Knowing which type of professional should be appointed to inspect a property in London can be confusing.
A Surveyor and a Structural Engineer are different professions with their own distinct governing bodies.
But as there is no legal restriction on who can call themselves a Surveyor or an Engineer, it is of vital importance to ensure the person you plan to hire is a Chartered Surveyor or Chartered Structural Engineer as this ensures a high level of expertise and professionalism with many years of both academic study and career experience.
The following descriptions below are useful to know whether buying and selling or carrying out building work for residential properties.
General Practice Surveyors will have a broad knowledge of properties and their construction. Their role is to advise their clients on buying or selling a property and they undertake pre-purchase home surveys or reports which might include a valuation for mortgage purposes.
Chartered Building Surveyors have a higher level of technical skill compared to General Practice Surveyors and are mainly concerned with commercial property and construction projects.
Quantity Surveyors specialise in costing construction projects and building repairs and require technical drawings and specifications to price accurately.
A Chartered Structural Engineer is the best person to appraise any sort of structural problems such as cracking, movement, or issues with floors, roofs, or bulging walls. CEng stands for Chartered Engineer, and MIStructE stands for Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
It is important to use a professionally qualified, registered Structural Engineer with experience, skills, and knowledge of residential properties in London.
SERL’s highly skilled and experienced Chartered Structural Engineers can identify the most likely cause of most structural problems. This ability comes from dealing with thousands of similar cases across London over the last 30 years. We recognise and understand the causes of structural issues as they are shared by many properties in London.
Our Structural Engineers specialise in assessing the structural integrity and health of residential properties in London. We identify any issues related to the loadbearing walls and components which form the ‘bones and joints’ of a building. Most serious defects are contained within this skeleton structure and inspecting the pointing and decoration can help to determine the nature and age of a structural problem.
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