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 Introduction Staying safe at home is a priority for everyone. That’s especially true if we have a family or something valuable to protect. And, in truth, there’s some legitimacy behind these concerns. Direct Line recently reported some alarming figures in relation to malicious damage against a property in 2019. They found as many as 6,014

Party Wall or External Wall? At The Hopps Partnership, we often get asked whether a party wall should be used instead of an external wall.  Benefits For Building Owners Constructing a new wall on the boundary is likely to invoke Section 1 of the Party Wall Act, whether it is an external wall or a

Thinking of Moving to the Countryside? In a recent blog we looked at Brexit which loomed large over the property industry. Now we have a new threat, the recent pandemic. This may not be all bad however and as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The Corona Virus has led many people to

Schedule of Condition – always a must? In this blog we will look at whether a schedule of condition is necessary before construction works begin. Very few people would accept taking a rental car without first making a note of the giant scratch down the passenger side door with the dealership, so why take the

Introduction     Historical architecture often did not involve any form of lintol or beam support over windows but instead relied on self supporting brick arches. In some instances timber beams were used but often these are found to be rotten or failing. Over the course of time brickwork can begin to slump causing loads to

 Introduction  For many people undertaking building work for the first time, the associated professional costs can come as something of a surprise. The construction industry in the UK is heavily regulated with stringent planning and building regulation controls and the Party Wall Act can be a frustration. In this blog we will aim to show

   We are proud to have assisted by surveying properties for the Grenfell Victims on behalf of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea   Many people will not be aware that The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) have committed to and are progressing with the purchase of flats and other residential property

IntroductionIn a previous blog (https://thehoppspartnership.co.uk/blog/what-is-a-building-survey) we introduced building surveys generally and looked at the three levels on offer. In this blog we will look more closely at the HomeBuyers Report. What is a HomeBuyers Report?The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) identify three levels of service when surveying residential property; levels 1, 2 and 3.

 Asbestos, an introduction Asbestos was one of the most widely used materials in construction and was added to plastics, cement, decorative finishes, asphalt and insulation right up until the end of last century. Asbestos has excellent insulating properties, is fire proof and as such over 3000 product from 1940 onwards contained it. However, when inhaled,

 Introduction Of all building defects, high moisture levels give rise to the largest number of problems that we identify. Water, in places where it is unwanted or uncontrollable will almost always lead to damage of some or many parts of a property. In excess it can cause mould to grow on walls, reduce the strength