A building survey is critical before the occupation of a recently renovated building. The process involves an in-depth inspection of a building and its utilities. Therefore, the assessment empowers a surveyor to advise a potential property owner regarding the current condition of a property. Additionally, a building survey enables a surveyor to determine if renovations meet local and national building requirements. That said, a building survey involves different inspections. This article looks at the three most crucial inspection types for surveying a building.

Repair-of-Failure Survey 

The cause of structural failure in a newly renovated building is critical information to a property investor. Unfortunately, this is not always the case among property investors since others are only interested in the final look of a building. However, such assumptions might cause future challenges, especially for cosmetic renovations. This is why you must insist on a repair-of-failure survey from a building surveying firm. The inspection requires a thorough examination of a building and helps surveyors to determine the cause of structural damage. Consequently, a surveyor can tell whether the repairs are sufficient to prevent future damages. For instance, structural damage of walls caused by rising damp could point to ground drainage issues. It means a property owner will still experience the same challenges in the future if the drainage issues are not addressed.

Cyclical Maintenance Survey 

The survey involves commercial facilities that require regular maintenance, both structural and systemic. However, such maintenance must be planned, and this is where a cyclical maintenance survey comes in. As the name suggests, the maintenance schedule of a commercial building is cyclical in nature (occurs in three, five or ten-year intervals), and the complexity of the structure determines the intervals. Besides, the survey tends to focus on specific elements of a building and prescribes the standards for maintenance and routine replacements before failure.

Measured Building Survey 

The dimensions of any renovated building are bound to change. Therefore, you should get a building and the entire site measured once again with the renovations in mind. This is done by a building surveyor who conducts a measured building survey. The process involves taking accurate measurements of the building as well as the compound then drawing it to scale. The new plans come in handy when you decide to fence the property or when transferring the property to a different person. A measured building survey can also involve taking site levels essential to assess existing site conditions.