House surveys in South East

The South East has one of the most varied housing stocks in England: medieval timber-framed houses and weatherboarded cottages in Kent and Sussex, Regency seafront terraces in Brighton and Hove, Victorian railway suburbs across Surrey and Berkshire, dense naval-city terraces in Portsmouth and Southampton, and post-war new towns at Crawley, Bracknell and Milton Keynes. Local materials change from flint and chalk on the Downs to Kentish ragstone, Bargate stone, Cotswold limestone, Banbury ironstone and clay tile hanging in the Weald.

For surveys, geology and water are the big themes. Shrinkable London, Gault and Weald clays cause tree-related subsidence, chalk areas can hide solution features and old dene holes, and the Thames, Medway, Wey, Kennet and Ouse flood plains, plus long stretches of exposed coast, bring flood and weathering risk. A high share of listed buildings and conservation areas means older homes usually justify a Level 3 Building Survey, while the region's many post-war and new-build estates are well served by a Level 2.