HSE defines the intrusive survey type as a Refurbishment and Demolition Survey. It is required where refurbishment or demolition work will disturb building fabric and is intended to locate and identify, so far as reasonably practicable, asbestos-containing materials within the relevant area, including concealed materials, before structural work begins. The survey must be sufficiently intrusive for the planned work and the area must be vacated during intrusive inspection.
What that means in normal English
Tell us exactly what is being changed. A good refurbishment survey follows the project scope: walls being opened, ceilings removed, floors lifted, services replaced, windows changed, roof works, new penetrations and the other parts of the building that the job will disturb.
It is deliberately more intrusive than a management survey. That can mean opening boxing, lifting finishes, accessing voids and making exploratory openings where necessary and safe.
In the real world
You do not necessarily need to destructively survey an entire building because one room is being refurbished. Equally, a survey of one room is no use if the contractor then decides to run new services through three unsurveyed rooms. The survey scope and the actual work need to match.
Before we arrive
Good information makes a better survey. Drawings, a clear schedule of works and a conversation with the person who understands the project can be more useful than a vague instruction to “do an R&D”.
Related: Management surveys · Demolition surveys · Common questions
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