Commercial Asbestos Refurbishment Survey – Rayleigh, Essex

Project: Asbestos Refurbishment Survey

Location: Rayleigh, Essex

Date of Survey: 08/08/2025

1. Project Objective

Before any big refurb project gets underway, it’s always smart to check what’s lurking behind the walls, under the floors, or above the ceilings – especially in older commercial buildings. That’s exactly why we were called to this former bathroom and kitchen showroom on Rayleigh High Street.

The owners had plans to give the place a fresh new look, but first, they needed to make sure there were no hidden asbestos surprises that could slow things down (or worse, pose a risk to contractors and future customers).

2. Survey Methodology

We carried out a Commercial Asbestos Refurbishment Survey in line with HSG264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide, which meant:

• Rolling up our sleeves and inspecting every corner of the refurbishment area – including the sales floor, back storage rooms, and above ceiling tiles.
• Taking small samples of any suspicious materials and sending them to a UKAS-accredited lab for testing.
• Using a more intrusive inspection method than a standard management survey, so we could uncover any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) hidden away.

3. Key Findings

Like many high street units from decades past, this one had a couple of ACMs still in place:

• Textured coating on part of the ceiling containing chrysotile asbestos.
• Old vinyl floor tiles in a storage area that tested positive for asbestos.

Both were in reasonable condition but definitely needed dealing with before the refurbishment team started ripping things out.

4. Conclusion & Recommendations

We gave the client a clear action plan to keep everything safe and compliant:

1. Use a licensed asbestos removal contractor to remove the floor tiles and textured coating before work begins.
2. Carry out air monitoring during removal to ensure the space is safe afterwards.
3. Update the asbestos register once the materials have been removed, giving the building a clean slate for its new chapter.

Now, with the survey complete and the asbestos removal booked in, the owners can focus on turning the old showroom into something fresh, modern, and totally asbestos-free – ready to welcome its next wave of customers.