Spray Foam Removal
If you’ve decided to remove spray foam insulation from your home, then this article is for you. Maybe you’re concerned about condensation issues and all the problems they can cause. Or perhaps you’re dealing with issues selling the property, or obtaining finance to improve it. Whichever fits, you’ve decided the spray foam insulation needs to […]
How Are Building Works Actually Valued?
If someone is overseeing building works under a formal contract, one of their key roles is to make sure that the works are properly valued. This ensures that the contractor has suitable cash flow and is being paid fairly for the works they’ve done, as well as making sure the client isn’t being asked to […]
The Hidden Dangers In Older Properties
When we’re asked to do surveys, most of them are carried out on properties that were built in the Victorian era, right up to those built just a few years ago. Although we love to get a look at older and listed buildings too, the bulk of our work is properties in this 60–65-year age […]
Why Is My Roof Still Leaking?
I had planned to write another blog post today. However, in the last 24 hours the same issue has come up twice, and every time I see it, I despair at the people involved. So the normal schedule will wait, I need to get this one off my chest. In a lot of parts of […]
Referral Fees – Bribery Or Marketing Spend?
In any kind of property transaction, there will be a team of advisers and experts working to de-risk your purchase. These experts can be made up of a wide range of people, including solicitors, estate agents, mortgage brokers and surveyors, like ourselves. These experts have been around a while, and know just how profitable their […]
Things You Should Know About Renovating Your Home
Sometimes you don’t want to move house. Sometimes, you just need to tweak what’s already there a bit, to make it perfectly fit your needs. This is often called home renovation or refurbishment, and as chartered surveyors, we’ve seen plenty of them! Some of them go without a hitch, but there are also some common […]
Reinstatement Cost Assessments – The What and Why
If you’re dealing with insurance, then you might have heard the term ‘Reinstatement Cost Assessment’ thrown around. It’s yet another bit of jargon from the insurance and the conveyancing world that means a lot to us, but not too much to our clients. But at Harrison Clarke we believe in transparency, and spend a lot […]
Identifying Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
RAAC is the much shorter way of saying Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. RAAC has been making headlines in the last 6 months. But why? What’s so bad about it? And more importantly for people looking after public sector buildings, how do you identify it? What Is RAAC? RAAC was a commonly used building material in […]
Spray Foam Insulation Open or Closed Cell?
Every property needs insulation. It’s what keeps our homes so warm and toasty even through the harsh bite of English winters, and it’s an important part of the building process. But while having insulation itself is a legal requirement, the type of insulation is up to the builder to choose. In this article we’re going […]
First Time Buyers, Listen Up!
Buying your first home is one of the most exciting things you can ever do. But it can also be a very confusing, expensive and sometimes terrifying experience. There’s a lot of jargon to deal with, and the whole process can seem a lot more complex than it needs to be. There can even be […]