A clerk of works is an independent inspector who visits site regularly during construction to check the quality of workmanship and materials against the drawings, the specification and good building practice. Unlike the contractor’s own supervision, our inspections are carried out solely on your behalf: we have no interest in the programme or the profit margin, only in whether the work is being built properly. Each visit is followed by a written report with photographs, so you always know the true condition of the works.
Most defects are cheapest to correct at the moment they are built and most expensive once covered up. Regular inspections catch problems — missing damp-proof courses, inadequate fixings, poorly executed waterproofing — while they remain exposed and easily remedied. Inspections are particularly valuable where you cannot visit site yourself, where the project involves high-value finishes, or where basements and structural alterations mean critical work will soon be concealed. Lenders and overseas owners frequently ask us to fulfil exactly this role.
We agree an inspection frequency with you — weekly, fortnightly or timed to key stages such as foundations, structural steelwork, waterproofing and first fix. On each visit we walk the site, examine the areas currently being worked on, compare what has been built against the drawings and specification, and note the materials delivered and stored. Concerns are raised with the site manager on the day where appropriate, and everything is then documented in our report so that nothing relies on a verbal conversation.
Every report records:
Reports are issued promptly after each visit and build into a dated photographic record of the whole project — invaluable if a dispute or latent defect claim ever arises.
Fees for clerk of works services are driven mainly by the frequency and duration of the visits and the length of the construction programme: a fortnightly visit over four months costs considerably less than full weekly attendance across a year-long build. The complexity of the works, the level of reporting required and travel within London also play a part. Most clients appoint us on an agreed rate per visit or a monthly fee, confirmed in writing before inspections begin.
Anyone can walk a site; the value lies in knowing what to look for. As chartered surveyors we inspect buildings for a living and understand both construction technology and the contractual context in which defective work must be addressed. Our observations are framed so that your contract administrator, or the contract itself, can act on them, and RICS regulation means our reports are independent, insured and professionally accountable — qualities that matter if a report is ever relied upon in a dispute.
Traditional snagging happens at the end of a project, when defects are discovered only after finishes have concealed the work beneath. Inspecting during the works reverses that logic: we snag as the build proceeds, so faults are corrected before they are covered up and the end-of-project snagging list shrinks dramatically. On the period properties typical of Notting Hill — where new work meets fragile historic fabric — this progressive approach protects original features as well as the quality of the new construction.
If building works are planned or already under way and you would value an independent professional checking them on your behalf, contact Notting Hill Surveyors. We will recommend a sensible inspection regime for your project and confirm the cost before any visits begin.