Surveyors Thame

Thame Property & Building Surveys from Woodward Surveyors.

Woodward Chartered Surveyors provide services from our RICS team to the Thame area.

Popular Thame Property Surveys:

Thame Building Surveys

Thame Party Wall Surveys

Thame Structural Surveys

Woodward Chartered Surveyors Thame provides a wide range of surveys and services on our website. If you have any queries simply use our Contact Form, or Call Us on 020 8423 4001.

If You Need a Quick Surveying Quote for any Thame Property, please Request A Quick Quote Here.

The town of Thame in South Oxfordshire was built around Thame Abbey, which was established in the 12th century. It has evolved into the popular location that it is today through generally sympathetic expansion.

Kimmeridge clay, mudstone and sandstone soils are typically found around Thame, but it is a town where the bedrock can vary within a relatively small area. The problems associated with leeching of clay soils by trees or heave caused by defective water services, drains and tree removal can all cause structural damage to nearby buildings.

Much of the historic town centre around Cornmarket dates from the Georgian era and is of traditional solid brick construction. Some earlier timber frame buildings from the Tudor period remain, together with stone rubble and coursed ashlar construction. Such properties are likely to have been altered significantly during their lifetime. However, extension and alteration are likely to be somewhat restricted by the Listed Building status in the majority of cases. There are typically numerous potential defects to be resolved in older properties such as these, which not only result from damp, decay and structural instability but also where unsuitable alterations have been carried out.

Later Victorian expansion into the areas immediately around the centre continued and this comprises mainly brick walling with tiled or slate roofing. Facing brickwork is most prominent but some buildings have been rendered or covered with cladding. Typically we find damp, timber decay, roof spread and movement due to shallow foundations are cause for concern and require further investigation.

Thame did experience some inter-war developments around the centre but not on the scale seen in other towns such as Aylesbury, Oxford or High Wycombe. Nevertheless, problems associated with solid brick construction such as penetrating or rising damp, decay of embedded timbers in walls and movement in the form of settlement or subsidence are occasionally encountered.

From the 1960s a period of expansion continued with a mixture of Local Authority housing and private developments being constructed. This housing is mainly semi-detached or terraced and is of cavity wall construction. However, there are some houses of non-traditional construction using steel or timber frames. We often find asbestos containing materials in the housing of this era, along with problems associated with movement or structural instability such as concrete boot lintel failure. Condensation due to poor ventilation and insulation is often found in such housing stock.

Modern timber framed and cavity wall construction has featured most prominently on housing developments since the 1990s. Much of this housing is to be found on cluster estates on the outskirts of the town. This housing varies in quality and typically we find problems such as structural movement, floor deflection and condensation.

Development outside the town is somewhat restricted by Green Belt protection but there are numerous detached dwellings including barn conversions and self-build houses.

Our experience of buildings ranging in age from the Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, inter-war and mid-century eras, right up to the modern era, together with our wide geographical network, enables us to provide the assurance and guidance you require when buying a property in Thame.