This money is lost and has to be regarded as the cost of moving home whether to a larger or smaller property and you get nothing tangible for it.

Tudors have been extending and remodelling houses throughout the Surrey area for over 43 years and are Chartered Surveyors and Project Managers.

The recession has left many good builders short of work and desperate to hold on to their labour force so they are cutting prices to achieve this objective.

Now is a good time to take advantage of the recession and add value to your property.

Tudors will survey your property free of charge and always provide a fixed fee for the drawing up of existing property and the development of design drawings. The design process commences with discussion about your lifestyle and your requirements during which we tease out your desires. Our extensive experience helps us to suggest alternative approaches until we reach the most satisfactory solution from which we prepare scheme drawings for your final approval. Tudors will then handle the project for you, making the planning applications, preparing construction drawings and specifications and employing the builders on your behalf, maintaining quality and financial control.

£50,000 can go a long way towards most extensions, get bespoke advice today from Tudors of Surrey.

Trees are also notorious for causing damage to drains by root growth into these sources of moisture and in some cases they are known to grow into cracks or damaged masonry and even into cracks in concrete foundations or footings. Removal of trees can lead to heave in a building because of the change in natural ground water removal by trees.

Seeds from Buddleas, Ash and Sycamore sow themselves very easily and can be seen taking hold in defective mortar or cracks. As they grow they can cause further deterioration of the structure opening up larger cracks that can cause water ingress or structural failure.

Professional advice should be sought where building damage by trees is suspected and this may involve negotiations with your insurers. Tudors can assist in providing guidance and or liaising with insurers on your behalf, get in touch with us today for advice on building damage by trees.

Listed buildings fall into two categories, those that are nationally listed and those that are locally listed and in the latter case this reflects upon structures that have a local interest or history. Both in conservation terms are protected. Nationally listed buildings fall into four categories:

• Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important; only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I
• Grade II* buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest; 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade II*
• Grade II buildings are nationally important and of special interest; 92% of all listed buildings are in this class and it is the most likely grade of listing for a home owner.

If you are considering any work to a listed building it is imperative that you seek professional assistance. The process can be lengthy and costly and Local Authorities have powers that can stop the work at any stage if they are unhappy with what is being done.

Conservation

A simplistic view of conservation is the need to preserve as much of the building and its fabric as possible and not to remove or damage any part of a listed building. Minor alterations (for practical reasons) are usually permitted to Grade I and Grade II building structures. Any repairs to stabilise these structures must give due consideration and be sympathetic to the manner in which they were built. It is essential that the resultant repair allows the building to flex and breath.

Wall and floors can be straightened and faced but the original structure must remain underneath and be ventilated to ensure that further deterioration does not take place.

Owners of listed buildings should be aware that they have a responsibility as “guardians of our heritage” and as such have a duty to save and protect these monuments for the enjoyment of the nation. Unfortunately, this comes at a price as the sensitive repair and maintenance of these premises is, by definition, more complex and time consuming and thus more expensive.

Tudors have extensive experience in dealing with listed and historic buildings and can assist in designing and managing your project. Get in touch with us today for help with your listed or historic building.

Any form of development of land or even extending a building or creating a driveway can impact on hedges and trees and planning authorities are being more and more vigorous in their approach to including tree surveys prior to granting permission for any building work.

Tree Preservation Orders are a legal means of protecting some trees and whilst this does not totally preclude pruning or even removal; if you wish to do any work involving trees, the Local Authority should always be consulted. To find out if a tree is in a conservation area or covered by a Tree Preservation Order you should contact the Local Authority concerned. Be aware that contravention of any these forms of legal protection can lead to a substantial financial penalty of up to £20,000.

Tudors have many years’ experience in submitting plans and liaising with Local Authorities to obtain the best result possible for their clients. For more information about Tree Preservation Orders or TPOs, please get in touch today.

Most urban areas were constructed many years ago along with the infra structure systems to support it. They were not designed to cope with the increased in rainfall and flooding. Too many impermeable surfaces have been introduced and as a result, the government introduced changes to our planning laws; specifically to the General Permitted Development Order. These changes state that any hard surfacing over 5 square metres must be in the form of permeable construction in order to qualify as permitted development. If this is not the case planning permission is required. This obviously has an impact on the homeowner wishing to provide a driveway or parking area or even to create patios and terraces and Tudors would be pleased to help you in designing a scheme and can advise you on a suitable approach.

Numerous systems are now available that provide a permeable construction which can be combined with numerous finishes, such as gravel, stone chippings, paving blocks, reinforced grass, resign bound paving or porous asphalt.

Other solutions to remove water include the creation of falls in the hard surfaces to surrounding flower beds, rain gardens or soakaways but these can only be used where the ground itself is permeable and where a sub soil such as sand or gravel exists. Before undertaking any construction of hard landscaping it is necessary to establish the type of soil and sub-soil on your land.

Areas where clay soils are present are not suitable, necessitating a different approach whereby water is removed to drains or to a rainwater harvesting system. Both of these systems require specialist advice and specialist contractors and are consequently more expensive. Rainwater harvesting system require a large space for their installation but collected water can be used to water gardens, wash the car or flush toilets and therefore, the costs can be offset to some extent by the reduction in the amount of mains water used by the householder.

Tudors have experience in the installation of all of the above means of rainwater disposal and would be pleased to assist in your project in providing advice and/or submitting Planning Applications on your behalf, why not get in touch?