Browse through our blog posts for the latest industry news, discover more about surveying, Chartered Surveying guides and find out what the Harrison Clarke team have been up to.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In all our years of surveying, there is one thing that every single client we’ve worked with has talked about as a priority – money. Specifically, not spending too much of it! Whether you’re building an extension or converting your roof space, you need to make sure that you’ve budgeted for everything involved in the […]
In the last few months there has been a lot of information, updates, and talk in the news about spray foam insulation. The government published reports, and this has sparked a lot of debate both in the public and in professional circles about materials and application, as well as spray foam methodology as a method […]
