Surveying and Maintaining Buildings

This report provides a thorough inspection and condition rating of a building, including its history, elements, and potential risks. It is aimed at informing clients about any defects that need attention and ensuring the safety and integrity of the property. The report follows RICS guidelines and includes photos and sketches of the building.

Surveying and Maintaining Buildings
(BSU5SMB)
Student:
Property address
Town: Clapton District, North East London.
Country: England
Property Description Mansionnatte
Word Count
1

Contents
A. Introduction to the report......................................................................................................... 3
Property history............................................................................................................................... 3
Property elements........................................................................................................................... 3
B. About the inspection..................................................................................................................... 4
C. Summary of the condition ratings............................................................................................. 6
Condition rating 3........................................................................................................................... 6
Condition rating 2........................................................................................................................... 6
Condition rating 1........................................................................................................................... 7
D. About the property........................................................................................................................ 8
Accommodation.............................................................................................................................. 8
Construction..................................................................................................................................... 8
Mains services................................................................................................................................. 8
Central Heating............................................................................................................................... 9
E. Outside the property................................................................................................................... 10
Explanation (Outside)................................................................................................................. 11
Element 1................................................................................................................................... 11
F. Inside the property.................................................................................................................. 12
Explanation (Inside)............................................................................................................... 13
J. Risks................................................................................................................................................. 14
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................. 15
2

A. Introduction to the report
This report is based on the information gathered on a building to be purchased by a
client. The information was gathered on a thorough inspection of the building and a
report documented. Photos of the property were taken and sketches developed on its
defects (Douglas and Ransomm, 2013).
The report has been prepared in accordance with the RICS conditions report. The
RICS report gives guidance on the areas to be inspected and the ratings to be given on
the defects on the building.
The report is aimed at informing the client on any defects that need critical attention,
the condition of the property as at inspection date, the defects that may compromise
safety and any things that require further investigations to prevent additional damage.
The report provides an independent view of the condition of the property at the time
of inspection (Esteya and Ruiz, 2013).
Property history
The property I inspected is a mansionnette located in Clapton district in North East
London. It was built in May 2010 by Wells real estate developers on a 1/8 acre land.
The building was named Wells II after the developing company’s name.
Property elements
The property is eight and half years old, painted in a mixture of beautiful white and
cream colors on the outlook (Che-Ani and Abdullah, 2010). The main elements of the
property are the French doors, the windows, skylight, pillars, stone walls, board
ceiling, L shaped staircase and metal staircase grills.
3

Photo of the inspected Mansion.
B. About the inspection
Date of inspection
The inspection on the Mansionnette was done on 17th May 2019 and its report
documented on 3rd June 2019.
Weather conditions at the time of the inspection
The inspection was done on a bright sunny day with a little wind.
The status of the property when inspected:
Inspection was carried out on the interior and exterior of the building, I did not open
any fabric during the inspection. Floorboards, carpets and any other coverings were
not taken up, even furniture and all the equipment in the house were not moved during
the inspection (Ionnidis and Likothanassis, 2014, p.3417-3419).
The inspection was done using a torch, ladder and binoculars to access and view all
parts of the building. The parts of the building inspected are the floor, walls, ceiling,
windows, doors and kitchen. The exterior inspection was done on the permanent
outbuildings, fences and boundary walls (Nakashima and Weitzmann, 2014, p.259-
264).
The property was found to be in good state except for parts of the interior and exterior
wall and part of the ceiling. There was a crack between the ground and first floor in
the exterior side of the mansion shown below:
4

Photo showing the crack in the exterior side of the mansion.
The interior side had a minor crack on the wall of the bedroom as shown in the photo
below:
Photo showing a crack on the bedroom wall of the Mansion
The ceiling of the building’s first floor was dump and had cracks as shown in the
photo below:
5

Photo showing the dampness and cracks on the ceiling.
C. Summary of the condition ratings
Condition rating 3
Section of the report Element No Element Name
E outside of the property E4 Wall
I inside of the property I3 Wall
I inside of the property I4 Ceiling
Condition rating 2
Section of the report Element No Element Name
E outside of the property E7 Pavement
E outside of the property E9 Skylight
I inside of the property I6 Staircase grills
I inside of the property I7 Painting
I inside of the property I9 Laundry room Fittings
6

