Casson Peakland Chartered Surveyors

Traditional buildings

Adapting what is there - retrofit and PAS2035

At Casson Peakland Chartered Surveyors, making best use of existing buildings is central to the design approach. Adding to or converting redundant buildings is one of the best ways of dealing with the current issues of environmental stress caused by building work.

At least a third of UK housing is classed as traditional build with solid walls and draughty structures. These homes are built differently from modern housing in that they rely on letting moisture both in and out - they get wet when it rains, and dry out if it ever stops! These buildings require a different choice of materials and building methods and adapting and upgrading these buildings for modern living is a fascinating design challenge.

Casson Peakland follows the principles of PAS2035 for retrofit projects and we are qualified to work on traditional building retrofit designs.

Modern buildings

Refurbishment, Extensions and New-build

Unlike traditional buildings, modern buildings are designed to keep moisture out. Cavity walls, damp proof courses, modern cements and all manner of vapour barriers contribute to keeping us dry and comfortable.

The catch

To help reduce the adverse impact buildings have on the environment, modern building regulations and standards mandate increasingly high levels of thermal insulation and air-tightness in our new buildings. If you have ever worn a cheap cagoul in rainy weather and worked up a sweat, you will appreciate the issues the sealing of buildings can cause - managing moisture in a modern house becomes central to healthy design.

Building surveyors as designers

One key advantage of building surveyor-led design is we work with buildings throughout their whole life and see the long term implications of design choices and maintenance issues in our everyday surveying work. This long term perspective helps us design with this in mind. It's good to know there is some payback for all the hours we spend crawling round basements and lofts!

Design approach

Early visualisation

The best time to change things in a building project is as early as possible. The cost of design changes increases as a project progresses with late changes being the most costly. Using advanced 3D modelling software enables modelling of life-like designs to help clients see what they are planning very early in the design process.

Partnership

Designing buildings is about more than producing drawings and visualisations, it is a long process involving multiple procedures, organisations and roles. Planning permission, building regulation approval and health & safety requirements such as the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations all contribute to a successful outcome. At Casson Peakland, we recognise that clients have varying needs and need varying levels of support for their projects. We treat each of our projects as unique and tailor our service accordingly.

About designing buildings