Everything A Survey Can Reveal About Your Garden & Grounds
A domestic garden is a unique space that allows you to enjoy the wonders of nature without leaving the privacy of your own home. For larger properties, a simple backyard may expand into acres of land, where this private space can stretch over untamed fields or large swathes of cultivated vegetation. Whatever you’re working with, looking after your green space is a great way to boost the value and aesthetic appeal of your property.
It is important that your grounds are safe and accessible, especially if you’re looking to make changes to your property or if you’d like to sell. That’s where a property survey comes in, where these in-depth inspections can be used to gain an understanding of your site so you can move forward with all the necessary information to hand.
Building surveys are about much more than the interior of a property, where a comprehensive inspection will also cover an array of external areas. This can help you to gain a good understanding of what work needs to be done, as well as any hidden hazards that you need to be aware of.
Read on for a look at everything a property survey can reveal about your garden and grounds.
What Will An External Assessment Include?
When a surveyor carries out a complete assessment, they will consider a range of external features across the property. These will be inspected for faults, hazards and risk factors, where advice may be given on how to make these elements safer. Some key areas likely to be covered include:
Property Boundaries
Understanding your property’s boundaries is essential if you’re planning a building project in the near future. This is because you need to make sure that you’re not infringing on your neighbour’s land, where your surveyor can also check that your side of the boundary is safe and properly maintained. Gathering this information can be helpful if you’re challenged by a neighbour or if a legal proceeding is brought against you.
Entrance Points & Driveways
It is important to understand your legal rights when it comes to accessing your property, where a survey can reveal exactly where you should be driving, as well as where you’re allowed to build new access points. Your surveyor can also inspect the condition of your driveway, where they will look for potentially dangerous potholes or any drainage issues.
Geological Analysis
Your surveyor may examine your local Geological Survey map in order to gain a deeper understanding of your grounds. These maps can reveal a variety of geological details, including soil types, local mineral deposits and the condition of foundations. This information can help with assessing the risk of hazards such as floods, landslides and soil contamination.
Landscaping
Various landscaping features will be considered during a full property survey, including large trees, hedges and other forms of vegetation. A major aspect of this involves assessing whether trees are likely to pose a risk to life or to surrounding buildings in stormy weather, where your surveyor may recommend that you seek the support of a specialist tree surgeon.
External Utilities
A complete property survey will include an assessment of your building services and utilities, where this may cover external electrical infrastructure and gas installations. Beyond this, your surveyor will also take a look at your external plumbing, including soil pipes and drains, where any faults or blockages will be noted.
Outbuildings
Your surveyor may also be able to inspect key outbuildings, in addition to providing an internal inspection of your main property. This can include sheds, storage facilities and annexes, where these will be surveyed for potential structural issues, interior damp and drainage problems in the same way that a larger property would be considered.
How Can A Property Survey Help?
Enlisting the help of a property surveyor is essential for gaining a thorough understanding of your site, particularly if you’re managing large swathes of private land. Whether you’re looking to buy, redevelop or sell, a property survey can give you the facts you need to proceed in a cost effective and legitimate manner.
In addition to this, a property surveyor will produce a report containing all their recommendations for your site. When it comes to maintaining your grounds, examples may include trimming overhanging branches or resurfacing your driveway. These reports also tend to include cost estimates, where this is especially helpful if you’re looking to make an offer on a property or if you’d like to know how much to budget for renovations.
Keeping Your Grounds Safe
In addition to arranging a property inspection, there are numerous steps you can take to ensure that your grounds are safe. Some suggestions include:
Regular Maintenance
Neglected grounds can quickly become hazardous, especially if you’re dealing with copious vegetation. If you’re the owner of large swathes of land, you may need to enlist the help of a professional site management team to prevent trees and grasses from becoming overgrown. Low maintenance planting and areas of rewilding can also help you to stay on top of your site.
Reporting Damage
Being responsible for large areas of green space also means that it is your duty to report any damage to potentially hazardous infrastructure. If you have a pylon or telephone lines running across your site then you should keep note of any damages and report these to the proper authorities. Additionally, any drainage or plumbing problems should be addressed as soon as possible to avoid further issues.
Flood Prevention
Another way that you can protect your property is to invest in flood prevention infrastructure. If your property is in a high risk area for flooding, then adding flood barriers can help to keep your site safe whilst preventing potentially costly damage. You should be able to check your flood risk online, or your property surveyor can provide you with detailed information about your land.
Repairing Storm Damage
In addition to reporting damage to external utilities, you should also stay on top of storm damage as it arises. This means clearing fallen branches or carrying out repairs to outbuildings. If necessary, you may need to enlist the help of a professional arborist to manage large trees. Carrying out this kind of work will allow you to mitigate hazards and keep your site accessible.
Understanding Boundaries
When managing a large site, it is important to be aware of your property boundaries. This means that you will have an understanding of where your maintenance responsibilities start and end, as well as a working knowledge of where you can build in future. This kind of knowledge is essential for avoiding any potential legal disputes and for understanding the needs of your property, where legally recorded boundaries may differ from those you’ve come to recognise.
Consult The Experts
Taking care of a large site can feel overwhelming, so it is important to seek expert advice whenever possible. This could be in the form of a landscaping or grounds maintenance team, where these professionals can also assist with pruning and tree surgery.
Beyond this, architects and engineers can help you to resolve drainage or flooding issues, which can allow you to reduce potential damages in the future. Additionally, specialist surveyors can be employed if you’re dealing with historical or listed buildings, where a more particular approach to repair work may be required.
Simon Levy: Comprehensive Property Surveys For Your Site
Whether you’re looking to buy a new home or you’re expanding a commercial property, undertaking a thorough building survey can help you to proceed with all the facts. At Simon Levy, our full house surveys cover all key external elements, including landscaping, boundaries and access points. Our experts will be able to identify any hazards across your site, where our report will contain essential recommendations for any repairs.
In addition to this, our property inspections include a detailed internal assessment. As such, our surveyors will be able to spot pertinent issues such as damp penetration and timber decay, where we can also conduct a general thermal performance test.
Get in touch with us today to find out more about our comprehensive building surveys.
