Party Wall Surveyors in Berkshire
Why appoint BH Party Wall Surveyors as your Surveyor?
​We only take on as much work as we can comfortably handle so we can take it slowly and carefully. When you appoint us, you receive a dedicated service which is very customer-centric and which brings to bear over twelve years of experience undertaking Party Wall work.
We also offer a free telephone consultation regarding Party Wall matters. Advice is completely impartial and transparent and if we are not convinced that you require a Surveyor we will let you know, so you can avoid the whole process.
You can contact us on 01628 333 678
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The email address is:
info @ bhpwsurveyors.co.uk (all as one word)
Emailing a copy of the drawings in advance of the call would assist us in providing a more bespoke response with regards to the particulars of the works. ​​​​​​​​​​
Appointed by either the Building Owner, the Adjoining Owner, or by both parties (in which case we act as Agreed Surveyor) we provide the following services:
Cost Savings. We actively manage the Party Wall process and utilise various strategies in order to keep down the costs to Building Owners.
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When acting for Adjoining Owners we seek to protect them from incurring costs, given that it is the Building Owners who ought to pay for the cost of the process.
Have your architects missed a trick or made a mistake? If the drawings can be amended to more fully maximise the Building Owner's rights under the Act, we will advise.
Where any works are not be permitted under the Act we advise appointing owners.
Just want an update or to check something?
Timely communication by telephone and email ensures that you are able to actively feed into the process by inputting any relevant information.
We are easily contactable by phone and email.
Do you need an Architect or Structural Engineer?
​We work closely with handpicked professionals who consistently produce high quality results. Our collaboration with them ensures that the drawings are sufficiently detailed and conform to the Party Wall Act.
About the County of Berkshire
The County covers an area of 487 square miles, ranked 40th out of 48 Counties in terms of its size. It is England's only Royal County, having Windsor Castle located within it and it has a population density of 2,040 people per square mile, compared to the average for England which is 1,120 people per square mile.
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The County of Berkshire includes the areas of West Berkshire, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Bracknell, Reading, Slough, Earley, Woodley and Newbury.
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Berkshire postcodes include: RG1, RG2, RG4, RG5, RG6, RG7, RG8, RG12, RG14, RG17, RG18, RG19, RG20, RG30, RG31, RG40, RG41, SL4, SL5, GU15, GU47
Planning Applications within the County of Berkshire
There are typically around 5,500 planning applications received annually in Berkshire across the areas of West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor & Maidenhead and Slough of which circa 84% of applications are granted, on average, although there is a wide variation in permissions granted depending on area (ranging from just 68% in Windsor & Maidenhead and as high as 93% in Wokingham).
Recent Party Wall projects undertaken within the County of Berkshire
Photo of property in Reading RG1
Photo of property in Slough SL1
Photo of property in Reading RG2
Party Wall Surveying in Berkshire - Costs
So how much do Party Wall Surveyors charge in Berkshire?
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The answer depends on a number of factors described below:
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1. If you are the Adjoining Owner then the process should cost you nothing as it is the Building Owner who is supposed to cover the cost (with rare exceptions).
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2. As a Building Owner you should expect your Surveyor to provide a breakdown of costs per number of Adjoining Owners. E.g., if you have to serve Notice on two Adjoining Owners the cost is not 2x the cost of serving on just one Adjoining Owner, but far less. Expect to pay about 25% more for the Party Wall process where there is a second Adjoining Owner. Why? Because the Surveyor's fees should reflect only the additional time involved.
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3. Your Surveyor should provide a discount if one or more of the Adjoining Owners consents to the works because in that situation there is less work for the Surveyor to undertake. Expect to pay no more than 50% of the total fee where there is a single Adjoining Owner who consents.
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4. If there are multiple Adjoining Owners e.g., when serving Notice on a block of flats, expect to pay a vastly reduced rate, given that much of the Surveyor's output will be copy and paste.
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5. Additional factors that the Surveyor will take into consideration when quoting include, the size of the neighbouring houses (Schedules of Condition take longer when there is more area to cover); the quality of the drawings (poor drawings require the Surveyor to spend time understanding the extent of the works and requesting amendments) and the scope of the works (the more detailed the work, the more aspects there are to consider in the Party Wall Award).
6. The amount that a Party Wall Surveyor would charge in Berkshire depends on many different factors. Assuming the works are to a medium sized Victorian house and the works are not very extensive, expect to pay circa £1,250 if there is one Adjoining Owner, £1,600 if there are two Adjoining Owners and a reduction if one or more of the Adjoining Owners consents to the works.​
Party Wall Surveyor in Berkshire - Questions to ask a Building Owner's Surveyor
​1. What are the Surveyor fees if the Adjoining Owners 'dissent' to the works?
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2. What are the Surveyor fees if the Adjoining Owners 'consent' to the works?
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3. Is there any change to the fees if the Surveyor acts for both parties as Agreed Surveyor?
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4. What steps will you be undertaking to ensure that any Adjoining Owner's Surveyor fees are kept low?
