Asbestos Refurbishment and Demolition Survey

The health and safety of your builders, trades-people or demolition workers could be at risk if you fail to commission an asbestos refurbishment/demolition survey before works begin.

Why have a survey?

Asbestos refurbishment and demolition surveys are needed to determine and locate the presence of all asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in a commercial property or premises that form part of a Construction Design and Management (CDM) 2007 project.

If you work in construction you may well be the ‘duty holder’; this means having legal duties in line with CDM 2007 regulation, which can include arranging for a refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey.

What happens during the survey?

All areas of the vacated and unoccupied premises are inspected and the survey may involve intrusive and destructive inspection, such as lifting floors or breaking through partitions or ceilings.

Asbestos material can then be made safe or removed before refurbishment or demolition work begins. Or designs can be amended to ensure that no asbestos is disturbed.

Your survey summary

Once your asbestos refurbishment survey is complete we’ll compile our findings and create an executive summary.

The summary will list items which contain asbestos, any items not accessed and the items inspected but clear of asbestos, so you know exactly where you stand when it comes to asbestos.

A refurbishment/demolition survey aims to ensure that:

1. nobody will be harmed by work on ACM in the premises or equipment
2. such work will be done by the right contractor in the right way

The Survey must locate and identify all ACM before any structural work begins at a stated location or on stated equipment at the premises.  It involves destructive inspection and asbestos disturbance.  The area surveyed must be vacated, and certified ‘fit for reoccupation’ after the survey.