Building Surveys also known as Structural Surveys, Specific Defects Reports , Building Disputes ,
We are Independent Building Surveyors in The West Country. We provide all types of property advice, with an independent building survey tailored to your individual property needs. Our independent survey reports are far superior to the kind you would receive from your mortgage company. Our surveys include pictures, projected repair costs and general advice on the property.
We carry out building surveys and give independent advice in The West Country on:
The West Country Building Survey, The West Country House Survey, Property Defects Survey, Building Disputes Survey, The West Country Dilapidations Survey, The West Country Residential Building Survey, The West Country Commercial Building Survey, The West Country Schedule of Condition Survey.
The West Country is an area covering the counties of Devon and Cornwall. 1 st Associated carry out residential building and commercial building surveys in all of these counties. Call us on free phone 0800 298 5424 to get advice from an Independent Surveyor.
A: Art Galleries
In Cornwall The Tate St Ives has many exhibitions on show where you can walk around and view the beautiful and varied art collections. The Gallery holds events throughout the year where you can meet others who have similar interests and purchase wonderful pieces of art.
B: Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a great place to walk in the Cornwall countryside and see the towered rocks, bridges and varied wildlife.
C: Crystal
Dartington Crystal Visitor Centre in Devon is open weekly where you can discover how the crystal is made and watch glassmaking demonstrations. There are numerous activities that you can take part in such as making jewellery, hand casting and glass blowing.
D: Dartmoor National Park
In Devon Dartmoor National Park is a lovely place to visit where you can canoe, high wire and take part in trails where you can walk and enjoy the beautiful countryside. The Dartmoor National Park has appeared in films such as Warhorse where you can see the Devon countryside.
E: Eden Project
In 2003 the Eden Project opened in Devon where you can walk around the fantastically designed centre and see the range of exotic plants. The Eden Project holds events which educate and entertain throughout the year and you can see the breath taking architecture.
F: Fish
The Rick Stein restaurant is one of many great seafood restaurants in Cornwall which is open daily where you can enjoy three course lunches and dinners. There is a great bar in the restaurant where you can order fresh food and watch the chefs prepare the seafood.
Please see our surveying articles on:
Building Surveys or Structural Surveys?
Why have a Residential Survey?
G: Go Ape
In Devon Go Ape in Kennford, Exeter offers people numerous activities they can take part in such as zip lining, swings and other great adventurous sports.
H: Harbour
Teignmouth Harbour in Devon is a wonderful place to walk along the promenade and where you can see the boats that come in and visit the shops and restaurants which are located just near to the Harbour.
I: Independent Surveyors
If you are looking to move to The West Country then we would recommend you have a building survey carried out by Independent Surveyors, such as ourselves at 1stAssociated.co.uk. We are independent because we are not affiliated to any banks or building societies and therefore can offer you an unbiased service, offering you an action required for any problems we may find and an approximate cost for any works.
J: Jamie Oliver's Restaurant
Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant in Watergate Bay serves fresh food throughout the day where you can enjoy the delicious food whilst looking out on to the Cornwall Beach.
K: Kent Cavern
Kent Cavern Caves in Torquay is perfect for families where you can take part in a trail, discover fossils and be educated by looking around the exhibition. You can walk along the cliffs where you can discover the coves and underground can be hired for weddings and other special occasions.
L: Lace Museum
Allhallows Museum in Honiton, Devon is open during the summer where you can watch and learn how to make lace. Honiton has made lace for many years and the museum is a wonderful place to learn the history of lace making.
Please see our surveying articles on:
M: Mawes Castle
St Mawes Castle is located in Truro, Cornwall where you can take a tour of the castle and learn the history of the Castle. St Mawes Castle is one of Henry VIII's fortresses located on the coast and is built in a clover-leaf design.
N: North Cornwall Museum
The North Cornwall Museum in Falmouth is where you can learn about the history of Cornwall and discover the exhibits which are on show.
O: Okehampton Farmers Market
Okehampton Farmers Market in Devon sells food which is locally produced and sourced. They sell fresh bakery items, fish and even some plants which are on sale Saturday each month.
P: Port Isaac
Port Isaac is a wonderful place to walk around and is the location for the popular Doc Martin TV series known in the programme as Port Wenn.
Q: Quiet Paradise Park
The Paradise Park in Hayle, Cornwall is where you can discover a range of birds from parrots to owls. There is a lovely play area where the children can have fun playing and they can even feed some of the birds.
Please see our surveying articles on:
What does a surveyor do on a Strcutural Survey?
R: Relaxing Walks
Walking through the beautiful Devon and Cornwall countryside you can discover the wildlife and see the various attractions in The West Country.
S: Surveyor
We are Independent Surveyors carrying out both residential and commercial building surveys regularly in The West Country. We can help with providing a structural survey on a property you wish to purchase or a Specific Defects Report should you experience issues with your property. Why not give us a call as we would be delighted to help with any property matters.
T: Tarka Trail
Cyclists can take part in the Tarka Trail where you start at Braunton and finish in Meeth. You can cycle through the lovely Devon countryside where you can stop off at local attractions and see the varied wildlife.
U: Unusual Glendurgan Gardens
The Glendurgan Gardens, Falmouth has exotic plants located in Cornwall where you can walk around and view the wonderful gardens. There is a wonderful maze where you can have fun and even get lost walking the trails.
V: Valley Discovery Centre
The Hidden Valley Discovery Centre, Cornwall is a place that has miniature trains which you can see and there are activities you can take part in such as discovering crystals throughout the grounds of the centre.
W: Wonderful Landboarding
In Cornwall you can visit Kite School where they teach you how to landboard where you can be pulled along the beautiful countryside. The Centre offers activities for parties and special events where you can have fun surfing.
