What we do

As a relatively small consultancy we have built our reputation on high end residential projects. This covers both new build as shown in the photograph, and equally small refurbishment projects where our years of experience means we are able to produce value engineered solutions.

No project is too large or too small and each project is given the same level of care and attention. We believe the outcome of any project is dependent upon a collaborative team effort taking on board the clients brief, always striving to meet and exceed their expectations.

Our portfolio of successful commercial commissions is large and diverse.

It covers works to offices, retail, warehouses and mixed developments. From assessments of vibrating floors for Lehman Brothers when they worked out of offices in Canary Wharf to alterations to existing framed buildings and the construction of additional floors on top of existing buildings.

Each project requires a thorough understanding of building structures and a strong ability to perform hand computations where the works cannot be readily analysed by the current trend to use computers.

We offer an extensive range of Structural Survey work. An example of the range of services are set out below.

Buncefield

Buncefield oil terminal was the fifth largest oil depot in the UK with pipelines to Humberside, Merseyside and both Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The site is located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead.

Following the cataphoric fire and explosion at the Buncefield oil storage terminal on the 11th December 2005 which reached 2.4 on the Richter scale ,we were commissioned to undertake a series of detailed structural surveys.

Over 100 owner occupiers had launched a group action against the owners of the oil storage terminal and our role was to work alongside their solicitors to formulate their individual claims.

Subsidence

Since the unprecedented drought that ran from January 1988 to July 1992 we have been engaged by literally hundreds of domestic and commercial building owners in the appraisal of subsidence and heave related damage.

In many cases we have acted as project managers, initially processing a particular Insurance claim, through to managing a contract and supervising works to completion.

Concrete Carbonation

We have extensive experience in appraising and overseeing the remediation of concrete carbonisation which often affects older concrete buildings

Due diligence

We are able to offer due diligence structural survey reports where prospective building purchases are being considered. This is for both Commercial and Residential properties.

With current trends for families looking to enlarge their house a natural underutilised space is often the loft.

As experts in the design of timber structures we are able to exploit the inherent capabilities of an existing roof structure to minimise the insertion of necessary additional structuring to form loft spaces.

Often loft conversions are taken on as stand alone projects although we have successfully completed a number of loft conversions which form part of a much larger project.

The photograph shows an existing loft space project within a listed thatched house. By carful appraisal and the introduction of a new thatched eyebrow window we were able to work along side the project Architect and the Conservation Officer to create an additional bedroom.

Basements vary considerably in their complexity from new builds in an open site where cut and cover techniques can be employed through to the creation of one or two storeys of new basements beneath inner city terraced houses.

The success of any basement structure relies upon a thorough understanding of Geotechnics and the underlying ground conditions fused with competency in structural engineering.

Some basements, such as shown in the photograph, are used for underground car parking and often require transfer slabs to carry building structures above. Other basements require underpinning to safeguard adjoining properties before the new basement can be safely constructed.

Our years of experience means we are able to offer structural engineering services which cover schemes with all kinds of basements scenarios.

We are also able to provide Basement Impact Assessments to supplement planning applications typically required by Westminster, Camden and more recently Haringey Council.

Since the introduction of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 homeowners in England and Wales basically have a procedure that allows them to build.

The Party Wall Act covers the situation when works are proposed to a Party wall or Party fence wall and some excavations close to neighbouring buildings and new walls on existing boundaries.

Having executed numerous Party wall Awards we are able to offer Party wall services.

The photograph shows a double basement being constructed beneath an existing basement in central London where we recently acted as the building owners Party wall surveyor.

The advantage we offer is that of being both a Party wall Surveyor and a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer. We are able to not only deal with the adjoining owners Party wall Surveyors but also any queries their checking structural engineers may raise, thus limiting the time taken to secure an Award.