What is a building surveyor?

Your building surveyor is charged with the responsibility of making sure that all structures are safe. They are also responsible for the energy efficiency and accessibility (including disabled access) impacting on the plans and outcome of the building project.

Although traditionally building surveyors have been employees of the local council, legislation has been introduced to encourage competition and allow private building surveyors to issue building permits and the other duties that a building surveyor is involved in.

A building surveyor is the professional when it comes to building law. He or she is not only the authority when it comes to assessing building plans, but they are trained to understand and interpret building regulations. They have to undertake many recognised qualifications associated with their professional and must also be registered with the local authorities and back backed up by insurance. A custom home builder in Perth

The building surveyor is education in a number of disciplines many now specialise in one of the many specific areas related to building regulation:

  • Disabled Access
  • Fire Safety
  • Energy efficiency
  • Construction law
  • Forensic Inspection
  • Maintenance of services
  • Private Certification
  • Building Materials Science
  • Legislation
  • Alternative Building Solutions

They interact with a wide number of professionals in the building trade. They include engineers, architects and buildings to ensure that the building project is fully compliant from start to finish.

The building surveyor naturally does so much more than merely issuing out building permits. There is actually much work to do before that permit can be issued, and the regulation continues long after that all important permits are granted.

You will also find the building surveyor carrying out pest control inspection to existing buildings to ensure they are safe, and are compliant with current safety standards. The actual survey itself is a comprehensive assessment of the building structure.

A building surveyor also acts as a consultant, more commonly on larger construction projects where more is at stake. They provide regulatory advice on major construction issues that often arise on these major projects.

Because of their in depth regulatory knowledge they are constantly in demand. They days of a building surveyor spending their entire career in a local office government are over. They are found more increasingly on building sites and being involved in project management as well as being involved in access and design compliance as well as other roles. Some progress into ore specialised roles.

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