Condition rating 1
Section of the report Element No Element Name
E outside of the property E1 Windows
E outside of the property E2 Rain water pipes and
gutters
E outside of the property E3 Chimney Stacks
E outside of the property E5 Roof
E outside of the property E6 Doors
E outside of the property E8 Painting
I Inside of the property I3 Doors
I Inside of the property I4 Floor
I Inside of the property I5 Staircase
I Inside of the property I8 Washrooms Fittings
7

(Fox and De Wilde, 2014, p.296-310)
D. About the property
Type of
property
Mansionnette, one storey, with front facing north
Approximate year
built
May 2010
Approximate date of extension /
alteration
July 2010
Accommodation
Floor Living
rooms
Bedroo
ms
Bath or
shower
Separat
e toilet
Kitche
n
Utility
room
Conser
vatory
Other
Woode
n
2 6 3 3 1 1 1
Construction
The construction technique used in the property is a modernized European
standard. The building has modernized elements from the interior to its exterior.
The exterior doors are framed using the French door framing style. The staircase is
L shaped and the floor is covered with wood except on the kitchen, washrooms and
the bathroom. The whole structure is made of building stones, cement and wood.
The exterior pavements are made of concrete while the roof is made of tiles (Lo and
Choi, 2014, p.259-263).
Mains services
Gas YES Electricity YES Water YES Drainage YES
Central Heating
Gas YES Electric YES Solid YES Oil YES
8

fuel
9

E. Outside the property
Limitations to inspection:
The main limitation to inspecting the exterior of the property was the reachability
of some parts of the property such as the chimney and gutters this was resolved by
using a ladder.
Element
number
Description of the parts and condition Condition
rating
E1 Windows, all the windows are in perfect condition well
framed and painted
1
E2 Rain water Pipes and Gutters, in perfect condition, well
painted with no visible physical defect.
1
E3 Chimney stacks, no visible defect, well maintained. 1
E4 Walls, most of the walls are in good state except for the front
walls which has a crack running between the ground and
first floor.
3
E5 Roof, the roof is in perfect condition, no cracks and well
painted.
1
E6 Doors, The doors look stunning, well painted with no cracks. 1
E7 Pavement, the pavement is generally in good state but has
some cracks and minor pothole.
2
E8 Painting, the painting is beautifully done and blends well
with the surrounding.
1
E 9 Skylight, the skylight is well fixed on top of the roof but is a
bit dented on the sides.
2
10

Explanation (Outside)
Element 1
E4 Main walls
The main wall of the Mansion is made of building stones and concrete. The wall is
painted cream on some parts and white in others. The wall structure is well erected
with pillars on either corner of the building supporting the whole structure (Ransom,
2012). The concrete pillars are strong and have no visible defect. The defect is on the
building stones between the ground and first floor. The crack is clearly visible and
thus calls for urgent action in order to avoid further damage and any possible damage
which may result from them.
For this defect the RICS condition rating 3 is applied since the crack is severe and
poses a great danger to the users of the building (Watson and Abdullal, 2014, P.1).
The crack needs to be further investigated and repaired urgently.
Stage One
Is the building element in a satisfactory condition? No
The crack is large and poses a risk to users of the structure.
Stage Two
A. Does the defect impair the intended function of the element?
No
The building can still be put into use, but that will be dangerous to the inhabitants.
B. Has the defect caused structural failure or serious defects in other building
elements?
No
There are no serious defects as a result of the crack since the whole building is
supported by pillars on either sides.
C. Has the problem compromised the structural integrity of the element?
Yes
A further investigation needs to be done on the general fitness of the building since
more cracks may develop.
D. Does the defect seriously and directly threaten the safety of the building users?
Yes
Since it’s a severe wall crack the building may collapse if it is ignored.
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Are urgent repairs or replacements needed now or can it be left until the next
anticipated period of regular maintenance?
Yes
To ensure that the building does not collapse due to strain.
E. Does the problem require further investigation?
Yes
To ensure that there are no other cracks on the building.
F. Inside the property
Limitations to inspection:
Some areas of the interior such as the floors covered with carpet and walls where
furniture had been put against could not be accessed.
Element
number
Description of the parts and condition Condition
rating
I1
Walls, the walls are generally well structured and painted
except for the wall in the master bedroom which had
developed a crack.
3
I2 Ceiling, the ceiling is well laid only that there was dampness
on some of its parts.
3
I3 Doors, The doors are all well painted with no cracks on
either side.
1
I4 Floor, the floor is well painted and laid with no cracks. 1
I5 Staircase, the staircase is well constructed in an L shape and
in perfect state.
1
I6 Staircase grills, some of the staircase grills are dented and
not well painted.
2
I7 Painting, the painting is well done except in some parts of
the kitchen and the washroom with patches on the walls.
I8 Washroom fittings, All washroom fittings are fixed well and
modernized to fit high standard rating.
1
I9 Laundry room, some of the taps in the laundry room had
minor leaks.
2
12