5. Will you be providing feedback on the structural drawings before serving Notice on my behalf?
6. Will you be advising me how I can maximise my rights under the Party Wall Act?
7. When will I be informed about any selected Third Surveyor and his identity?
8. If the two parties decide to consent to various works 'outside of the Party Wall Act', will your fee include providing the paperwork for sign off?
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9. How many years experience do you have acting as a Party Wall Surveyor?
10. Are you a member of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors?
Party Wall Surveyor in Berkshire - Questions to ask an Adjoining Owner's Surveyor
​1. Can you advise whether the Party Wall Notice and drawings are adequate?
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2. What are the risk factors that can be identified from the drawings?
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3. What steps will you be taking to mitigate the identified risk factors?
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4. Will there be any enclosure on a Party Wall which would result in a payment to me?
5. Following the Schedule of Condition will photos of the inside my house be shared with the Building Owner or will they remain private?
6. What is the process should damage occur to my property as a result of the works?
7. When will I be informed about any selected Third Surveyor and his identity?
8. If the two parties decide to consent to various works 'outside of the Party Wall Act', will your fee include providing the paperwork for sign off?
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9. How many years experience do you have acting as a Party Wall Surveyor?
10. Are you a member of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors?
Party Wall drawings: Architectural and Structural Engineering in Bershire
In an ideal world, architectural and structural drawings would be undertaken correctly and in sufficient detail in the first place and the whole design process would run smoothly from beginning to end.
Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world and from our experience we know only too well that architects and engineers often produce drawings that contain errors, are ambiguous in some aspects, or which don't contain the details required in order for them to be compliant with the Party Wall Act.
Which is exactly why a collaboration and oversight at the design stage, between the design team (architects / structural engineers) and an experienced Party Wall Surveyor generally leads to the best results.
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​We only work with a small group of tried and tested architects and engineers who are both good at what they do and also price fairly. Any errors or inadequacies in the drawings are dealt with between the Party Wall Surveyor and the design team without the client's need to get involved, and as a result, delays and additional hidden costs are avoided.
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It is all too common for clients to pay the design team in full, on trust, only to find out, sometimes months later that the drawings which looked fine to the untrained eye of the client, were in fact not at all up to par. Trying to persuade the designer to re-visit the project, all that time later, does not always yield positive results, particularly where there are a multitude of issues with the drawings that would take significant time to fix.
This issue is avoided by appointing us as Party Wall Surveyors to carefully check the drawings on your behalf, feed into the design process where details are missing and ensure that the drawings are comprehensive both in terms of addressing Party Wall matters and also sufficient for the contractor to competently work off. Comprehensively drafted drawings can also help when going out to tender.
The drawings that we arrange for you, are fully guaranteed. So if it transpires that further minor changes are still required, this will be undertaken in a timely manner at no extra cost as part of the service level that we commit to at the start of the process.
Parks and Open Spaces in Berkshire
Ashampstead Common, Audrey's Meadow, Beale Wildlife Park, Bray Pit, Braywick Park, Bucklebury Common, Bucklebury Farm Park, Colne Valley Regional Park, Edgbarrow Woods, Fernhill Park, RAF Greenham Common, Herschel Park, Holt Copse & Joel Park, Home Park - Windsor, Hosehill Lake, Inkpen Common, King George V Playing Fields, Kintbury Newt Ponds, Lavells Lake, The Living Rainforest, Loddon Nature Reserve, Maiden Erlegh Lakes, Odney, Padworth Common Local Nature Reserve, Paices Wood Country Parkland, Pearman's Copse, Rack Marsh, Sandleford Priory, Shepperlands Farm, Silwood Park, Snelsmore Common, Sutherland Grange, Swallowfield Meadow, Victoria Park – Newbury, Watts Bank, Windsor Great Park, Winnersh Meadows
Museums in Berkshire
Basildon Park, Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre – Reading, Cole Museum of Zoology – Reading, Eton College Natural History Museum, Frogmore House – Windsor, Look Out Discovery Centre – Bracknell, Maidenhead Heritage Centre, Museum of Berkshire Aviatio – Wokingham, Museum of English Rural Life – Reading, Museum of Eton Life, Museum of Reading, Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock – Reading, Shaw House – West Berkshire, Slough Museum
Hospitals in Berkshire
Heatherwood Hospital
Berkshire Grove Hospital
West Berkshire Community Hospital
Circle Reading Hospital
Wokingham Hospital
Berkshire Independent Hospital
Wexham Park Hospital
The Princess Margaret Hospital
Royal Berks Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital
Royal Berkshire Hospital Accident and Emergency Department
Royal Berkshire Hospital Maternity Unit
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Areas Covered by the Berkshire Office
Berkshire: West Berkshire, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Bracknell, Reading, Slough, Earley, Woodley and Newbury.
Surrey: Guildford, Woking, Molesey, Camberley, Epsom, Redhill, Egham, Ewell, Tadworth & Epsom Downs, Horley, Walton-on-Thames, Ash & Ash Vale, Reigate, Ashford, Caterham, Great Bookham & Fetcham, Byfleet & Sheerwater, Sunbury-on-Thames, Staines-upon-Thames, Farnham, Cobham, Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Elmbridge, Waverley, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge, New Haw, West Dorking, Weybridge, Stoneleigh