A building survey provides a comprehensive picture of a building's construction and current condition. Once completed, your survey will describe and document everything you need to know about your home. There are plenty of reasons why you might want to have a building survey performed, especially when you're concerned about potential safety or health hazards that a building may be harbouring.

This is something you may be worried about if you've just moved into a new property or live in a particularly old house. By getting any such hazards identified during a building survey, you can work to put them right in order to protect yourself and your family.

Here are just four such hazards.

1. Electrical Problems

Electrical problems are especially common in older properties since the wiring and other equipment may be either too old or simply incapable of dealing with the higher energy demands of modern households. Any such problems need to be put right without delay since they can be extremely dangerous. Substandard wiring, for example, is a common cause of household fires. As such, you'll want to ensure your home's electrics are brought up to meet today's safety standards.

2. Structural Issues

If your home has structural issues, it could be unable to put up with stresses from adverse weather or be at risk of partial collapse. It's easy to assume that such serious structural issues will be readily apparent even without a building survey, but this is not necessarily true. You might have anything from a poor foundation or rotten floorboards to a failing roof and not know about it, so having a building survey is still crucial.

3. Asbestos

Asbestos was used extensively during the construction of many older properties. Unfortunately, it can be extremely hazardous to your health. If disturbed, small fibres of asbestos can be breathed in and lodge in your lungs, which can cause serious health conditions such as lung cancer and asbestosis. Sometimes asbestos can be safely left when it has not been disturbed, but it still makes sense to know if asbestos is present so you can understand what threat it might pose.

4. Damp

Damp can be caused by water coming in at ground level, from outside through the roof, walls, or windows, or from condensation when the property isn't properly ventilated. It's an issue that can cause significant damage to your home, and it can also be hazardous to your health. Damp leads to mould spores. These can cause issues such as respiratory problems and skin irritation, as well as aggravating existing allergies. Young children and the elderly are most at risk, but anyone can be affected by undetected damp.

Contact a building surveyor to learn more.