Please see our area articles on:
X: Xtreme Sports
In the Counties of Devon and Cornwall you can take part in some great extreme sports such as surfing, canoeing and Kayaking. There are many places such as the River Dart where you can have fun at the adrenaline filled activities.
Y: Year Long Open Aquarium
The Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall is a great place to see a range of fish and you can walk through a tunnel where you can see sharks and eels.
Z : Zoo
Paignton Zoo has many rare animals which you can discover and there are indoor and outdoor facilities such as great play areas. There are shows throughout the year that you can watch for example the Bird show and you can also hold certain animals.
David Bond - Olympian
Dawn French - Comedian and Actress
John Opie - Painter
Agatha Christie - Writer
Peter Cook - Actor and Comedian
If you are purchasing a property in The West Country please ensure that you have a building survey carried out on the building. A building survey, prepared by a Chartered Building Surveyor could literally save you thousands of pounds.
For anyone that has not been to The West Country, look out for the very decorative village signposts throughout The West Country. The survey only needs to uncover one potential problem with the property and the cost of the building survey is more than recovered.
We survey buildings in The West Country. Our independent surveyors are experienced and qualified and produce high quality surveys including Structural surveys, Building surveys and valuations on both residential and commercial properties. We use surveyors who are experienced with old properties, many having direct hands on experience of working on listed buildings. Equally we understand newer construction, it may look the same to the untrained eye but performs very differently and we would say is built to a price not a quality standard. We also survey buildings that have been altered and extended both with and without planning permission and building regulations. We solve and deal with building disputes and can also help you with your extension and alteration design work.
If you book a building survey in The West Country with 1st Associated surveyors you will find that we take great pride in the quality of our building survey and produce a very detailed building survey report, whether it be for a residential property or a commercial property. We use plain English in our building surveys to explain any problems with the property to ensure that you understand the problems and how to resolve them.
1st Associated Building Surveyors cover the whole of the UK including all towns and villages in The West Country for example:
In Devon: Ashburton, situated in the south side of Dartmoor National Park, Barnstaple, where you can have a traffic free cycle ride along the Tarka Trail, Dartmouth, where the 14th century Dartmouth Castle guards the Dart Estuary and port of Dartmouth, Exmouth, on the south coast of Devon, Honiton, whose primary industry was lacemaking, Newton Abbot, is known as the Gateway to the Moor and Sea due to its proximity to both Dartmoor National Park and the seaside resorts of Torquay and Teignmouth and Torquay, where you must visit Kents Cavern Caves to see the spectacular stalactite and stalactite formations.
In Cornwall: Bodmin, with Bodmin Moor being one of the last unspoilt areas in the south west with its prehistoric and medieval past remaining untouched, Falmouth, which has Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle at either side of the Fal estuary built by Henry VIII in the 1500's to protect the Carrick Roads from invasion, Lizard Point, which is England's most southern point, St Austell, with the huge Eden Project and Watergate Bay, where you can sample the delights at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant.
We are Independent Surveyors in The West Country. We are independent of any lender or bank or mortgage company. When we are surveying a property we are working for you, not them. This means we are working towards your best interests. We want to ensure that your property investment is sound and that you are receiving value for money.
We are Independent Building Surveyors that operate throughout the UK. As building surveyors we are often asked to work on not only a residential building survey but also a boundary walls dispute survey or a specific defects survey if you have a problem with dampness or cracking in your property for example.
We are also Commercial Building Surveyors - still operating in The West Country, we can provide a Schedule of Condition Survey, Property Report, Dilapidations Report and a Commercial Building Survey - our Independent Building Surveyors have the skills and experience to save you money on your commercial building purchase.
We have a wealth of experience in providing Building Surveys to make sure you are buying the right property and providing market Valuations to ensure that you are buying the property at the right price. If you have any particular property problems we can carry out a Specific Defects Report.
Call us today on free phone 0800 298 5424 to discuss the services we offer. We are more than happy to talk about what Building Surveys involve, these are also sometimes known as Structural Surveys or Engineers Reports.
Whilst most of this is written from local knowledge of the area, here are some websites that we think may interest you in the The West Country area, some of which we have used for information and we would like to give them credit for this. We are only human so if there are any amendments or additions or updates we would be pleased to receive your feedback so we can keep our website up to date.
Edenproject.com/
Fifteencornwall.co.uk/index.php
English-heritage.org.uk/
Nationaltrust.org.uk/
Bolberry Down in Devon is a tranquil place to walk around where you can see the breath taking views of the cliffs.
Visiting Cotehele Mill allows people to see how the flour is made and see demonstrations in the bakery.
Buckland Estate in Devon is a great place to visit where you can walk around the beautiful gardens and discover the abbey.
East Pool Mine in Cornwall has a beam engine which you can explore and discover the exhibitions which are on show. There are trails which you can take part in and there are miner's outfits which you can try on.
Tintagel Castle in Cornwall holds many events throughout the year where you can walk around the ruins of the Castle and finish the visit by relaxing in the cafe situated on the beach.
In Devon the Dartmouth Castle was built in approximately 1388 where you can walk along the beach and see the beautiful surroundings of the Castle. The Castle has a great tea room where you can eat some freshly made food and look out to the great beach views.
Pendennis Castle situated in Falmouth in Cornwall has a great Discovery Centre where you can learn the history of the castle and you can also walk around the beautiful gardens which surround.
Road links:
There are good road links to the West Country on the M4 and M5 with picturesque winding country roads and lanes.
Trains:
Trains to the West Country leave London from Paddington changing at Reading for Taunton and Torquay for example.