FEC Ltd provide external wall fire safety investigations, combining the analysis and review of as-built building design information with intrusive investigation.
What is an external wall system?
The external wall system (EWS) is made up of the outside wall of a residential building, including cladding, insulation, fire brake systems, etc.
What is the EWS1 Form (EWS1 Certificate)?
What is the EWS1 Form (EWS1 Certificate)?
What is the EWS1 Form (EWS1 Certificate)
The EWS1 process delivers assurance for lenders, valuers, residents, buyers, and sellers to confirm that an external wall system on residential buildings has been assessed for safety by a suitable expert, in line with government guidance.
Who carries out the EWS assessment, and what is their expertise?
According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the EWS1 form must be completed by a fully qualified member of a relevant professional body within the construction industry with sufficient expertise to identify the relevant materials within the external wall cladding and attachments, including whether fire-resisting cavity barriers and fire-stopping have been installed correctly.
For frequently asked question related to external wall system investigation
What impact will the new Fire Safety Act have on EWS1?
This Act closes the loophole that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 had overlooked 16 years ago – on the need for the external walls of a building and fire doors to individual flats to be assessed as part of the requirement for a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) of the building.
Now there can be no question (in England & Wales) that from now on, the Responsible Person has a legal responsibility to commission an FRA, with the external walls and fire doors assessed too.
Until such time, as all relevant buildings have updated FRAs with EWS assessments, the RICS envisage that there will still be a need for an EWS1 Form to inform lenders and valuers if there are any likely remediation costs affecting value.
If under the Fire Safety Act’s new requirements, remedial works are identified, this is likely to have an impact on the value of a home depending on the cost and/or the liability for payment for the remediation works. Valuers will have to be aware of any new FRA with an EWS assessment on the subject property, and the properties being used as comparable evidence.
Do you need help or advice regarding external wall systems? Get in touch with our team today.
How Much Does A EWS1 Form Cost?
The EWS1 form cost can be substantial. Unfortunate representation of the EWS1 form cost in the media suggests many EWS1 survey have been carried out by unqualified and inexperienced persons and companies. This has resulted in a significant amount of unnecessary expenditure in carrying out remedial works due to excessive industry caution. Even more worryingly, buildings were deemed safe where a serious risk exists.
It is therefore paramount that due diligence is taken in choosing the right fire engineering consultant.
Our Methodology
To ensure we carry out any work to the highest professional standards, FEC Ltd design and implement external wall investigation methodology. Through the application of established investigative scientific methods, we guarantee sufficient relevant information has been gathered and analysed. This ensures a reliable technical conclusion can be made. FEC Ltd engineers have investigated the external walls of a wide variety of building types, ranging from historic listed buildings to new-build high-rise blocks of flats.
The investigation of external walls combines the analysis of building design information with an intrusive investigation of external walls. This allows us to produce a detailed report presenting the analysis of the following:
- Wall make up
- Identification of manufacturer and classification of materials
- Appropriateness of workmanship and industry best practise
- Interpretation of fire performance test facilities reports
- Review against compliance at the time of build
- Consideration of MHCLG guidance