RICS Level 3 Building Survey in Shrewsbury

A Level 3 survey is the deepest visual inspection Homemove offers. Our surveyors examine all accessible parts of the property, then explain how the construction, materials and visible condition affect the defects they find. In Shrewsbury that can mean timber framing, red sandstone, later brick infill or a roof that has been patched over many decades. The value is in the detail, because the report tells you what is urgent, what needs watching and what should be repaired before it becomes a bigger bill.

We inspect the roof coverings, chimney stacks, external walls, gutters, windows, floors, loft spaces and any accessible cellar or sub-floor area. The report also looks at maintenance priorities, so a slipped slate on a house near Frankwell is treated differently from a tired flat roof on a later home in Meole Brace. If a defect is left alone, the consequences can be more than cosmetic. Damp can spread, timber can decay, and hidden movement can turn a cheap repair into a structural one.

The level of detail is the reason buyers choose this survey for older or altered homes. Shrewsbury has plenty of examples where later works sit on top of older fabric, and the survey needs to explain how those parts meet, where they fail and what that means for the next owner. We do not lift carpets, open walls, test electrics or carry out a drainage CCTV survey as part of the core inspection. Those are specialist follow-ups if the visible clues justify them.

Our reports also help you judge whether the work is routine or more serious. A cracked corner, blocked gutter or worn flashing may be simple enough, but a pattern of staining, soft timber or uneven floors around a listed house near the town centre needs a more cautious reading. We write that out clearly, so the report can be used by a buyer, a solicitor or a surveyor on the next stage of the purchase.

• Loft and roof void
• External walls and rainwater goods
• Floors, sub-floor areas and internal signs of movement
• Chimneys, joinery and visible repairs

Shrewsbury's centre is not a blank canvas. The medieval street plan, more than 660 listed buildings and the timber-framed stock from the 15th and 16th centuries mean the town still has a large amount of older fabric in active use. Red sandstone is another local feature, with Shrewsbury Castle showing how a different masonry type behaves compared with later brickwork. That mix is exactly why a Level 3 helps, because one wall can be original, another may be repaired, and a later extension may sit between them.

Age matters as much as style. The median construction year is 1979, but 11.5% of homes were built before the 1940s and another 4% by 1949, so a buyer can still run into Victorian damp, cellar moisture, lath-and-plaster ceilings, 1930s solid-floor issues or 1960s flat-roof wear. The newer edge of town around Battlefield Road, Bayston Hill and Bicton Heath can look simpler, yet extension junctions, roof penetrations and drainage changes still deserve close checking. Repairs on later homes are often less dramatic, but they can still be expensive.

Flood risk deserves special attention here. Frankwell flood defences were completed in 2003, but the River Severn and the Rea Brook still shape the local picture, and available data summary puts surface water flood risk at 12.48%, with 1346 properties at high risk, 1647 at medium risk and 4297 at low risk. Around 6.32% of properties are affected by rivers and sea flooding. A Level 3 report should pick up past water staining, altered thresholds, lower wall decay and any repeat patching around vulnerable areas.

No single geology note explains every defect in Shrewsbury, which is why the inspection stays evidence-led. A crack beside a bay window in Meole Brace may point to movement, while staining in a Frankwell cellar may point to drainage or past water ingress rather than one simple cause. We also see roof wear, poor ventilation, blocked gutters and decay in timber joinery on older houses, especially where the property has been altered without a careful junction detail. The report sorts those findings into practical priorities, not vague concern.