Job Book 9th Edition - Book - Page 125
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Stage 1 > Preparation and Brief: Supplementary Material: 1/SM5
1/SM5: Inspecting the site
Proper inspections and surveys of sites and existing buildings are essential at
Stage 1. Rough preliminary surveys are not good enough and are an inadequate
basis on which to judge feasibility. Ill-founded recommendations at this stage
can lead to serious problems later.
When considering survey action, try to establish:
• the kind of survey needed and precisely what is to be surveyed
• who will carry out the survey – the practice’s own staff, external land or
building surveyors, or other specialists
• who will pay for the survey and where liability will rest in the event of errors.
Identify the boundaries of the site to be surveyed or the limits of the building.
Confirm with the client that access will be available and obtain keys if necessary.
Notify persons on site as appropriate.
o not overlook statutory obligations arising, particularly those concerning
D
occupiers’ liability, and health and safety. Always heed the RIBA Safety Code
for occupied building sites and unoccupied buildings and sites (see Figure 1/2).
Information about immediate area
Check:
• general context and character, outstanding visual features
• local development plan, action area plans, construction work currently
under way
• evidence of social and economic patterns
• traffic movement patterns, noise, pollution
• derelict areas, nearby black spots, visually detracting features.
Visual inspection of site
Check:
• aspect, orientation, shelter, overshadowing from adjacent buildings or trees
• hedges, ditches, ponds, wet/soft patches, underground streams
• benchmarks, contours and slope of site
• paths, gates, stiles which might indicate rights of way
• overhead cables, pylons and poles
• possible health and safety hazards, e.g. flooding, exposure, unsafe trees
• properties adjoining the site, their condition, usage, evidence of subsidence,
fire risks, party walls, etc.
• possible health and safety hazards, such as radon or other gases, pollutants
and contamination from previous use, filled basements
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