Read it here, or download the PDF
Everything in our client guide is on this page. If you prefer, open the 26-page PDF to download, keep or print. Please read it before your inspection, together with your quote and our conditions of engagement.
1. Structural inspections
A visual, non-intrusive look at how your building is standing up: cracks, movement and the main load-bearing structure. Our engineer inspects in person, assesses the likely cause and explains what to do next.
Which service fits?
Start with what’s happening at your property. If you’re not sure, describe what you’ve noticed and we’ll recommend one before you book.
InspectedNot includedSpecific points only
Insurer wants a report? See insurance structural reports. Removing a wall, extending or converting the loft? See alterations, extensions and conversions.
The four inspection levels at a glance
The first three levels build on each other; an MSI covers only your lender’s points. Choose the one that matches what you need to know. Only an MSI is suitable for a mortgage lender. If the report is for an insurer, tell us before the inspection, so it’s prepared in the form they expect.
| What’s covered | SSISpecific | GSIGeneral | CGSIComprehensive | MSIMortgage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One crack or one problem area | Several cracks, or cracks in different areas | Cracks in different parts, including the loft and cellar | Your lender’s valuer wants a report |
| The issue or crack you’ve asked about | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | The valuer’s points |
| Main load-bearing structure, inside and out (floors, walls, lintels, beams, columns and openings) | Only the issue asked about | ✓ | ✓ | Only the points raised |
| Number of issues covered | One | Up to five most significant | Not limited to a set number | The valuer’s points |
| Nearby trees (NHBC guidance) and soil type (British Geological Survey records) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – |
| Loft and roof structure | Only if it’s the issue | ✕ | ✓ | Only if raised |
| Cellar | Only if it’s the issue | ✕ | ✓ | Only if raised |
| Outbuildings | Only if it’s the issue | ✕ | ✓ | Only if raised |
| What you receive | Findings by email, or a written report if agreed before the visit | Written report | Written report | Lender-format report with photographs |
| Suitable for buying or selling a home | Only if the issue is limited | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Suitable for a mortgage lender | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Suitable for an insurance claim | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Report reviewed by a MICE or MIStructE engineer | – | – | – | ✓ |
– Not part of the standard scope of this inspection. Our engineer will still tell you about anything that presents an immediate risk to safety. All four inspections are visual and non-intrusive, and cover what can reasonably be seen and reached in the time on site, usually between 45 minutes and 2 hours, depending on the property and the inspection. None of them is a RICS Building Survey or replaces one.
Specific Structural Inspection
Best for: one crack or one problem area, usually after another surveyor has raised a concern.
What’s included
- A visual inspection of the one structural issue or crack you’ve asked about, in one area of the property
- Our view of its likely cause, and what to do next
- Nearby trees and shrubs (NHBC guidance) and soil type (British Geological Survey records), as they relate to the issue
- Findings and recommendations sent to you by email
- A written report, if this is agreed before the site inspection
What’s not included
- Any other rooms or areas of the property
- A written report, unless it was agreed before the site inspection
- Use in legal proceedings, or as a full assessment of the property’s condition
- A report for a mortgage lender. For a lender, choose an MSI
- Detailed remedial design, drawings or calculations
- You receive
- Findings by email, or a written report if agreed beforehand
- Timing
- Usually within 5 working days
- Visits
- Weekdays, or weekends for an extra fee
- Price
- Confirmed in writing in your quote
- Keys
- Collecting keys from the agent and returning them: £35*
General Structural Inspection
Best for: several cracks, or cracks in different parts of the house. Also a good choice if you’re buying or selling a home, or making an insurance claim.
