Pre-demolition asbestos surveys · Birmingham and the West Midlands

Demolition Asbestos Survey Birmingham — investigate the structure before it is broken apart

Highly intrusive pre-demolition asbestos surveys for full and partial demolition, soft strip and redevelopment across Birmingham and the West Midlands.
UKAS 32982ISO/IEC 17020 InspectionIntrusive Pre-Demolition SurveyBirmingham & the West Midlands
Best suited to
Full / partial demolition
Birmingham enquiries
National enquiries

Locate hidden ACMs before demolition plant and operatives expose them

A Demolition Survey investigates the defined structure at a much more intrusive level than a Management Survey. It should be planned around what is being demolished and what is retained.

Full demolition

Investigate the structure comprehensively before complete demolition begins.

Partial demolition

Define demolition and retained boundaries so the survey matches the actual work.

Soft strip / deconstruction

Coordinate survey access with ceilings, floors, services, walls and other elements being stripped.

An old Management Survey is not a demolition clearance document

HSE states that refurbishment or demolition surveys must locate and identify hidden ACMs before structural work begins, and that ACMs should be removed so far as reasonably practicable before major refurbishment or demolition.

See HSE guidance and ASM's national Demolition Survey page.

Useful demolition-survey inputs

  • demolition drawings
  • retained structures
  • soft-strip sequence
  • existing asbestos records
  • structural information
  • services and isolations
  • below-ground interfaces
  • access and programme constraints

Survey → scope asbestos work → complete controls → proceed with demolition

1

Define the boundary

Confirm exactly what is being demolished and what remains.

2

Investigate intrusively

Open the relevant building fabric under controlled survey arrangements.

3

Deal with ACMs

Plan removal or required controls before demolition disturbs the materials.

4

Provide project information

Use the report and completion records as part of pre-construction information.

Connect asbestos findings to the demolition programme

Use the survey evidence to define the removal, analytical and ground-risk workstreams before the programme moves on.

Removal scope

Price known ACMs against the actual demolition survey findings rather than generic allowances.

Removal cost

Use Birmingham guide prices for early budgeting, then obtain a fixed scope-based quotation.

Air monitoring / clearance

Book analytical support before the demolition programme relies on an enclosure handback date.

Below the slab

A building Demolition Survey does not automatically clear made ground or previous demolition fill beneath the structure.

Pre-demolition surveys for redevelopment, industrial sites and constrained urban projects

Aston, Digbeth & former industrial land

Older warehouses, workshops and development plots can combine standing-building asbestos with demolition fill or made-ground concerns that need separate but coordinated workstreams.

Constrained city sites

Shared walls, retained façades, neighbouring occupation, restricted loading and structural hazards can affect the destructive survey sequence and areas that can be opened safely.

Soft strip & major internal demolition

Where the shell remains but ceilings, floors, partitions, M&E and plant are removed, the survey boundary should match the full depth of the strip-out rather than the label attached to the project.

Pre-demolition surveys for constrained urban sites, estate regeneration and former industrial property

Digbeth and Eastside, Eastside & East Birmingham

Warehouses, former industrial buildings and redevelopment sites can combine standing-building asbestos with demolition fill or made-ground concerns that need separate but coordinated workstreams.

Birmingham City Centre constraints

Party walls, retained façades, neighbouring occupation, basement structures, loading restrictions and structural hazards can affect how destructive inspection is planned and sequenced.

Soft strip & major internal demolition

Where the shell remains but ceilings, floors, partitions, M&E and plant are stripped out, the survey boundary should match the actual depth of demolition rather than the project label.

Pre-demolition surveys for urban regeneration, industrial sites and major strip-out

Digbeth, Eastside & inner-city redevelopment

Former workshops, warehouses and commercial buildings can combine standing-building asbestos with historic demolition material or made ground that requires a separate contaminated-land strategy.

Longbridge, Tyseley & industrial sites

Large factories, depots, workshops and service structures can contain asbestos across roofs, cladding, fire protection, plant, ducts and offices added over several decades.

Soft strip & partial demolition

Where façades or structural shells are retained, the survey should still investigate every ceiling, floor, wall, riser, service route and plant element that the strip-out will disturb.

Birmingham and the West Midlands support through ASM's local Birmingham city-centre office

ASM supports projects throughout Birmingham, the West Midlands and wider West Midlands and the South East through its local Birmingham office, led by the Birmingham office team. UKAS-accredited bulk sample analysis is undertaken at ASM's Sunderland headquarters laboratory within the applicable accredited scope.

ASM Birmingham Office

Office 1, Izabella House
24–26 Regent Place
City Centre
Birmingham
B1 3NJ

Birmingham: 0121 270 2172

National: 0330 433 9680

Monday–Friday
08:00–18:00

UKAS Accreditation No. 32982

Birmingham and the West Midlands coverage

Birmingham City Centre, Jewellery Quarter, Digbeth, Eastside, Edgbaston, Selly Oak, Harborne, Moseley, Kings Heath, Bournville, Northfield, Erdington, Handsworth, Perry Barr, Aston, Hockley, Nechells, Small Heath, Sparkbrook, Yardley, Sheldon, Tyseley, Acocks Green, Sutton Coldfield and Longbridge, with wider attendance across Solihull, Sandwell, West Bromwich, Smethwick, Walsall, Dudley, Wolverhampton, Coventry and the West Midlands subject to project requirements.

Attendance is subject to project requirements, scope, access and availability.

ASM holds UKAS accreditation number 32982 for defined asbestos inspection activities to ISO/IEC 17020. Removal and demolition activities themselves are not described as UKAS-accredited services.

Birmingham & the West Midlands FAQs

When is a Demolition Asbestos Survey required?

It is used before full or partial demolition where the asbestos information needs to cover the structure being broken apart.

Can a Management Survey be used before demolition?

No. A Management Survey is not a substitute for the intrusive asbestos information required for the demolition boundary.

Does a Demolition Survey involve destructive inspection?

Yes. It is highly intrusive because hidden ACMs need to be investigated before structural demolition exposes them.

What happens if asbestos is found?

The findings are used to define removal or other required controls before demolition disturbs the ACMs.

Does the survey include asbestos in soil?

Not automatically. Made ground and buried demolition materials require separate contaminated-land consideration.

Define the demolition boundary before the destructive survey starts

Send drawings, demolition scope, retained structures, soft-strip sequence, existing asbestos information, isolation constraints and programme. ASM can prepare the intrusive survey scope and written quotation.