Avery & Co Chartered Surveyors specialise in the survey and valuation of residential property throughout the North West of England and North Wales. Louise qualified in 1990 and started her residential surveying career as an in-house valuer for Halifax (Lloyds Banking Group) before setting up Avery & Co in 2004. Louise has recently contributed to RICS working groups including the Valuation approach for properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding, and has also drafted sections for the review of RICS Valuation Global Standards UK Supplement VPGA 12. Louise is a Domestic Energy Assessor and in 2023 presented at an RICS webinar on energy matters relating to the RICS Home Survey Standard. In her spare time, Louise is a former Special Inspector with Merseyside Police, and is currently secretary of Merseyside & Cheshire Blood Bikes, a charity who transport blood, tissue and breast milk on behalf of the NHS. Louise is an active surveyor and has just been appointed to the RICS Expert Group for review of the Home Survey Standard. She will be focusing on the pre-sale survey framework, Appendix A Definition of the Levels and Appendix C Knowledge of the Location.

Presentation – Introduction & Welcome.

Andrew has over 38 years’ experience in the preservation industry and is co-founder, partner and surveyor at multi award-winning company RTC. It’s range of specialist services include damp control, dry rot and woodworm treatments, basement and structural waterproofing, concrete repairs and flood remediation.

He is a fully qualified damp, timber and structural waterproofing surveyor and is also an Associate of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, formerly the Institute of Wood Science, CSTDB, CSSW, AIMMM.

At the age of just 20 Andrew passed his first industry qualification and at that time was the youngest qualified surveyor in the country. Andrew has been heavily involved with the industry’s governing body, The Property Care Association (PCA) for many years. Along with sitting on various steering groups, Andrew was on the board of the PCA for 12 years and during that time was proud to be elected as National Chairman. He is currently an examiner for candidates who are taking their industry qualifications.

Andrew is recognised as being one of the North West’s foremost authorities in damp and timber problems and has written various media articles, and has appeared on DIY SOS: The Big Build, BBC News, and also on Breakfast TV.

Presentation – Dry Rot & the diagnosis of Timber Defects in Buildings.

Chartered Building Surveyor and Chartered Environmentalist. A practitioner at Edwards Hart and leading on their building consultancy work. Part time educator specialising in everything to do with existing buildings, including their retrofit. This includes a part time professor role at the University of Wales Trinity St David, and Director of Studies at the Environment Study Centre, which prides itself in taking a professional approach to retrofit and other related training. Has been retrofitting buildings since the 1980’s, domestic and non-domestic covering both building fabric and services. A member of panels producing the RICS Residential Retrofit Standard, as well as BSI’s PAS 2030, PAS 2035, PAS 2038 and the new British Standard for retrofit assessment BS 40104 as well as lead author of BS 7913, the British Standard for building conservation. His consultancy work is varied. Latest projects include dealing with the aftermath of the fire at the Grade 1 Listed Somerset House, London along with retrofit projects, the latest one being a listed Georgian Terrace. Also inspecting and surveying buildings, many of which have previously been retrofitted by others.

Presentation – Identifying problems when inspecting buildings with retro-fit.

Nigel leads and manages a range of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) industry forums across property and residential valuation related areas, whose function is to provide strategic oversight, monitor market trends/industry issues, shape industry best practice, raise standards and develop policy. This is achieved through extensive collaboration with subject matter experts, industry influencers and public consultation. Nigel was responsible for the RICS cladding valuation approach guidance (2022) and the RICS ‘Red Book’ UK National Supplement, residential section (October 2023).

Prior to joining RICS, Nigel worked in the Valuation teams at Deloitte Real Estate and Drivers Jonas. He also volunteered extensively for RICS, as the National Chair of RICS matrics, RICS Nominations Committee and on RICS Governing Council.

Presentation – RICS Professional & Valuation Update.

Steve was chartered as a residential surveyor in 2001 after gaining a degree in Building Surveying and has worked as a residential surveyor in both small surveying firms and large corporate surveyors in roles including Head of Technical Surveying for e.surv, before joining RICS as Senior Specialist for Residential Surveying in March, 2024. Steve has previously worked with the residential industry as a contributor to the EWS1 form for external wall systems, RICS cladding guidance and the RICS’s Valuation of individual new-build homes (3rd Edition) along with RICS Japanese Knotweed and Residential Property Professional Standard. Steve is the RICS lead on the Home Survey Standard review and is also a Lionheart ambassador and Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder.

Presentation – RICS Home Survey Standard Review.

With over 30 years’ experience as a Damp & Timber surveyor, Neil is recognised as one of the UK’s most experienced Specialist Surveyors.

Most of my career has been spent investigating and providing solutions to damp related issues in buildings ranging from stately homes through to two up two down terraced houses. The size and stature of the property are unimportant. It is the people that occupy them that are important. They rely on professional advice to provide a realistic and honest solution to the problems that they are experiencing. I have always strived to ensure that I deliver a personal, professional, and honest opinion when carrying out a survey.

As a result of my experience within the industry, I have been fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to share some of the knowledge I have gained via numerous seminars and training programmes delivered to a range of professionals such as Architects, Building Surveyors, and Building Engineers and more recently via the Property Care Association (PCA) Apprenticeship Scheme. I took up the position of Head Trainer for the Apprenticeship Scheme in March 2016.

I have carried out over 35,000 surveys to date. The range of properties has been diverse in the extreme. I have worked on numerous castles, stately homes, public buildings, one-bedroom flats and even a lighthouse. The experience that I have gained from each has been invaluable. The knowledge that I have gained via working with a diverse range of professionals has also been extremely beneficial.

Presentation – The diagnosis of dampness in buildings – an alternative approach.

Cook Group were established in 1974 and are specialists in structural waterproofing and ground gas protection. They are one of only a few installers in the UK who are fully qualified and insured to carry out combined ground gas protection and structural waterproofing installations.

Although waterproofing and gas protection seem similar, the specification and application can vary greatly when considering them in combination.

Dave is the Managing Director and senior designer for Cook Group Ltd. In recent years he has overseen the company’s move away completely from the domestic market to focus solely on commercial waterproofing and ground gas protection projects, from new schools to housing estates and everything in between. He also cooks a mean onion bhaji and a garlic chilli chicken.

Presentation – Radon & ground gas protection in buildings.

Larry is a Chartered Building Surveyor, Chartered Building Engineer and Party Wall Surveyor. With more than 40 years’ experience, Larry is a member of the RICS, Allied Surveyors & Valuers and is a trainer with the SAVA Assessment Centre in Milton Keynes. Having served as an expert witness in numerous cases, including at the High Court, and authored articles and books, Larry regularly teaches and trains qualified and trainee surveyors to degree level and founded Russen & Turner in 1981. Larry still works full time as a consultant and when not spending time sailing on the water with his beautiful children, can be found cycling, running or playing 5-a-side football. He recently completed studying for a Master’s Degree in German Language, History and Culture at University College London. Larry continues to undertake a range of surveys and inspections.

Presentation – Roofs can fail, you can get sued, know what to look for, know what to say – Larry will give you some guidance!