Building Surveyors

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Building Surveys

Inspection of key exterior and interior building fabric.  Ideal for traditional buildings constructed of natural materials, including listed buildings and those in conservation areas.

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Condition Reports

Condition assessment of architectural stone masonry elements.  Includes exterior walls, surface coatings, mortar pointing, mouldings and carvings, and chimneys.

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Drone Inspections

Inspection of high level building elements using the latest drone platforms.  Provides high resolution images and video of difficult to reach areas such as roofs, gutters and chimneys.

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Providing expert advice for

Home owners


Traditional buildings need regular inspection and maintenance to ensure they do not suffer from unnecessarily accelerated decay and deterioration.  Our building survey can help owners plan proactive maintenance and repair or respond to suspected defects.  We adopt a holistic approach to building inspection looking at walls and surface coatings, rainwater disposal systems, roof coverings, flashings, and chimneys.  Our condition report will highlight areas of concern and recommend what remedial action to take.  If a limited scope inspection is needed, for example to investigate water ingress, we can tailor our survey to meet your needs.

Tenement owners


Surveys of city centre tenements can be challenging due to the location and height of the buildings.  Traditional methods of access such as scaffolding, mobile elevated work platforms (cherry pickers), and rope access, are often expensive and require permits.  Using multirotor drones we can quickly and safely inspect hidden and difficult to access building fabric such as balustrades, parapets, roofs, gutters, cupolas, and chimneys.  Our condition report is designed to be accessible, and owners are provided with the full photographic record, allowing you to make evidence based decisions about maintenance and repair.

Building professionals


We offer drone surveys designed to capture the high definition photographic data you need for home reports, dilapidations surveys, schedules of condition or defects investigation.  Our drones are piloted by a qualified building surveyor who instinctively knows what building elements should be photographed, ensuring you are provided with a useful data set.  And using our sub 250g drones we can fly close to uninvolved people meaning we can operate safely in busy urban environments.  We are GVC certified, hold an Operational Authorisation issued by the CAA, and are insured to carry out commercial drone operations.  If a project requires a detailed stone survey our expertise in the repair and conservation of architectural stonework will prove invaluable.

Property factors


We can provide bespoke surveys of traditional buildings carried out by an RICS surveyor who benefits from considerable experience working on old and listed buildings.  Our surveys can include inspection of all building fabric or be limited to a specific area of interest.  Using multirotor drones we can inspect and photograph difficult to access areas like roofs and chimneys quickly and efficiently without the need to expose workers to risk of working at height.

Where we are

We are based in Livingston West Lothian, between Edinburgh and Glasgow.  This locates us within easy reach of most areas of central Scotland, including Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Lothian, and Fife.  We are also happy to travel so please get in touch if you need a survey carried out on a building elsewhere.

Aberdeen

Dundee

Dunfermline

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Inverness

Perth

Stirling

Aberdeen

Dundee

Dunfermline

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Inverness

Perth

Stirling

What is a traditional building?

Generally understood to be a building constructed before 1919 and of ‘breathable’ construction making use of permeable materials such as stone and lime mortars.  Designed to rely on good air circulation and ventilation through windows, vents, and chimney flues to remove moisture created by household activities like breathing, cooking, and washing.  Will often have solid mass masonry walls, timber windows, and slate covered roofs.


68% of pre-1919 buildings had a degree of critical element disrepair in 2015

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SCHS) 2015


Are you considering purchasing an old or listed building?

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The Home Report is typically carried out from ground level and the Single Survey part will often contain many caveats relating to limited access. Our building survey can help you avoid expensive and unwanted surprises. Using multirotor drones we can inspect hidden and difficult to access building fabric, and photograph those areas at high resolution. Drawing on over 35 years of experience working on traditional buildings we will interpret the captured data to produce a comprehensive condition report that will allow you to make informed decisions.

Are you planning to carry out maintenance and repairs?

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Many of our clients ask their building contractor or roofing contractor to consider using our service.  A drone survey can reduce the risk of working at height by removing the need to work from ladders or on roofs to carry out inspection.  We can supply your contractor with high definition photographs or video of roofs, gutters and chimneys, allowing them to offer informed advice and accurate pricing.

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