General FAQs

A Structural Engineer’s Report is a specialist report on the strength, safety and repair of the skeleton structure of a property. The skeleton structure includes the foundations and walls and sometimes the roof.

A Structural Engineers report is normally required to satisfy a third party such as a bank or building society. Alternatively, it might come from the recommendation of a Chartered Surveyor as a consequence of their own survey and requiring a more specialist second opinion.

Some purchasers and vendors simply want to have peace of mind or another opinion before making significant decisions.

We offer 2 types of report

The scope of the report varies to suit the brief and is normally one of two distinct types of report with fees varying accordingly.

CEng MIStructE or CEng FIStructE

The gold standard qualification for a STRUCTURAL Engineer’s report is a Chartered Structural Engineer.

The designation stands for member (or Fellow) of The Institution of Structural Engineers. www.Istructe.org

Some Chartered CIVIL Engineers can produce suitable reports (MICE), providing they practise in the residential sector rather than bridges and other municipal projects.

Do watch out for qualifications which might look impressive but are not fully chartered engineers, in other words are not one of the above.

We recommend you check the engineer has proper Professional Indemnity Insurance and not just Public Liability Insurance, together with all the relevant experience.

Do also check timeframes for a structural engineer’s report as far too many property transactions are held up by the slow reporting.

Q: Are there multiple defects, concern, cracks or movement?

A: You need our Structural Engineers GENERAL MOVEMENT Report.

Q: Do you only require a partial inspection, such as a single defect, a crack in a wall perhaps?

A: You might only require our Structural Engineers DEFECT INSPECTION report The homebuying industry does not have a standard template or brief so we have defined two distinct types of report based on our 30 years of responding to clients and Surveyors Reports, lenders and insurers’ needs. The two reports varying cost (see other FAQ)

Prices will vary depending on the location and size of the property, but are in the order of

£1,000+vat for a localised Defect Inspection Report

£1500 +vat for a General Movement Report (up to houses of 3,000 sq ft)

but please do contact us for an immediate quotation and diary date.

Warning - note that prices vary widely between those of similar established high street companies and those people who are only working part time, are part qualified or not insured.

Costs vary widely from one firm to the next depending on for example;

• A high street company with dedicated staff teams and overheads such as SERL POLE.
• A high street company that fits in reports between design projects which is their core business.
• A high street company that employs mainly junior staff.
• Structural engineers working part time or from home, with or without overheads, and insurance.

As with most things in life we hope to get what we pay for. We do not pretend to be the cheapest but hope to offer good value for money and excellent service, with what is a relatively marginal cost in comparison with the value and importance of the transaction. You may be interested to know the average report time to; arrange, travel, inspect, record, report, follow up communications averages a full working day.

We can visit

• Next day on occasions.
• Almost always within a week.
• Reports are normally issued within 48 hours, but often next day.

With our dedicated team of structural engineers, we can normally respond within a few days and provide a same-day verbal and next-day reporting service in most instances. Such fast turnaround times for structural engineer reports are considered to be exceptional by clients and surveyors who know and recommend us.

Our reports are always clear and concise. They contain:

• A one-page summary.
• A discussion with conclusions and recommendations.
• Indications of costs for repairs and suggestions for builders.
• A detailed description of the matters in hand.
• Guidance notes to help explain what we do.

We have 40 years of experience in producing structural engineers’ reports; and we undertake structural engineers’ reports almost every day of the week. This is what we do, what we understand and what we specialise in. Every report is carried out by a Chartered Structural Engineer with the essential qualifications CEng MIStructE, most recognised by mortgage lenders and Insurers. Practice Principal Simon Pole carries out most of the inspections. He is chartered in three different Institutions. He is a:

• Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (CEng FIStructE).
• Chartered Civil Engineer (MICE),
• Chartered Building Surveyor (MRICS)
• Member of the Academy of Experts (MAE) providing Expert Reports for litigation purposes.

Simon regularly lectures at the Headquarters of the Institution of Structural Engineers, to other engineers, and Surveyors for CPD purposes on various matters including reports, diagnosis of cracking, party walls and basements. Structural engineering is what we enjoy and curiously there are not many firms who provide this specialist service, with most engineers preferring design work.

We are:

• Highly qualified chartered structural engineers
• Speed of our service, often next day and well within a week
• Clear decisive reporting
• Recommendations for repairs, costs, builders and so on.
• Helpline for any questions or advice
• Friendly and helpful approach
• Value for money.

Hopefully our Google reviews speak for themselves.

We are not aware of any other company in London and the Home Counties who provide a more responsive service.

We are told that our turnaround times are exceptional, often next day and almost always within 2 days of inspections.

We do not pretend to be the cheapest but we aim to provide value for money through our experience, exceptional service and quality.

Please remember, you do get what you pay for, and a structural report is far too important to shop for based on the lowest price alone.