Explanation (Inside)
Element 1/2
I2 Ceilings
The ceiling of the mansion is made of mainly cardboard and covers the entire first
floor. Most of the parts of the ceiling are in good state except for some parts which
have developed dampness and cracks. The dampness is caused by wetness thus the
ceiling needs an urgent replacement in order to avoid its collapsing to the inside
(Urbanoa and Cabrera).
Since there are major cracks and dampness on the ceiling board the defect was
considered serious and needed to be replaced urgently in order to avoid harm to the
inhabitants of the structure (Baldwin and Fardell, 2007, p.848).
Stage One
No
There were cracks and dampness on the ceiling.
Stage Two
A. Does the defect impair the intended function of the element?
Yes
Since water may drip into the house due to the cracks and dampness of the ceiling.
F. Has the defect caused structural failure or serious defects in other building
elements?
No
The defect has not affected other elements but may affect if action is not taken to
repair it.
G. Has the problem compromised the structural integrity of the element?
No
The problem may be due to the cold weather conditions of the area.
H. Does the defect seriously and directly threaten the safety of the building users?
No
But it threatens their comfort since water may drip into the house.
I. Are urgent repairs or replacements needed now or can it be left until the next
anticipated period of regular maintenance?
Yes
In order to avoid further damage on the ceiling which may be even more dangerous.
13

J. Does the problem require further investigation?
No
Since the parts with cracks are clearly visible.
J. Risks
J1 Ceiling Board defects
Dampness
Cracks on Walls
J2 Risks to people
The crack on walls may be risky to the inhabitants of the structure since
the building may collapse due to strain.
J3 Discomfort to people
The dampness and cracks on the ceiling may cause discomfort due to cold
and water spillage.
J4 Loss of Appeal
The walls which are not painted well have caused loss of appeal to users
thus need repainting.
J5 Potholes
The potholes on the pavements should be filled to avoid minor accidents.
14

REFERENCES
Baldwin, R. and Fardell, L.G., 2007. Statistical analysis of fire spread in buildings.
Fire Safety Science, 848, pp.1-1.
Che-Ani, A.I., Ali, A.S., Tahir, M.M., Abdullah, N.A.G. and Tawil, N.M., 2010. The
development of a condition survey protocol (CSP) 1 matrix for visual building
inspection.
Douglas, J. and Ransom, B., 2013. Understanding building failures. Routledge.
Esteva, L. and Ruiz, S.E., 2011. sixth international conference on applications of
statistics and probabilìty in civil engineering mexico city, mexico, 2011.
Fox, M., Coley, D., Goodhew, S. and De Wilde, P., 2014. Thermography
methodologies for detecting energy related building defects. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, 40, pp.296-310.
Ioannidis, D., Krinidis, S., Tzovaras, D. and Likothanassis, S., 2014, October. Human
tracking & visual spatio-temporal statistical analysis. In 2014 IEEE International
Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) (pp. 3417-3419). IEEE.
Ifran Che-Ani, A., Samsul Mohd Tazilan, A. and Afizi Kosman, K., 2011. The
development of a condition survey protocol matrix. Structural Survey, 29(1), pp.35-
45.
Lo, T.Y. and Choi, K.T.W., 2014. Building defects diagnosis by infrared
thermography. Structural Survey, 22(5), pp.259-263.
Nakashima, M., Pan, P., Zamfirescu, D. and Weitzmann, R., 2014. Post-Kobe
approach for design and construction of base-isolated buildngs. Journal of Japan
Association for Earthquake Engineering, 4(3), pp.259-264.
Ransom, W.H., 2012. Building failures: diagnosis and avoidance. Routledge.
Urbanoa, M.A., Cavazosb, A., Anayac, A., Mirelesd, J., Cabrera-Ríose, M. and
Niñoe, E., Buildng life estimation tools in Automotive lamps: a Case Study.
Watson, I. and Abdullah, S., 2014, March. Developing case-based reasoning systems:
a case study in diagnosing building defects. In IEE Colloquium on Case Based
Reasoning: Prospects for Applications (Digest No. 1994/057) (pp. 1-1). IET.
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