Guides, Advice and Tips from Chartered Surveyors

Browse through our blog posts for the latest industry news, discover more about surveying and find out what the Harrison Clarke team have been up to.

What Is Subsidence and How Do You Spot It?

It’s a homeowner’s worst nightmare. You look at your walls one day and see cracks that weren’t there before. You tell yourself it’s the house ‘settling’, but in the back of your mind there’s one word going around – subsidence. But what exactly is subsidence? What causes it, and what should you do if you […]

How Much Does A House Survey Cost In 2025?

Buying a house can be a very expensive process. Most people need to save up a large amount for a deposit, and on top of that, you’ll need to pay solicitors’ fees, mortgage brokers’ fees and even estate agents’ fees. And that’s all before you’ve commissioned a professional building surveyor to inspect your new home. […]

Things You Need to Know When Buying a Flat

You’ve put an offer in on a flat, and you’ve just got the call to say it was accepted. Yay! Celebrations all round. You’ve been round the flat twice with the estate agent and the place looks like it’s in good nick.You’ve decided where to put your furniture, and have even convinced yourself that the […]

Wall Tie Failure: What It Means for Your Property

If you have an older property with masonry walls, it’s likely that a surveyor will recommend a wall tie survey. They do this for a very good reason – wall tie failure is a common issue in older homes and can cause serious structural problems if left untreated. But it can be a bit confusing […]

Planning an extension under the Party Wall Act

Our specialist Party Wall team of chartered surveyors at Southampton-based Harrison Clarke helps clients with Party Wall matters every day. In this article, we briefly explain what the Party Wall Act is, why it is needed, how it affects you when you are planning an extension, what your responsibilities are and why it is important […]

Notifiable Works – Party Wall Notice

We talk a lot about the Party Wall Act, and when building owners need to provide notice to their neighbours under this slightly complex legislation. But it’s not the easiest of things to understand, which means many people still aren’t sure what notifiable works actually are, let alone when the notices need to be given. […]

Your Ultimate Guide to Chimneys

Chimneys come in all shapes and sizes. From simple flues to just get smoke away from log-burning stoves, to beautiful ornate features topping off a roof, and everything in between! Whatever their style or purpose, they all have one thing in common – they all need taking care of. If, after a while, issues can […]

Party Wall Costs Explained

When you’re planning out works on your home, one of the big things you’ll want to know is how much it will cost. After all, building works are expensive, and you want to make sure that you aren’t going over your budget. But there are all sorts of places where hidden costs can sneak in, […]

Party Wall Access Arrangements

When you’re carrying out building work on your property, there are likely times when you need access to areas that are usually out of reach. Most commonly, access that’s on your neighbour’s land to erect scaffolding. There’s a lot of confusion around access to a neighbour’s property when it comes to the notifiable works under […]

Can Woodworm Damage Your Home?

In the UK we have a huge variety of native wildlife, from the biggest (which is a red deer) to the smallest insects. It’s part of what makes our country so beautiful. But some of the native species we aren’t too fond of are woodboring beetles – also known as woodworm. There are a number […]

Why You Should Use An Agreed Surveyor For A Party Wall Award

When it comes to party wall issues, the Act is pretty clear about who is allowed to do what. Specifically, the building owner carrying out the works can’t act for themselves in the event of dispute. Instead, they must appoint a surveyor to act on their behalf if an adjoining owner dissents to their party […]

What Are LADs? Liquidated and Ascertained Damages

Let’s face it, the surveying world is full of acronyms, and we absolutely love using them! It’s mostly because a lot of the things in our world have very long, or overly complicated names – sometimes both! So we shorten them down to acronyms so that our conversations don’t last hours. Just one of those […]