What’s included
- The main accessible load-bearing structure, inside and out: floors, internal and external load-bearing walls, lintels, beams, columns and openings
- Cracks, signs of subsidence and structural movement, with our opinion on whether movement appears historic or ongoing
- Nearby trees and shrubs, assessed under NHBC guidance
- Soil type from British Geological Survey records
- A written report on up to five of the most significant structural issues, with photographs, likely causes, remedial advice and any further investigation needed
What’s not included
- The loft and roof structure
- The cellar
- Outbuildings
- Issues beyond the five most significant
- Detailed remedial design, drawings or calculations
- Anything excluded by clause 3.7 of our conditions of engagement, such as services, damp or drainage
- You receive
- A written report
- Timing
- Usually within 5 working days, or 48 hours with fast track
- Price
- Based on a standard mid-terrace house, confirmed in your quote
- For a lender?
- Not suitable. For a lender, choose an MSI
- Keys
- Collecting keys from the agent and returning them: £35*
Need the loft, roof structure, cellar or outbuildings checked too? Choose a Comprehensive General Structural Inspection (CGSI).
Comprehensive General Structural Inspection
Best for: cracks in different parts of the house, including the loft and cellar, or when you want the whole property reviewed. Also a good choice if you’re buying or selling a home, or making an insurance claim.
What’s included
- Everything in a General Structural Inspection
- The roof structure, the cellar and outbuildings, where safe access is provided (see preparing for our visit)
- Significant defects anywhere in the property, not limited to five issues
- A written report on signs of severe movement across the whole property
What’s not included
- A record of every crack or sign of movement
- The condition of roof coverings such as tiles, slates and flashings
- Opening up to confirm hidden structure, such as concealed beams
- Internal alterations and earlier structural changes, unless you ask us before the inspection. We can then look at them visually
- Detailed remedial design, drawings or calculations
- You receive
- A written report
- Timing
- Usually within 10 working days
- Access
- Loft and cellar must be safe to stand in and well lit
- Price
- Based on a standard mid-terrace house, confirmed in your quote
- Keys
- Collecting keys from the agent and returning them: £35*
Before the visit, please make sure the loft hatch opens, a ladder is in place, the loft is boarded where our engineer needs to stand, and the loft and cellar are well lit.
Mortgage Structural Inspection
Best for: your mortgage lender’s valuer has raised structural points and wants an engineer’s report.
What’s included
- Inspection of the specific structural points raised by your lender’s valuer
- A report in the form lenders normally expect, with photographs
- Review by a MICE or MIStructE qualified engineer
- For any defects: the likely cause, a recommended repair and, where possible, an indicative cost range for budgeting
- Where the cause can’t be confirmed visually, the further investigation needed
- Answers to your lender’s follow-up questions
What’s not included
- Other parts of the property, unless you or your lender ask and we agree
- A guarantee that the lender will accept the report. The decision to lend is always the lender’s
- A builder’s quotation. Cost ranges are a guide for budgeting only
- Detailed repair design, drawings or calculations
- Please send
- The valuer’s letter or RICS survey
- Access
- The estate agent’s name, phone and email. Collecting and returning keys: £35*
- Deadline
- Tell us your mortgage deadline
- Timing
- Usually within 5 working days, or 48 hours with fast track
Only an MSI is suitable for a mortgage lender. SSI, GSI and CGSI reports are not prepared for lenders, so if your lender’s valuer has asked for an engineer, book an MSI.
Insurance structural reports
Best for: a new policy or a renewal, when your premium has risen after past subsidence, you’re buying a home that’s been underpinned, or your insurer wants an engineer’s view of cracks.
- Past cracks and repairsWhat moved, when, and how it was repaired
- Underpinning and earlier worksWhether they appear to have worked
- Nearby trees, or trees removedTheir effect on shrinkable clay soils
- The house todayWhether the structure currently appears stable, and what risk remains
What’s included
- An inspection of the house and a review of past movement and repairs
- Whether the structure currently appears stable, and what risk remains
- Whether earlier works, such as underpinning or tree removal, appear to have worked
- Repairs needed and preventive measures, written to your insurer’s requirements
What’s not included
- A lower premium. That decision is always the insurer’s
- Monitoring, drain surveys, trial pits, soil tests and calculations, which are quoted separately
Making an insurance claim? A General Structural Inspection (GSI) or Comprehensive GSI (CGSI) is also suitable for a claim. Tell us before the inspection if the report is for an insurer, so it’s prepared in the form they expect.
