RGL Surveys Ltd is a small, efficient, personable and professional group of land and measured building surveyors. Working closely with architects, developers and private clients, we provide highly accurate and detailed survey information, for a variety of redevelopment projects.
Unlike the general practice surveyor, our role as land surveyors has a very different nature as it is all about measurement. Land Surveying is primarily concerned with the acquisition, interpretation, and presentation of spatial data. Real world features are measured, using a variety of techniques, and then processed to provide survey drawings or information for a range of different purposes.
So, we are a land and measured surveying company that provides surveying services that cover every aspect of site surveying and engineering works, elevations, floor plans, topographic surveys, volume calculations, roof plans, building movement monitoring and setting out, regardless of their size, location or complexity.
We largely work with architects and developers, as they require accurate plans of the project they are about to work on, to enable their design to fit within the size and shape of the plot or building. So, we provide them with an accurate model to work with from the outset.
Our clients are largely located in the South East but it’s fair to say a large percentage of our work is London based working on buildings, measuring elevations and the buildings around the project.
We use the latest cutting-edge technology to deliver the highest quality surveys and we continually develop and invest in new techniques and equipment to ensure we provide a cutting edge service to our loyal client base.
For example, when working on an office block we often provide surveys that in effect cut the building in half. This enables us to view the sections throughout the property to ascertain the relationship between the different floors. The architect will then use this information to effectively redesign that property and modernise the layouts so it suits the modern working world.
Projects range from office blocks to private residential houses to stately homes, schools, factories, warehouses, properties for minor extensions or major re-modelling as well as new developments.
We also work with many high net worth private residential clients, as the current trend is to incorporate spas or gyms beneath an existing home.
We have undertaken many land surveys here at Westcott including the survey of the old runway before the solar panels were installed. This survey allowed the park to calculate how many panels would fit into the specified area, where the infrastructure would be located with respect to power lines and how that would feed back into a substation. We traced all the underground services and once it had been agreed where the panels should be placed, we then marked out where the panels should be installed.
We also completed survey work for the new access road and gatehouse, noting ground levels so the architect could ascertain where the surface water would run off along with staking the road out for development. More recently we’ve worked on surveys for both phases of the new Century Court speculative development.
We love working here at Westcott, not only as they are clients of ours but also as they’ve been very flexible and fair with us over the years, accommodating us whatever size our business has been at the time.
When we started our search for new commercial accommodation seven years ago, we required on-site parking and high-level security, as the kit we use is very expensive. Westcott ticked all the boxes as it was a secure site and benefits from good accessibility to road and transport links.
Recently the most significant industry trend has been in survey work for solar farms, which has seen us taken on work across the whole of Southern England and throughout the Midlands, working on anything from six to eight projects at a given time.
As technologies become more complex, new opportunities present themselves, with drones and Building Information Models (BIM) the next big thing.
Moving forward BIM is the next key focus for us at RGL. BIM refers to a methodology for storing complete information about a building in a computer model rather than relying on static, two-dimensional drawings to communicate design ideas and guide construction. However, it’s much more than a 3D program producing planar views of a facility. BIM actually deals with five dimensions; the fourth is time (scheduling and construction sequencing), and the fifth concerns costs and resources.
Applied to the life cycle of a building project, BIM involves the entire construction project team. It requires interoperative software, allowing for real-time feedback from team members when, for example, a contractor identifies a new supplier or increases manpower. It takes into account how a single change will impact the work of all team members and the products and systems they install, so potential clashes are detected before they become real problems.
BIM is expected to become as prevalent in the construction industry as CAD and public buildings in the UK will soon require these models as standard practice. We are committed to investing in this software and hardware in order to deliver, as-built BIM surveys of this type – the future is bright for RGL.
If you have a requirement for a land or measured building survey, please get in touch. As well as working directly for WVP, we also work with on-site tenants and indeed with the developers and architects they work with. Whether it’s measuring existing premises, staking out for a new build development, tracing services or even just recommending a good architect we can help you - in fact we might have already carried out a survey of your plot.
If you would like to find out more about RGL Surveys give us a call on 01296 651833 or visit www.rglsurveys.co.uk or follow on twitter @rglsurveys
