February 11th, 2018
Dream Home or Worst Nightmare?
It can be a thankless task being a residential surveyor. Usually, if a client has put an offer in on a home they have invested time and emotional energy into that property before…
Sava EDGE.
Welcome to Sava EDGE; a searchable, online collection of practical and technical information and other resources for residential property professionals
February 11th, 2018
Detachment for Flats and Maisonettes
Detachment for flats and maisonettes is a required RdSAP data item, and was added to the data collection in order to allow external measurements for flats. In order to convert external measurements to…
February 11th, 2018
Dating Double Glazed Windows
The assessor’s standard approach should be to search any double glazed window for a date stamp located in the glazing cavity. If you cannot find this date evidence, you should always check the…
February 11th, 2018
Cylinder Thermostats
A cylinder thermostat works by sensing the temperature inside a hot water cylinder and switching off the water heating once the set temperature is reached. This reduces the heat losses in the system…
February 11th, 2018
CPSU and Thermal Stores
A CPSU or Combined Primary Storage Unit is a boiler with an integral thermal store. The thermal store must be greater that 70 litres, otherwise the system is simply a ‘storage combi’ and…
February 11th, 2018
Conservatories in RdSAP
Conservatory measurements should only be included in the RdSAP assessment if it meets the definition of a non-separated conservatory: “If there is no external quality separation of the conservatory, then it is deemed…
February 11th, 2018
Complaints Handling – RICS Guidance Notes
Dr Oonagh McDonald’s report ‘Balancing Risk and Reward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Valuation Profession in the UK’ identified effective complaint handling and sustainability of the valuation profession. This Guidance Note from RICS uses this as…
February 11th, 2018
Common Wall and Roof Rooms
There can sometimes be confusion among assessors about what constitutes a common wall and when a space should be recorded as a roof room or as a separate storey. To clarify: A common…
February 10th, 2018
What is MVHR?
Most MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery) systems are similar to the prototype unit shown in Photo 1. An insulated duct brings fresh air into one end of the unit. A filter helps to…
February 10th, 2018
Upgrading Conservatory Roofs
When inspecting conservatories it is tempting for surveyors to treat them as ancillary rooms outside planning and building controls but is this a realistic approach? Many homeowners do not dismiss these spaces so…