Chartered surveyors in Burnley

5 RICS surveyors covering 2 postcode districts around Burnley, in the North West. RICS Home Survey Level 2 and Level 3, and RICS Residential Valuation.

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A third of Burnley's houses were standing before 1900, most of them the stone terraces the town was built from, and they reward a surveyor who knows the type: solid walls that need to breathe, lime mortar under later cement pointing, slate roofs at the end of their first life, and the back-to-back and through-terrace layouts that change how damp moves. The Brun and the Calder run through the town, so the flood map is checked as standard. Where the terraces have been improved, we pay as much attention to the improvement as to the original.

Local conditions

What we check in Burnley.

Drawn from official open data for this area, not written from a template. It tells you what a survey here has to account for. It is not a substitute for the formal searches, and we say where those live.

River Brun and River Calder: Flood risk is one of the first things we check, because it affects insurance, lending and what we look at underfoot. The River Brun, River Calder, River Irwell, River Ribble are all within reach of Burnley.Check this property on the official service
2 postcode districts covered: We cover BB postcodes around Burnley with 5 RICS surveyors. What we look hardest at depends on the age and construction of your particular property.What a survey covers
Local authority: Building control records, conservation area status and planning history for Burnley sit with the council here. Where alterations look unauthorised we will say so, and tell you what to ask your solicitor to confirm.

Sources: Environment Agency flood areas and ONS boundary data, both Open Government Licence; coalfield extents from published Coal Authority and BGS mapping. Coalfield boundaries are indicative. A mining report is the authoritative answer for any individual property.

The housing stock in Burnley.

32.9%

of homes within 2.4km of the centre were built pre-1900. Age is the strongest single predictor of what a survey finds, so it is where we start before we have seen the property.

Homes in Burnley by construction era, compared with England and Wales
Built	Share	Compared with England & Wales	Homes
Pre-1900	32.9%	+17.4 pts	11,250
1900–1929	15.8%	+5.8 pts	5,410
1930s	8.5%	-1.4 pts	2,900
1945–1964	8.9%	-7.4 pts	3,050
1965–1982	14.3%	-4 pts	4,900
1983–1999	10.1%	-1.8 pts	3,460
2000 onwards	9.6%	-8.5 pts	3,270

34,240 homes across 49 statistical areas within 2.4km of the centre. The marker on each bar is the England and Wales share. Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax stock of properties, © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.

What that means on an inspection

Pre-1900

Normally solid walls of brick or stone with no cavity, lime mortar, timber suspended floors and lath-and-plaster internally. Any damp-proof course is either slate or absent altogether.

What we usually find. Damp at low level is the most frequent finding, usually where a slate damp-proof course has been bridged by raised ground or by later solid floors and cement render. Chimney stacks, roof coverings and rainwater goods are often at or beyond the end of their serviceable lives, and earlier repointing in cement rather than lime can trap moisture and spall the brick face.

Worth knowing. Solid walls cannot be treated like cavity walls. Injected chemical courses and internal tanking frequently move the problem rather than resolve it, so the cause matters more than the last remedy applied.

1900–1929

Mostly solid-wall terraces and early semis, with cavity construction beginning to appear toward the end of the period. Slate damp-proof courses are usual, along with timber sash windows and slate roofs.

What we usually find. Much the same pattern as the older stock, with the addition of early cavity walls where wall ties may now be corroding. Original roof coverings are commonly nearing replacement, and rear additions of this age are frequently built to a lower standard than the main house.

Worth knowing. Where a property has been re-roofed or extended, the junction between old and new is normally where water gets in. It is worth establishing what was done and when.

These are tendencies of the local stock, not findings on any particular house. A well-maintained Victorian terrace can be in better order than a neglected 1990s semi, which is the entire reason a survey is done on the building in front of you rather than on its postcode.

Buying here

What to check before you buy in Burnley.

What a survey in Burnley has to account for

Solid walls carry no cavity to keep water out, so penetrating damp is the recurring finding, and it is made worse where soft lime pointing has been replaced with hard cement that traps moisture in the brick. Original slate roofs of this age are usually at the point of needing recovering rather than patching, and chimney stacks, flaunching and flashings are where the money goes. Suspended timber floors need their sub-floor ventilation checked; blocked airbricks and raised external ground levels are the usual cause of decay.

57% of the stock here predates 1940, so a Level 3 Building Survey is more often the right choice than a Level 2. We will say so when it is, and equally we will tell you when the cheaper survey is enough.

Ground and water

The Environment Agency records flood areas near Burnley on River Brun, River Calder and River Irwell. Whether a specific address is affected depends on where it sits rather than on the town, so we check the catchment against the property and tell you what it means for insurance and for the searches.

Surveyors near you

5 RICS surveyors cover Burnley, and the same team works Padiham, Accrington, Bacup and Rawtenstall. A surveyor working the same patch has usually seen the construction, the estates and the recurring defects before, which is the difference between a report that describes a house and one that recognises it.

Available in Burnley

Which survey do you need?

RICS Level 2

RICS Home Survey — Level 2

A conventional house or flat, built this century or last, in reasonable order

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RICS Level 3

RICS Home Survey — Level 3

Older, larger, altered or extended, or anything already showing signs of movement or damp

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Red Book

RICS Residential Valuation

You need a figure rather than a condition report, for probate, Help to Buy or shared ownership

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Your fixed price is confirmed in writing before you instruct us, and it does not change afterwards.

Nearby

We also cover.

Blackburn6 surveyors Darwen6 surveyors Great Harwood6 surveyors Accrington5 surveyors Padiham5 surveyors Rawtenstall5 surveyors

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