Julian Hargreaves is a RICS Chartered Building Surveyor with 18 years of field experience in the UK property sector. He specializes in diagnosing structural defects in Victorian and Edwardian properties and managing complex renovation projects. Currently, he consults for private developers on converting commercial spaces into residential units and navigating planning permissions.
Julian graduated with honors in Building Surveying from the University of Reading before qualifying as a professional member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS). His early career was spent with a national surveying firm, where he inspected thousands of properties, developing a keen eye for damp, subsidence, and roofing failures. He later founded his own consultancy, focusing on the challenging intersection of heritage preservation and modern energy efficiency standards. Julian is particularly vocal about the risks of improper insulation in period properties and advocates for breathability in retrofitting projects to prevent black mold and structural decay. His expertise extends to the legalities of property development, including Class MA permitted development rights and the intricacies of party wall agreements. He writes to protect homeowners from 'cowboy' builders and to guide self-builders through the minefield of construction contracts and payment schedules. Julian's advice is grounded in current UK Building Regulations and a pragmatic approach to project management, ensuring that renovations add real value rather than hidden liabilities. He is also a proponent of timber frame construction for its environmental benefits and speed of build.