Specialist Service
Refurbishment & Demolition Asbestos Surveys in Glasgow
Planning intrusive work in a pre-2000 building? An R&D asbestos survey investigates the exact area being refurbished or demolished before trades disturb concealed materials.
Direct Answer
The survey scope must follow the work scope
A management survey is designed for normal occupation. A refurbishment and demolition survey is more intrusive: it looks behind finishes, inside accessible voids and within the building fabric that the project will break into. Its purpose is to find asbestos before the work team does.
The survey can cover a single bathroom, a kitchen and service route, one commercial unit or a complete building. What matters is that the surveyor receives the planned work scope and drawings before attending. If the builder will open a wall, ceiling, riser or floor, that area must be included rather than assumed.
The report records inspected areas, samples, asbestos results and limitations. Those limitations matter: any space that could not be accessed remains a question for the project team and should be resolved before intrusive work reaches it.
Our work scope
A refurbishment and demolition survey identifies asbestos that could be disturbed by the specified work. Its scope must match the drawings and work areas: a survey for one bathroom is not clearance for a later whole-property strip-out.
Is This The Right Service?
Projects that need an intrusive pre-work survey
The trigger is disturbance of the building fabric, not the size or budget of the project.
Kitchen or bathroom strip-out in a building constructed before 2000
Rewiring, replumbing or new services through walls, floors and ceilings
Shop, office or industrial-unit refurbishment with partitions coming out
Window, soffit, roof or cladding replacement affecting older materials
Structural alterations, extensions or partial demolition
Complete demolition where all areas must be investigated before work
Controlled From Start To Finish
How the work is carried out
- 01
Define the works
We review drawings, specifications and contractor questions, then agree exactly which rooms, routes and building elements the survey must cover.
- 02
Plan access
Intrusive inspection can damage finishes, so areas are made vacant where required and access constraints or services are discussed before attendance.
- 03
Inspect and sample
The surveyor investigates the relevant fabric, records locations and condition, and takes representative samples for accredited laboratory analysis.
- 04
Report for the project
You receive a report with results, plans, photographs, risk information and clear limitations that can be issued to designers and contractors.
A Useful Quote
What affects the price?
A photograph, postcode and approximate dimensions are often enough for an initial estimate. A fixed quote follows once the material and access are clear.
- Number, size and use of the rooms or buildings within the work scope
- Extent of intrusion needed to inspect concealed building elements
- Quality of drawings, specifications and existing asbestos information
- Vacant versus occupied areas and any out-of-hours access requirement
- Number of samples and laboratory turnaround required for the programme
- Access equipment, live services and areas that need specialist opening-up
Common Questions
Refurbishment & Demolition Asbestos Surveys in Glasgow FAQs
What is an R&D asbestos survey?
It is an intrusive survey carried out before refurbishment or demolition. It aims to locate asbestos within every building element the planned work will disturb, including concealed materials that a normal occupation-focused survey may not inspect.
Do I need an R&D survey for a kitchen or bathroom renovation?
Often, if the property was built before 2000 and the work will strip finishes, alter services or open walls, floors or ceilings. A targeted survey can cover only the project area when the rest of the property is not being disturbed.
Can the property stay occupied during the survey?
It depends on the extent of intrusion. A small targeted survey may be managed around an occupied home, while a full demolition survey normally requires the building or relevant area to be vacant because finishes and fabric must be opened up.
How quickly will the report be ready?
Timing depends on the inspection, sample count and laboratory turnaround. Tell us the planned start date when enquiring. The survey should allow enough time for results, any removal design and the necessary work before the main contractor begins.