Building Surveyor Salary Index

• Students
• APC
• Practising surveyors

The standard reference for how buildings are put together, with clear drawings of almost every detail. Useful from your first year of study to your APC and beyond.

• Practising surveyors
• APC

A dense, pocket-sized reference to construction, regulations, legislation and property, kept up to date in regular editions. Many surveyors keep one in the car.

• Students
• Residential
• Practising surveyors

A practical guide to carrying out building surveys and writing reports, with plenty on what to look for element by element. Now in its ninth edition.

• Students
• APC
• Practising surveyors

A compact reference covering the main areas of building surveying practice, from inspections and defects to contracts and legislation.

• Students
• Practising surveyors

How to plan an inspection, record what you find and turn it into a clear report, for residential and commercial buildings.

• Commercial
• Practising surveyors

Pre-acquisition surveys and due diligence for commercial buildings, and what investors and lenders need from the report.

• Practising surveyors

A long-out-of-print classic that surveyors still seek out. Copies turn up second-hand, so it’s worth setting a search alert.

• Residential
• Students
• APC

Common defects in UK houses, how to recognise them and what causes them, illustrated with excellent photographs. Ideal for residential work and the APC.

• Practising surveyors
• APC

How to read cracks and distortion, tell structural movement from something harmless, and decide when to call in an engineer.

• Residential
• Practising surveyors

A thorough, sceptical guide to the causes of damp and how to investigate them properly, rather than relying on a meter reading.

• Residential
• Commercial
• Practising surveyors

BRE’s detailed reference on the effects, causes, diagnosis and treatment of damp in buildings.

• Residential
• Practising surveyors

BRE’s guide to identifying the non-traditional house types built in the UK between 1918 and 1975, which matter for surveys and mortgage lending.

• Students
• Practising surveyors

Why buildings fail, from materials and design to workmanship, with case studies across building types.

• Heritage
• Students

The principles behind diagnosing building defects, with a good grounding in older and traditional buildings.

• Students

How and why building materials deteriorate, organised by material.

• Students

A clear introduction to how modern buildings are designed and built. Its companion, Barry’s Advanced Construction of Buildings, covers larger and more complex buildings.

• Students
• Residential

How UK houses are built, from foundations to roofs, written for beginners. A good first book for career changers.

• Students
• APC
• Residential
• Commercial

Heating, ventilation, water, drainage, electrics and gas explained with clear diagrams. Services are an area where many building surveyors feel weakest.

• Students
• APC

A plain-English summary of the Building Regulations in England and Wales, organised by Approved Document.

• Students

The basics of low-rise construction and materials, pitched at students.

• Students
• Commercial

A long-running reference in two parts on structures, materials and building fabric for larger buildings. The link is to Part 1.

• Heritage
• Practising surveyors

How to survey and record historic buildings, and how their construction and defects differ from modern ones.

• Heritage
• Residential

A practical guide, produced with SPAB, to caring for and repairing older houses using the right materials.

• Heritage
• Residential

How to improve the energy efficiency of older houses without causing damp or damage. A good starting point for retrofit work.

• Heritage
• Residential
• Practising surveyors

Historic England’s guide to rot and wood-boring insects: what really causes them, and when treatment is and isn’t needed.

• Heritage

Detailed volumes on individual materials such as stone, timber and mortars. Essential if you work on older or listed buildings. The link is to Conservation Basics, the place to start.

• Commercial
• APC
• Practising surveyors

A clause-by-clause guide to the contract used on many building surveying projects, updated for the 2024 edition.

• Practising surveyors

The standard practical guide to the Party Wall Act, used by most party wall surveyors.

• Practising surveyors
• Commercial

The legal text on party walls, for surveyors who handle disputes and awards regularly.

• Commercial
• APC
• Practising surveyors

A practical guide to dilapidations claims from a surveyor’s point of view, from schedules to settlement.

• Commercial

The leading legal text on dilapidations, for surveyors who handle lease-end claims regularly.

• Commercial
• Practising surveyors

Current construction prices, published every year. Useful for budget costs in reports and for checking tenders.

• APC

A practical guide to the APC and the other routes to RICS membership, from an experienced APC trainer.

• APC

Covers the mandatory competencies every APC candidate is assessed on, including ethics and professional practice.

• APC
• Residential

APC preparation for candidates on the residential pathway, including home surveys and valuation.