Plot and building surveys in Lincolnshire

Almost every plot needs a topographical survey, because the design has to sit on real levels and boundaries. Ground investigation follows on most sites, since it determines the foundation design. Beyond that it depends: drainage surveys where connections are uncertain, ecology where there are trees, hedgerows, watercourses or old outbuildings, and asbestos wherever something existing is coming down. We assess the site and tell you what is genuinely needed rather than ordering the full set as a matter of course.

Before the design is fixed, and ideally before you exchange on the plot if the seller allows access. Survey information changes what gets designed. Commissioning it after the drawings are finished means either redesigning or accepting a compromise, and both cost more than the survey would have.

Because foundations are the single biggest cost unknown on a self build. Clay, made ground, running sand, a high water table, old foundations or nearby trees all change what has to go in the ground, and the difference between a straightforward strip footing and a piled solution runs into tens of thousands. It is far better to know that before you have a budget you have told everyone about.

It is manageable, but it affects timing. Bats, great crested newts and nesting birds all have seasonal survey windows and legal protections, so the finding usually means a mitigation plan and a constraint on when certain work can happen. The real problem is discovering it late, when the programme is already committed. Found early, it is planned around.

Yes, and that is generally the point of asking us. We scope what is required, appoint the right specialists, co-ordinate access and timing so surveyors are not tripping over each other, then make sure every report reaches your architect and engineer in a form they can actually work from.