A demolition survey is the most intrusive asbestos survey there is, because the building is coming down entirely and there is nothing left to protect. It goes everywhere: voids, ducts, under floors, inside structure, into the roof. It is normally done once the building is empty and the services are isolated, which is why it sits between vacant possession and the first machine arriving.
What it covers
Everything the demolition will touch, which for a full demolition means the whole building including areas a management survey would never open. Structural fire protection, sprayed coatings on steelwork, insulation in ducts, materials buried in floors and behind linings, and buried services in the immediate curtilage. The report names each item and its location so the demolition method statement can be written around it.
Why a refurbishment survey may not be enough
A refurbishment and demolition survey is scoped to the work. If the earlier one covered a floor being stripped out, it says nothing about the rest of the building. Reusing a partial survey for a full demolition is the commonest way a demolition contractor meets asbestos nobody expected, and it stops the site.
Sequencing it
Survey once the building is empty and isolated, so the surveyor can open what needs opening. Analyse, report, then plan the licensed removals with their notification periods before the demolition programme is fixed. A programme built before the survey usually has to be rebuilt afterwards.
What the demolition contractor needs from it
Plans, an item by item register, the analysis certificates, and a clear statement of anywhere the surveyor could not reach. What they do not need is a document that presumes half a building, because a presumption during demolition means treating a whole element as asbestos and pricing accordingly.
Questions people ask about asbestos demolition survey
Is a demolition survey the same as a refurbishment survey?
They are the same instrument under one name in HSE's guidance, the refurbishment and demolition survey. What differs is scope: demolition normally means the whole building, refurbishment means the part being worked on.
Who commissions it?
The person having the demolition done. The duty to ensure asbestos is identified before work starts sits with them rather than with the contractor who turns up to price it.
Can the building be surveyed while occupied?
An intrusive survey in an occupied building is possible in parts and is disruptive and limited. For demolition the building is normally empty first.