RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) Building Surveying Syllabus

Building Surveying syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Building Surveying in RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Building Pathology and Defects

   4 topics

   • Common building defects and their causes
     • Damp: rising, penetrating and condensation
     • Cracking, subsidence, heave and movement
   • Diagnosis, monitoring and remediation strategies
   • Timber decay, infestation and deleterious materials
     • Wet rot, dry rot and woodworm
   • Investigation techniques and instrumentation
2. 2

   Construction Technology and Building Performance

   4 topics

   • Traditional and modern methods of construction
     • Foundations, walls, roofs and floors
     • Offsite and modular construction
   • Building fabric, thermal performance and moisture
   • Building services and energy efficiency
   • Retrofit, refurbishment and adaptation
3. 3

   Inspection, Surveys and Reporting

   4 topics

   • Levels of survey and the RICS Home Survey Standard
     • Level 1, 2 and 3 surveys
   • Condition surveys and schedules of condition
   • Measured surveys and floor area measurement (IPMS)
   • Report writing, advice and risk limitation
4. 4

   Maintenance, Repair and Project Delivery

   4 topics

   • Planned and reactive maintenance strategies
   • Specification writing and design of works
   • Contract administration of building works
   • Dilapidations and schedules of works
     • Quantified demands and the diminution cap

Building Surveying flashcards for RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC)

20 of 52 cards from the Building Surveying deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the three primary categories of building defect causes?

   Defects are generally caused by (1) design faults (poor detailing, inadequate specification), (2) faulty materials (substandard or incompatible products) and (3) poor workmanship/construction, with a fourth contributor being inadequate maintenance over the building's life.

2. Define a 'building defect' in surveying terms.

   A defect is a failing or shortcoming in the function, performance, statutory or user requirements of a building element that may manifest as a fault, deterioration or non-compliance, often distinguished from a 'deficiency' (an inadequacy in design or specification).

3. What is the difference between 'rising damp' and 'penetrating damp'?

   Rising damp is moisture drawn vertically up a wall from the ground by capillary action (usually due to a bridged, defective or absent DPC). Penetrating damp enters horizontally through the fabric (e.g. defective render, pointing, flashing or rainwater goods) typically driven by wind and rain.

4. What is the typical maximum height of rising damp and why is it limited?

   Rising damp is usually limited to about 1 m (often 0.5–1.0 m) above ground level, because the rate of evaporation from the wall surface eventually balances the rate of capillary rise, establishing an equilibrium height.

5. List the three main forms of cracking by cause that a surveyor must distinguish.

   (1) Thermal/moisture movement cracking (reversible, seasonal), (2) settlement/subsidence/heave cracking (progressive, often diagonal/tapering) and (3) structural overloading or material failure cracking. Differentiation guides whether monitoring or intervention is needed.

6. What is the BRE Digest 251 crack-width classification (categories of damage)?

   BRE Digest 251 classifies cracking in 0–5 categories: 0 negligible (hairline <0.1 mm), 1 very slight (up to 1 mm), 2 slight (up to 5 mm), 3 moderate (5–15 mm), 4 severe (15–25 mm), 5 very severe (>25 mm). Categories 0–2 are aesthetic, 3 affects serviceability, 4–5 affect stability.

7. Distinguish subsidence, heave and settlement.

   Settlement is downward movement under the building's own load (often early-life consolidation). Subsidence is downward ground movement unrelated to the building's load (e.g. clay shrinkage, leaking drains, trees). Heave is upward ground movement, e.g. clay swelling after tree removal or moisture increase.

8. How can a surveyor distinguish a live (progressive) crack from a dormant one?

   By monitoring over time using telltales/crack-width gauges or studlam/Avongard markers, recording width, length and displacement against dates and temperature. Seasonal opening/closing suggests thermal/moisture movement; continuous widening suggests progressive structural movement.

9. What is a 'telltale' and what does it measure?

   A telltale (e.g. Avongard) is a calibrated two-plate gauge fixed across a crack that displays relative movement in two axes (mm grid). It monitors whether a crack is live and the rate/direction of movement over a period of months.

10. Name the three wood-boring beetles most significant in UK building timber.

    Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum), Death Watch Beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum, attacks damp hardwood/oak) and House Longhorn Beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus, attacks softwood sapwood, mainly SE England).

11. What distinguishes wet rot from dry rot?

    Dry rot (Serpula lacrymans) needs ~20–30% timber moisture, can spread through masonry via mycelium/rhizomorphs, shows cuboidal cracking and a rusty-red spore dust; it is far more destructive. Wet rot (e.g. Coniophora puteana) needs higher moisture (~50%+), is confined to the wet timber, darkens the wood and does not spread through masonry.

12. What moisture content range allows dry rot (Serpula lacrymans) to thrive?

    Dry rot germinates and develops where timber moisture content exceeds roughly 20%, thriving best at around 20–30%; below ~20% activity ceases, which is why drying out the source is fundamental to treatment.

13. What is the recommended treatment approach for an active dry rot outbreak?

    Locate and eliminate the moisture source, promote rapid drying and ventilation, remove decayed timber plus a margin of sound timber (typically 300–450 mm beyond visible attack), isolate/treat adjacent masonry, and replace with treated timber and barriers. Eliminating moisture is the priority over chemical treatment.

14. Name four common deleterious materials encountered in building surveys.

    Asbestos (ACMs), high alumina cement (HAC), calcium chloride accelerators, woodwool slabs, sea-dredged aggregates, lead (paint/pipes), and brick slips/mundic. Each carries health, durability or structural-failure risks.

15. What is the difference between deleterious and hazardous materials?

    Deleterious materials cause harm to the building (failure, degradation, e.g. HAC, calcium chloride). Hazardous materials cause harm to people/health (e.g. asbestos, lead). Some materials, like asbestos, are both.

16. What are the three main categories of asbestos-containing materials by risk?

    Broadly: high risk (sprayed coatings, lagging, insulating board - friable, easily release fibres), medium risk (asbestos insulating board, AIB) and lower risk (asbestos cement, textured coatings/Artex, vinyl tiles - fibres bound in matrix). Friability determines fibre-release risk.

17. What instrument measures the moisture content of timber and how does it work?

    An electrical resistance (conductance) moisture meter, using two pin electrodes; it measures electrical resistance which falls as moisture rises, giving %MC for timber. On masonry it reads relative dampness only (qualitative), as soluble salts and conductive materials distort readings.

18. What is an endoscope/borescope used for in building investigation?

    A borescope/endoscope is inserted through a small drilled hole to inspect concealed cavities — wall cavities (to check ties, insulation, debris), voids and behind finishes — providing visual inspection without major opening up.

19. What is a Carbide (Speedy) moisture test and what advantage does it offer?

    The calcium carbide ('Speedy') test takes a drilled sample of material, mixes it with calcium carbide reagent in a sealed vessel; the pressure of acetylene gas produced gives the true gravimetric moisture content. Its advantage is a quantitative %MC reading unaffected by surface salts, unlike a resistance meter.

20. Name three non-destructive investigation techniques for concrete condition.

    Rebound (Schmidt) hammer for surface hardness/strength, covermeter/rebar locator for reinforcement depth and location, and half-cell potential or carbonation (phenolphthalein) testing to assess corrosion risk. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) is also used for integrity.

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