Crack monitoring and certificates of structural adequacy
A certificate is usually issued by the insurer’s engineer when a subsidence claim closes. If yours is missing, we can monitor the property and issue our own. See certificates of structural adequacy.
How it works
- First visitGauges are fixed across the key cracks
- Over 12 monthsReadings are taken through a full year, wet and dry seasons
- At 12 monthsYou receive the full readings and, if the structure is stable, our certificate
- Still moving?We tell you what further investigation or repairs may be needed
Why it takes a full year
On clay soils, cracks can open in a dry summer and close again in a wet winter. Reading the gauges across a full year separates this seasonal movement from movement that is still continuing.
What’s included
- Gauges fixed across the key cracks at the first visit, then read over a full year
- At 12 months: the full readings and, if the structure is stable, our certificate
- If movement continues, what further investigation or repairs may be needed
Please note
- A certificate can’t be issued from a single visit
- It isn’t a guarantee and can’t rule out future movement
- It isn’t Building Regulations approval and doesn’t certify hidden repairs such as underpinning
What a written report includes
In every written report
- A description of the property
- A summary of what we observed
- Details of the structural defects
- Their probable causes
- How severe they appear
- Photographs
- Our recommendations
- Whether monitoring is needed
- Whether further investigation is needed
- Suggested remedial works
If we find a structural problem
Depending on what we find, we may recommend the following. Further investigation and detailed design are separate services; repairs are carried out by your builder.
- Crack monitoring
- Trial pits
- A CCTV drain survey
- A soil investigation
- Structural calculations
- Localised repairs
- Strengthening works
- Specialist investigation
After your report: reviewing new information
If you’ve arranged further investigation after our inspection, such as a CCTV drainage survey, trial pits or opening up, or you’ve found other information you feel affects the outcome of our report, we’re happy to review it for you.
Your fee covers the inspection and report agreed in your quote, so reviewing new information is extra work. We’ll confirm the cost in writing before we start.
£120*for each investigation or document we review
2. Preparing for our visit
Our engineer looks, measures and photographs. They don’t move your belongings, open up the building or enter anywhere that isn’t safe. Under clause 2.6 of our conditions of engagement, arranging safe access is your responsibility. Here’s what that means in practice.
On the day: the basics
Someone to let us in
An adult must be at the property for the whole visit, or keys must be arranged with your estate agent. If an agent is giving access, send us their name, phone number and email address and we’ll arrange it with them. Collecting the keys from the agent and returning them is £35*.
Every area unlocked
Unlock all the rooms we need to see, plus side gates, the rear garden, garages and outbuildings. Tell us beforehand about anything that can’t be opened.
Clear the areas of concern
Before we arrive, move furniture, boxes, pictures and rugs away from cracked walls, ceilings and floors. Our engineer will not move furniture or personal belongings.
We don’t touch or open anything
We don’t lift carpets or floorboards, remove bath panels, ceiling tiles or boxing-in, drill, or open up walls, unless this has been agreed in writing before the visit.
Good lighting throughout
Working lights are needed in every room, the loft and the cellar. A torch alone isn’t enough to inspect a dark loft or cellar properly.
Pets and occupants
Please keep pets secured during the visit. If the property is tenanted, let your tenants know the date and time in advance.
Tell us about hazards
Let us know beforehand about known asbestos, unsafe floors or ceilings, or a property that has been empty or unmaintained for a long time.
Flats and shared buildings
Communal areas, shared roof spaces and other flats are not normally included. They are only inspected if this has been agreed before the inspection and access has been arranged with the freeholder, managing agent or neighbours.
Lofts, cellars and roofs
These areas are inspected in a CGSI, or in an SSI or MSI when the issue is there. Our engineer only enters where it’s safe to stand fully upright, well lit and properly accessible. We never crawl into low voids or climb onto roofs.
