BSC (Subsidence Consultants and Party Wall Surveyors)

Description

Subsidence Consultants (structural engineers, building surveyors, specialising in subsidence);

We offer crack diagnosis and subsidence investigations (UK-wide), either by in person visit or by remote video link with a senior Subsidence Consultant (Structural Engineer / Building Surveyor). We have a network of subsidence surveyors across the UK who can visit you within 1-2 weeks, to discuss the matter and view the damage. Reports are then made by our senior Subsidence Consultants (Structural Engineers / Building Surveyors with extensive subsidence experience) following desk-studies. In London and home counties, our Subsidence Consultants can visit you in person.

Even if you don't think the minor cracks you have are due to subsidence, it will still be useful to get an independent professional diagnosis report. Firstly for peace on mind, but also because most buildings insurers are now requiring any cracks to be disclosed to them (at inception or renewal) and many pre-purchase surveyors who spot cracks (of any sort - even just minor ones) will require a professional diagnosis report before they are able to proceed with a mortgage. Having such a report already in advance (confirming that that the cracking is not structurally significant) enables sales to proceed without delays, and enables you to disclose the cracking to your insurers (backed by the report) without fear of jeopardising your insurance cover.

Many targeted building inspections (i.e. for diagnosis of cracking) can be achieved remotely, by video call. One of our Subsidence Consultants (with many years' experience in crack diagnosis and building inspections) will meet you via video link and guide you to show them the areas they want to see. They will discuss the circumstances of the problem with you during the video call and also carry out a desk study (of local geological survey maps, and borehole records etc.). A written report is then produced as normal.

The fee for an in-person survey (UK-wide) is £395 + vat, and a remote video survey is £295 + vat - no fee would be payable if we were unable to diagnose the problem for some reason (i.e. poor signal). Both include a written report. In some areas such as London and some surrounding counties our Subsidence Consultants may be able to visit in person. The cost of this service (again including report) is from £475 + vat (depending on location).

We also offer a Crack Diagnosis Preliminary Assessment for £175 + vat. which is particularly suitable for purchasers. This is not a crack diagnosis as such, but a preliminary assessment (a desk study of crack images or survey reports highlighting cracking and online data such as geological charts etc.) by a professional Subsidence Consultant, along with a written opinion on whether the cracking is likely to be associated with subsidence or not. This service does not include an inspection of the building, but it enables people to decide whether or not to proceed to get a full crack diagnosis report. If proceeding to a full report, the cost of the preliminary assessment is deducted (as the preliminary assessment forms part of a crack diagnosis service anyway), so the cost of a crack diagnosis report (£295 / £395 / £475 + vat) is not increased by having a preliminary assessment done first. This is only possible where images of the cracks are available for us to look at. Reports will not give a definitive diagnosis (which might for example need to be declared to an insurer), just a professional opinion on the possibly of a crack being caused by subsidence.

We also offer Subsidence Risk Assessments (for people without cracking or subsidence looking for property-specific advice on how to avoid it happening) for £295 + vat - see www.bandsc.co.uk/subsidence/risk-assessments/

We also offer retrospective Certificates of Structural Adequacy (from £295 + vat - depending on complexity and available documents) on cases where there is sufficient evidence available of what investigations and repairs were carried out previously (perhaps even for a previous owner). Such a certificate (CoSA) can enable better insurance terms or mortgages to be provided on cases where there has been past subsidence (no longer ongoing). See https://bandsc.co.uk/subsidence/certificate-of-structural-adequacy/.

You might also be interested in looking at the Facebook group UK Subsidence (clay shrinkage and trees) which we run to share subsidence concerns / experiences - members can post questions and tap some experts up for tips and free advice. See www.facebook.com/groups/subsidence

Party Wall Surveyors;

We are also experienced Party Wall Surveyors, Bob Gibson being a senior Fellow of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors, and having been a PW surveyor for over 30 years. Many people don't realise that Party Wall Notices don't need to be served in cases where the risk is minor. We offer a Party Wall Risk & Applicability Assessment (remote) at a cost of £295 + vat (for details www.bandsc.co.uk/party-wall-risk-applicability-assessment/). If we subsequently prepare a Party Wall Award for you, this cost is offset against the cost of the Award. This is a written advice and if we assess the risk as too minor to trigger the Party Wall Act, then an adjoining owner may be reassured to know that, and that they still enjoy common law rights anyway.