Building Surveyors and Practice regulated by the RICS
Purchasing your home is probably the biggest outlay you are ever going to make; therefore, it is vitally important that you are fully aware of the property’s overall condition. A comprehensive survey of the property in Cardiff can help uncover any work that may need to be carried out to the property before you buy it. There are various types of survey that can be carried out, the survey you will require depends on the type of information that is needed and the age of the property.
A valuation tells the lender how much the property is worth and will usually be carried out by your mortgage company if you need a mortgage to buy the property. We do however offer rebuild valuations for insurance purposes.
A home buyer survey reports on defects in the property, its condition and actionable repairs. These types of report are compliant to the RICS format and have been designed to cover all aspects of the property but is more of an abbreviated version of the full building survey. This type of survey report is generally suitable for more modern type property built after 1950’s.
This type of survey provides a more detailed report than the homebuyer survey. It is recommended for older properties and those in need of work, or simply for peace of mind. Our Full Building survey gives the best and most comprehensive feedback and advice. Also known as a Structural Survey, the surveyor will look at the complete property and give a detailed opinion regarding the state of every single aspect of the building. This is our most commonly commissioned report and our specialist area of expertise. It is particularly suitable for older properties or properties which have had major alterations over the years or properties which appear to have problems that need further investigation. The survey includes an inspection of the whole of the property both inside and out including entering the roof void where applicable.
As a RICS regulated building surveyor Western Building Consultants can provide all types of building survey. We can also provide advice on how to alter or extend your property including carrying out project management of the works.
How does our service differ from our competitors? We are not in the business of volume surveys compared to other regional practices; we provide bespoke quality surveys in Cardiff and surrounding areas that are tailored to your needs as the client. This can include looking at specific items or options for refurbishment and extension or particular areas of worry. Our reports are usually turned around in 5 working days. Due to our unique multi-disciplinary approach, we provide an unrivalled after service, including where appropriate the drawing up of a schedule of repair works and project administration. We will call you after the survey to discuss any major issues identified, our reports also contain an approximation of the costs involved to bring the property up to a modern standard. If we think the property will not meet your brief, we may even discuss with you not continuing with the report to save costs.
Cardiff contains a large density of Listed Buildings; knowledge of their construction is very important and many surveyors outside of the area lack the expertise to deal with the issues facing the historic stock. Our surveyors are fully equipped and skilled to carry out surveys on historic or sensitive Listed buildings in Cardiff and carry out defect analysis across a whole range of properties across the city.
If you need advice about your property purchase, Western building Consultants can help. We provide home buyer reports and building surveys to help you make an informed decision on whether you should proceed with the purchase of your property. Buying a house is an important and expensive investment getting the correct survey will help you decide if the purchase price is reasonable, and also inform you if the property has any significant defects or serious risks affecting the property.
Being socially responsible and promoting excellent ethics is at the forefront of our business. Our staff are happy and content and this is shown through our positive approach to your project. We work to the highest professional standards as required by both the RICS and CIAT. You can rest assured that when you employ WBC you will be supporting an organisation that champions local, national and international projects through schemes such as FairTrade, Mentoring Plus and the Bath percent club. This is backed up by a rigorous Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. We sponsor many grass roots sports clubs such as Combe Down Rugby Club, Frome Park Bowls Club & Cardiff Harlequins.
We are realistic with timescales and honest about what you will receive. Most people underestimate the time involved with a building project, but we are upfront about what is involved and will be clear about how long a project might take. Throughout the project we will continue to update you about progress and will advise you if there will be a disruption in the timetable.
We have vast planning experience and are adaptable to most architectural styles and ages of buildings. We are perfectly able to adapt to the style of your property from contemporary to traditional, urban to rural. We have designed projects in most styles and can use our broad experience to help design the best solution for your property, using whatever construction technology best suits your needs. Whether you plan a modest alteration or something spectacular WBC can help you achieve your project goals.
We employ qualified professionals with a variety of skill sets and the latest training. many of our employees have specialist post graduate qualifications. We also train selected staff through university programmes and professional qualifications to ensure our clients get the best trained surveyors and up to date advice. You will receive a professional, comprehensive and cohesive consultation and guidance throughout the project, ensuring that your development is handled with a consultant level of knowledge.
We are here for you when you need us, with our survey to completion guarantee. You won’t be left alone, we will fit in wherever you need us in the project or guide you through the whole process. You will have the knowledge that someone is always at hand whatever level of service you need.
Whilst offering exceptional value for money we also bring a positive, approachable, pragmatic, realistic and well rounded attitude to your project. You will feel at ease discussing issues with your project, our pragmatic approach to design and refurbishment means that we can often deliver built in VALUE. One example of this is recognising where cost savings can be made in the design without compromising the overall scheme and offering a higher standard of technical specification over many of our competitors, this reduces the need for outside engineering input and ultimately saves you money in fees. We are grounded which means that we can deliver a build in a cost conscious manner in order to make sure our projects are buildable.
Where we do not have the in house skills to tackle an element of a project we are well networked locally to utilise outside consultants that we have built up relationships with over many years. You will get the best of local knowledge and be introduced to like minded trusted suppliers with excellent professional services.
We can provide the majority of services required for a small project in house, making us practically a one stop shop. Having most services in house means that we are often fully accountable for the professional services on your project, this ensures simplicity, communication and efficiency. By utilising a multi-disciplinary approach we are able to keep professional costs for the project extremely competitive and hassle free, essentially you only pay for one set of overheads.
We have unparalleled technical knowledge and produce comprehensive architectural designs and surveys. You will be getting market-leading technical advice that has been approached with imaginative problem-solving techniques. This helps us to identify potential problems with a build before they arise.
Our knowledge adds value, an example of this is that most architects do not provide any advice on the structure of a building during the building regulations approval stage, relying on a structural engineer to produce all work relating to the super structure. At Western Building Consultants we provide structural advice on many areas, such as timber design for floors and roofs, limiting the scope of the engineers work and saving you money.
Having a large team of surveyors means that your project is unlikely to be held up due to other circumstances, there will always be at least two surveyors familiar with the project therefore continuity and a personal service will be retained. On larger schemes a bigger team will be assembled with the required specialist knowledge to fully support your project.
Merlin House
No 1 Langstone Business Park,
Priory Drive
01633982588
Commerce Park, Unit R17, Marshall Way
01373488566
Western House,
2 Rush Hill
01225789307
Sophia House,
28 Cathedral Road
02922679366
Kingston House,
Lydiard Fields
01793234516
Studio 1a,
31 Berkeley Square
0117 3294290
Unit 2, Byre Workshops, Winterbourne Court Farm Barn, Church Lane, Winterbourne
0117 3294290
