Further survey required after buildings survey?

katepower

Hi all,

I have just had a buildings survey carried out on a property I am hoping to buy. The survey was carried out by a chartered surveyor. Parts of the survey recommended that areas of the property need further surveying by a structural engineer. Ie the removal of the chimney breast from the living room. I'm confused! Shouldn't the buildings survey have been I depth enough to cover such matters? If not, what are the differences between a structural engineer and a chartered surveyor? What would one do that the other couldn't ?

Levs01

If the chimney stack has been removed the structual engineer will need the work out if the remaining load has been evenly distributed over the remaining structure. If it hasn't been removed the surveyor is concerned that the chimney is not structurally sound and needs to be investigated further that the structual load of the house is supported.

If you've had a full building survey (as opposed to homebuyers) I would suggest listening to him. He's spotted something that's an issue.

robatwork

From what you have said we can't tell if this is standard !!!!!-covering by the surveyor, or a pointer to something that could be very serious and expensive.

You will have to be more detailed or paste in the actual words he has used.

Miss_Samantha

Often it is not possible to see how the work was done. So in the absence of paperwork the surveyor will recommend further investigation (which may be intrusive so the seller may not agree).

I once bought a house which chimney breast had been removed up to the loft, with the new supporting beam visible there and it could be confirmed that it had been there for 20+ years. The surveyor on a standard homebuyers report could advise that it was fine.

At the end it is up to you to weigh things and decide. Remember that a surveyor will never write that "it's OK" in relation to something he could not positively check or something which is not his area of expertise.
If you chat with him, though, you can usually get a sense of whether there really is a problem.

Chanes

It's a bit like going to see your GP and they send you to a Consultant...

G_M

Chanes wrote: »

It's a bit like going to see your GP and they send you to a Consultant...

Indeed.

You've had the GP's report. He has found a suspected or possible problem which needs further investigation by a specialist. The specialist will do tests, determine if a problen does exist, and then prescribe[STRIKE] chemothapy or surgery [/STRIKE]structural supports or demolition as appropriate.

G_M

Touting for business is not permitted on the forum.

Please hit the :spam: folks.