Refurbishment Survey
What is a Refurbishment Survey?
A refurbishment survey is required when a building, or part, is due to be refurbished or have any building work take place within it. The level of inspection is more intrusive than a management survey. The techniques may be more destructive so this type of survey cannot normally be carried out in an occupied area.
What Does a Refurbishment Survey Tell Me?
During a refurbishment survey, items that would not normally need to be accessed daily (and are therefore not inspected during a management survey) are opened. All areas which will be affected by refurbishment works are accessed including, for example, inside risers and behind bath panels.
Suspect materials are sampled in order to confirm or refute their asbestos content. The materials sampled will include those that have been “presumed” or “strongly presumed” to contain asbestos during a management survey. The material assessment is completed as with any other survey.
The material assessment takes into account the type of material, its condition and surface treatment, in order to identify the licensing requirements for its safe removal.
A priority assessment is not needed for a refurbishment survey because most asbestos-containing materials are removed as part of the refurbishment works.
What do I do with the Survey Information?
The information generated from a refurbishment survey report should be used to ensure workers in the area are protected from exposure to asbestos. In the report, our surveyors will usually recommend the appropriate action to take for each material found. This may be as simple as an encapsulation if the material is well-bonded and is in good condition. The alternative is removal if the material is heavily damaged.
Can I make the Survey Cheaper?
Some surveys can be conducted where no samples are taken. Any suspect material is automatically presumed to contain asbestos. Often these surveys are chosen because they are cheaper, however, they lead to unnecessary treatments of materials that do not contain asbestos and are more expensive overall.
Management of the Asbestos
We are able to provide assistance with the management of any asbestos materials found. We can project manage during asbestos removals works, draw up specifications for the removal of asbestos-containing materials, tender preparation and evaluation, provide air testing services, site audits and smoke testing. Please see our project management page for more information.
ABP Associates are accredited by UKAS to carry out Asbestos Refurbishment Surveys. ABP provide an independent professional service.
To book a survey with us, please contact us to discuss your requirements. In addition, we are not linked to any asbestos removals companies and so we do not gain anything from finding asbestos where there is none.
Why Choose ABP Associates?
At ABP Associates our surveyors work in pairs for our safety and yours. They carry identification, and are happy to explain what they are doing whilst on site. To book a survey with us, please contact us to discuss your requirements. In addition, we are not linked to any asbestos removals companies and so we do not gain anything from finding asbestos where there is none.