Table Of ContentBuilding Surveys
Building Surveys has been a trusted guide for both students and professionals for
nearly 40 years, evolving throughout its nine editions to address the challenges and
responsibilities of the building surveying role. It covers everything needed for initial
inspections such as equipment, know-how and procedures to writing an accurate
report, making it indispensable to those practising in or studying this field.
● This updated Ninth Edition features new material on modern methods of
construction, new sustainable materials, new surveying technologies and
industry developments in the wake of the Grenfell Fire.
● Essential reading for building construction students, professional surveyors
and others who may be required to inspect and report on buildings.
● Illustrated throughout with colour photos showing examples of building
defects in full detail.
All the structural aspects of property surveying are explained, covering
foundations, walls and roofs as well as what to look out for and how to deal with
problems. Materials and techniques no longer in use are covered as well as new
technologies, so the reader is prepared for anything they might encounter. Legal
considerations and recent cases are also used to illustrate good working practice,
making this an extremely practical companion to the subject.
Peter Glover FRICS is a retired chartered surveyor and author.
Building Surveys
Ninth Edition
Peter Glover
Cover images: © Peter Glover
Ninth edition published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Peter Glover
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
First edition published by Elsevier Science & Technology Books 1983
Eighth edition published by Routledge 2013
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-30884-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-30877-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-30711-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003307112
Typeset in Myriad Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Kay and the boys;
I am sure they often wondered what
it was I did for a living.
vii
Contents
List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Chapter 1: Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 2: House Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 3: Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 4: Walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter 5: Floors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 6: Roofs and Chimneys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chapter 7: Joinery and Woodwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Chapter 8: Finishes and Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Chapter 9: Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 10: Modern Methods of Construction and the Drive
for Green Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 11: Grenfell and the Cladding Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Chapter 12: The Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter 13: Traffic Light and Other Pro Forma Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chapter 14: Reports on Non-residential Buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Chapter 15: Reports on Flats and Apartments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Chapter 16: New Buildings and Buildings Under Construction . . . . . . . . . 212
Chapter 17: Reports on Older Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
viii Contents
Chapter 18: Reports on Leasehold Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Chapter 19: Reports for Prospective Mortgagees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Chapter 20: A Typical Building Survey Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Chapter 21: Legal Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Chapter 22: Dilapidations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Chapter 23: Conservation and the Surveyor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Chapter 24: The Surveyor as Expert Witness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356
List of Court Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358
Useful Addresses and Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365
ix
Illustrations
1.1 Equipment for a Building Survey of a simple low-rise structure . . . . . . . . . 11
1.2 Borescope for inspecting inside wall cavities, sub-floor
voids and other areas. The wide-angle lens provides good
depth of field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3 Environmental issues should be covered in the report, but the
client must decide whether a problem such as aircraft noise is
acceptable or not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4 Moisture meters are not a new invention. On the left a Weston
Moisture Meter manufactured by the Weston Electrical
Instrument Corp in the USA in the 1930s. Principally
designed to check moisture levels in timber but also having a
scale to measure dampness in plaster. On the right an
Aquatrace made in England in the 1960s – you press the red
button and a flashing light indicates damp. The faster it flashes
the damper the wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 This house is built directly on the riverbank. Issues arising
include foundations, potential riparian liabilities and flood risk. . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 The huge oak tree almost touches the garage wing to this
house, and there are a pylon and overhead power lines
close by; both matters to be reflected in the report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3 House with artificial stone cladding which generally reduces
the value of the property. Slabs are fixed with dabs of mortar
and can work loose in time allowing moisture behind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4 If leaning boundary walls have to be rebuilt this can be very
expensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.5 Condensation between the glass in double-glazed sealed
units generally arises when the windows are over 10 years old,
often (and conveniently for the manufacturers), just after the
guarantee period has run out. The sealed units then have to be
replaced. The cost/benefit and payback calculations for double
glazing need to reflect the fact that these windows are not
maintenance free. During a Building Survey, it is necessary to
check any condensation on the glass to see if it is inside,
outside or between the panes. If it is between the panes,
there is likely to be a developing problem with the windows
which could be expensive for the client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.6 During the survey any ladders used must be properly angled
and grounded. A 4 to 1 ratio of height to distance is best.
Steeper and the user may topple backwards; shallower and
the ladder may slide from beneath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1 Late Victorian foundation, circa 1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Typical 1930 domestic foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
