopment of a 10,000m2 building and reduce its carbon emissions by installing a large photovoltaic array, a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system and district heating ready for connection to other buildings on the campus. Future flexibility of the building has been assured by our design of a ‘low-tech’ simple partitioning system, which can be modified as research needs change. Emissions saved: 1,100 tonnes of CO2/year.
Legal & Regulatory Support
- CDM Regulations 2015 - CDM Advisor
- CDM Regulations 2015 - Principal Designer
- Party Wall & Neighbouring Matters
- Planning & Listed Building Applications
- Expert Witness
- Statutory Compliance
- Equality Act
- Building Regulations
Our in-house experts provide advice regarding a range of legislation and regulation, from CDM, to accessibility audits, planning applications and party wall negotiations. We also provide Expert Witness and Independent Tester roles, providing clients with the benefit of our expertise in their negotiations and the comfort of knowing that their projects are being delivered to the required standards.
One example is the UK Military Flight Training System (UKMFTS) is a training programme for military aircrew across fixed wing and rotary wing platforms and prepares pilots for front line operations within designated operational aircraft units.
We were employed as the Independent Certifier for construction works at various sites across the UK, to provide independent assessment and technical due diligence for the PFI funding process. The role encompassed the audit and certification the new facilities including new aircraft hangars, a new air training facility, runway aprons, etc.
Building Surveyors play a pivotal role in ensuring the long-term viability of buildings and ensuring that they can contribute positively to our future heritage and environment.