Lofts and roof spaces
We need
- A hatch that opens freely and is big enough to climb through
- A fixed loft ladder, or a secure ladder in place at the hatch
- Boarded areas, safe to stand on, with room to stand fully upright
- Working fixed lighting
We won’t
- Crawl into eaves, low voids or tight spaces
- Step onto unboarded joists or insulation
- Move stored items or lift insulation. Structure behind them isn’t inspected
Cellars and basements
We need
- Safe stairs or a secure ladder
- Working lighting
- Headroom to stand upright
- Dry underfoot, with a clear route through
We won’t
- Crawl into subfloor voids or under suspended timber floors
- Enter if it’s flooded or has standing water
- Move stored items blocking walls or floors
Roofs and high-level areas
We need
- Clear views of roof slopes, chimneys and high-level walls from the ground, windows or the loft
- Access to the rear garden and side passages
We won’t
- Climb onto roofs or walk on flat roofs
- Use ladders or scaffolding to reach high-level areas
- Assess the condition of roof coverings, which is excluded
Your pre-visit checklist
- An adult will be present for the whole visit, or keys are arranged with the agent
- The agent’s name, phone and email have been sent to us
- All rooms, gates, garages and outbuildings are unlocked
- Furniture and belongings are moved away from cracked walls and floors
- The loft hatch opens, a ladder is in place and the loft lights work
- The loft is boarded where our engineer needs to stand
- The cellar is lit, dry and clear, with safe stairs
- Pets are secured and tenants know about the visit
- We’ve been told about hazards such as asbestos or unsafe floors
- We’ve been told if the property is empty, unmaintained or in poor condition
- Documents are sent: survey, valuer’s letter, photos or drawings
- Payment was made at least 24 hours before the visit
If an area isn’t safe or accessible
Our engineer decides on the day whether each area can be entered safely, and won’t enter anywhere that isn’t. Areas we can’t safely see or reach are recorded in the report as not inspected, and we can’t be responsible for defects in them (clause 7.3).
If access isn’t available at all at the agreed time, we’ll arrange a new date with you (clause 2.6). If you’d like us to come back to see an area once it’s safe and accessible, we’ll confirm any additional charge before booking the return visit.
Documents that help us
Sending these before the visit helps our engineer focus on what matters.
- Your RICS survey or homebuyer report
- The valuer’s letter, for a Mortgage Structural Inspection
- The insurer’s request, claim letters and repair details
- Photos of the cracks, ideally with a ruler held against them
- Floor plans, drawings or architect’s plans, for design work
- The lease or managing agent’s details, for flats
3. Alterations, extensions and conversions
Structural calculations and drawings for removing walls and chimney breasts, extensions and loft conversions, and freeholder consent reports for flats. Designed for your actual home, and ready for Building Control, your architect and your builder.
Area we designNew beam or supportWall or structure removed
Structural alterations
Best for: removing a load-bearing wall or chimney breast, and new openings in floors, ceilings and roofs.
Taking out a wall, a chimney breast or part of a staircase changes how the house carries its weight. We confirm whether the wall is load-bearing, design the new support and give you the paperwork Building Control needs. See wall removal and alterations.
What we design
- Load-bearing wall removal, including knock-throughs between reception rooms and into kitchens
- Chimney breast removal, with support for any chimney left above
- New openings in floors, including for staircase alterations
- Floor joists, including checks for new uses or heavy items
- Ceiling and roof openings for skylights and roof lights
- Foundations for new posts or walls carrying point loads
- Retrospective reports for alterations already carried out
What’s not included
- Opening up ceilings or walls: your builder does this before our visit
- Making good, repointing and cleaning after opening up
- Temporary works and propping, and steel connection and fabrication drawings, which your contractor normally designs
- A written report, unless you ask for one (£180*)
- Party wall matters, and the design of staircases and balustrades
What you receive
- Stamped structural calculations, showing how loads are carried safely down to the foundations
- General arrangement and section drawings for your builder
- Connection notes for the steelwork
- Answers to Building Control’s questions
- Final inspection and our engineer’s completion certificate when the work meets our standards. It supports, but doesn’t replace, Building Control’s certificate
What we need from you
- Photos of the wall or chimney breast, and of the rooms above and below
- Any floor plans you have, even rough ones
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and leasehold or freehold
How the price works
- We visit first, then quote for the engineering before any demolition starts
- Prices assume traditional construction: masonry walls and timber joists. Other construction is £180* per hour
- If hidden structure isn’t opened up and we have to return, or wait over 45 minutes, a £180* site visit fee applies
- Changes before calculations start, and Building Control revisions within 50 days, are free. Other changes are £180* per hour
Chimney breasts on a party wall need a party structure notice served at least two months before work starts, and the neighbour’s flues must stay safe. Building Control will want a designed support; brackets are accepted only where calculations show they’re adequate.
