How to Assess Buildings Like a Professional

Practical guidance on building condition, defects, and risk, written from decades of professional experience.


This guide is written by a senior built-environment professional with decades of experience across architecture, building surveying, and estate management. It focuses on judgement rather than jargon, and practical understanding rather than worst-case assumptions.

  • Structural movement: what matters and what doesn’t

  • Damp, decay, and moisture explained clearly

  • Roofs, walls, and timber in practical terms

  • Alterations, extensions, and hidden risks

  • When to renegotiate — and when to walk away

This publication provides general professional insight based on experience. It is not a substitute for site-specific professional advice.