Since the Party Wall etc Act 1996 came into common use nationwide the Practice has provided the services of a Party Wall Surveyor for both the promoters of new work and for adjoining owners

Employing a structural engineer in this surveying role has been seen as an efficient way to proceed as it has avoided the need to use two professionals to act for each party when structural issues are encountered

The projects undertaken have been varied considerably in size, ranging from domestic conversions up to large new developments where construction adjacent to the boundaries has involved the preparation of multiple Awards. A typical example of the latter is the recent development by Axa Sun Life at New Malden where many different owners were located around the boundaries. More locally the redevelopment of the Wokingham Tesco Store, again by Axa Sun Life, involved both vertical separation of structures as well as the normal boundary situations. The above service has been provided in the typical approachable Ridd Wood fashion with a minimum of fuss.