Extensions
Best for: rear, side-return and wraparound extensions, garden rooms and outbuildings.
We design the structural elements, working alongside your architect or designer, so Building Control can approve them and your builder can price and build them. See extensions and loft conversions.
What we design
- Steel beams or beam-and-column frames carrying the walls above
- Lintels over new openings
- New foundations, with depth set by soil type and nearby trees
- Garden rooms and outbuildings: foundations suited to the soil, nearby trees and the building’s use
- Drawings and calculations for Building Control
- Build support: your contractor’s questions, revisions and site checks
What’s not included
- Drainage design, drainage pumps, sustainable drainage and sewer diversions
- Site investigation, contaminated land, and below-ground waterproofing or tanking
- Piles and retaining systems, which a specialist normally designs
- Bespoke glazing, and steel connection and fabrication drawings, which your contractor normally designs
- Party wall matters
- Planning permission and Building Regulations approval, which you obtain
How it works
- Free, itemised quoteWith design options where there’s a choice. No obligation.
- Site survey and concept meetingWe measure up and plan the structure with you and your architect.
- Structural packageDrawings and calculations for Building Control.
- Build supportYour contractor’s questions, revisions and site checks.
What we need from you
- Architect’s plans, sections and elevations
- Photos of the existing house, especially walls being opened up
- Any planning approval, and your Building Control route
Revisions and extra charges
- Changes before calculations start, and Building Control revisions within 50 days, are free. Other changes are £180* per hour
- Anything outside the original scope is quoted separately, with your approval first
Loft conversions
Best for: turning the loft into a room, including dormers.
We design the structure for your new room, working alongside your architect or designer, so Building Control can approve it and your builder can price and build it.
What we design
- New floor joists to carry the new room
- Steel beams, which often replace removed struts and purlins
- Dormer structures
- A check that the walls and foundations below can take the extra load
- Drawings and calculations for Building Control
- Build support: your contractor’s questions, revisions and site checks
What’s not included
- The new staircase and balustrades
- Temporary works and propping during the build
- Steel connection and fabrication drawings, and proprietary products, which your contractor or supplier normally designs
- Party wall matters
- Planning permission and Building Regulations approval, which you obtain
How it works
- Free, itemised quoteWith design options where there’s a choice. No obligation.
- Site survey and concept meetingWe measure up and plan the structure with you and your architect.
- Structural packageDrawings and calculations for Building Control.
- Build supportYour contractor’s questions, revisions and site checks.
What we need from you
- Architect’s plans, sections and elevations
- Photos of the existing house and the loft
- Any planning approval, and your Building Control route
Revisions and extra charges
- Changes before calculations start, and Building Control revisions within 50 days, are free. Other changes are £180* per hour
- Anything outside the original scope is quoted separately, with your approval first
Freeholder consent reports
Best for: leaseholders who need their freeholder’s consent to remove a wall or make other structural changes to a flat.
Written so the freeholder or managing agent can review it quickly. See freeholder consent reports.
What’s included
- The existing structure around the proposed work, and how loads travel through it now
- What’s proposed, and whether the wall is load-bearing
- New support, such as beams, posts and padstones, with calculations where required
- Guidance on safe working methods, including temporary support
- Any effect on the rest of the building, common parts and neighbouring flats
- Answers to the freeholder’s surveyor’s questions
What’s not included
- Calculations for Building Control. This is a separate service, which we can prepare alongside the report
- The freeholder’s consent and Building Regulations approval, which you obtain
- Party wall matters
Good to know
Freeholder consent and Building Regulations approval are separate. Access to other flats usually isn’t needed; if it would help, we’ll say so.
