CHARTERED BUILDING SURVEYORS

Other areas of expertise

Project/Site Management

If you're planning a building project of any kind it's always advisable to get a detailed quotation with a full breakdown of all the costs involved. It's also advisable to make sure that the work is properly supervised while it's being done.

Even if we haven't prepared your drawings we can:

• Prepare tender documents, and a detailed specification for the tender
• Send these documents to reputable contractors for pricing
• Collate the responses, and advise on the most appropriate contractor for the job
• Supervise works on site, including quality checks
• Approve valuation payment requests from the contractor
• Confirm and agree any additional works before they are carried out.
• Agree the final account

Disputes and defects

When it comes to workmanship and costs, not all building contractors are entirely reliable. Disputes can occur even with reputable firms, but they're much more likely to happen if you haven't drawn up a contract, or agreed a detailed estimate.

If you find yourself in an argument with your contractor, we can draw up a schedule of defects listing the areas of work that are unsatisfactory or below an acceptable standard. You can then give this to your contractor so you both know exactly what needs to be put right.

We can also act as an arbitrator between you and your builder to resolve any potential disputes.

To go down this route, the first thing you need to do is get the builders to agree, in writing, that they:

• Accept our appointment as arbitrator
• Agree about who will pay the fees involved
• Will accept the contents of the final report, and do the required remedial work - even if they don't necessarily agree with it.

This will make it much easier to reach a solution without going to court.

If at all possible, avoid going to court. The costs and time involved can often spiral out of control, and in the end no one is a winner.

Building Maintenance Planning

Anderson Associates can prepare a detailed maintenance survey or report on the current condition of a property. This will highlight:

• the requirements for maintenance
• the costs involved
• the times when this work will need to be done.

Leases and Commercial Properties

Dilapidations

When a lease comes to an end the landlord should normally expect to get his property back in good condition, and ready to be let again. So it's important that both landlords and tenants understand what they have to do under the terms of the lease.

We can advise both landlords and tenants on the repairs that are needed, and the costs that each of them will need to pay.

Normally the landlord prepares the dilapidation schedule, which will list the areas of disrepair the tenant is responsible for, and how much the repairs are likely to cost.

Tenants can either get the work done themselves, to the satisfaction of the landlord's surveyor, or pay the estimated costs directly to the landlord.

Sometimes these costs seem a little high when tenants actually look at the work required. In that case we can act on behalf of the tenant - and we can often negotiate substantially lower costs.

Schedule of Condition

This is a document that can be attached to a new lease to limit a person's liability for dilapidations. For example, it might record the poor condition of the walls or windows. This would mean that when the tenants leave they can prove they weren't responsible for this defect.

We could prepare a Schedule of Condition before work starts on a party wall, so there's a clear record of the condition of the next door property likely to affected by the intended work. With this it's easy to find out if the work has caused any damage.

Construction Design and Management Regulations

These regulations cover a number of topics, most notably health and safety on site. They've been introduced in an attempt to reduce the number of avoidable accidents, injuries and deaths on building sites.

The regulations explain what each member of the project team should do, what their responsibilities are, and how all of them can play a key part in site safety.

If you've commissioned a commercial building project you'll need a Planning Supervisor to represent you, liaise with the members of the project team, and tell them what needs to be done.

Anderson Associates are qualified planning surveyors, and we will be happy to act for you.

Anderson associates have a list of approved contractors we trust, have worked with in the past and can recommend to carry out almost any type of work you are likely to encounter.

We would be happy to provide you with further details.