What we need from you
- Photos of the wall, and of the rooms above and below
- Any floor plans you have, even rough ones
Revisions and extra charges
- Changes before calculations start, and Building Control revisions within 50 days, are free. Other changes are £180* per hour
- Anything outside the original scope is quoted separately, with your approval first
Revisions at a glance
| Change | Cost |
|---|---|
| Changes you ask for after the visit, before calculations start | Free |
| Revisions Building Control asks for within 50 days of issue | Free |
| Design changes once calculations have started | £180* per hour |
| Building Control revisions after 50 days | £180* per hour |
4. Booking, fees and cancellations
How booking works
From your first message to the finished report, this is what to expect.
- Tell us about the propertyUse the form on our website, email us or call. A few photos of the cracks, or your valuer’s letter, help us recommend the right service.
- Receive your quoteWe reply with the service we recommend, its price in writing and our next available dates. Quotes are free, with no obligation.
- Send your booking detailsOnce you accept, we ask for the ten booking details listed below.
- Pay securelyWe email you a secure payment link. Payment in full is due at least 24 hours before the visit. Your booking is confirmed when it’s received, and we may cancel a booking that hasn’t been paid.
- Our engineer visitsOn a weekday, or at the weekend for a small extra fee. Someone needs to give the engineer access (see preparing for our visit). If we collect the keys from your agent and return them, it’s £35*.
- Receive your reportUsually within 5 working days, or 10 working days for a CGSI, or 48 hours with fast track. These are normal timescales, not guarantees; we’ll tell you if a report will take longer. Follow-up questions are welcome.
The ten booking details
- Billing name
- Billing address
- Phone number
- Property address
- Number of bedrooms
- House or flat
- Leasehold or freehold
- Level of inspection (SSI, GSI, CGSI or MSI)
- A brief description of the issue
- The estate agent’s details, especially their email, if access is through an agent
Get in touch
020 3983 5057
office@laytoe.co.uk
Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:30pm
Gable House, 18–24 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, London W4 1QP
Need a chartered engineer? Ask before you book and we’ll confirm in writing whether it’s available and the price.
Fees and extras
Your price is confirmed in writing in your quote before you book. The price covers one site visit and one report or calculation package. GSI and CGSI prices are based on a standard mid-terrace house (clause 3.6). See our prices for the starting price of each service.
| Additional charge, only where it applies | Price |
|---|---|
| Fast track: report within 48 hours of the inspection | From £120* |
| Weekend inspection, Saturday or Sunday | From £80* |
| Each bedroom beyond a standard three-bedroom house | £100* |
| Extra time on site, beyond a standard visit | £180* per hour |
| Collecting keys from the estate agent and returning them | £35* |
| Written report for a wall removal assessment | £180* |
| Return visit, or waiting over 45 minutes, if areas to be opened up aren’t ready | £180* |
| Non-traditional construction, invasive investigation or a change of scope on a design visit | £180* per hour |
| Reviewing new information after your report, such as a drainage survey or opening-up findings, per item | £120* |
| Extra copies of a report, or confirmation that someone else may rely on it | Administration fee, told first |
Sharing your report
Your report is prepared for you. You may share it in confidence with your professional advisers and, for an MSI, your lender. Please ask us before sharing it with anyone else, such as a buyer, agent or party wall surveyor. For data protection reasons, we can only reissue a report or invoice to another party with the original client’s written permission.
Cancellations and refunds at a glance
Complaints: if you’re unhappy with any part of our service, contact office@laytoe.co.uk or 020 3983 5057 and we’ll look into it. Nothing in this guide affects your statutory rights.
5. Our terms
Our conditions of engagement form the contract together with your quote. Every clause is on our conditions of engagement page, and the PDF version of this guide prints each clause next to the service it applies to.
