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We don’t fully know the state of our building fabric

The roof dates from 1978, the cellar is damp, the pipes are somewhere in between. Every refurbishment starts with a surprise — and every surprise with a change order.

Typical for: family businesses in the third or fourth generation · properties with building parts from several decades · businesses ahead of succession, extension or financing

Documented by Hospis

Updated: 9 September 2026

How you recognize it

  • Up-to-date as-built plans matching the building don’t exist, or only for parts
  • The last systematic survey of roof, façade, structure and services was more than ten years ago or never happened
  • Recent renovations produced unexpected findings that cost time and money
  • Damp, cracks or settlement are observed but not documented
  • There is no maintenance plan with priorities and time horizon
  • For bank, insurance or succession there is no reliable evidence of the building’s condition

Matching Hospi

MU

Much Untertrifaller

Architecture · Building in existing stock · Alpine building — Bregenz
AdviseImplement

Surveys grown properties on site, reads damage and components, and turns them into plans and priorities — before refurbishment or extension is decided.

Mapped to root cause
There are no reliable plansDamage is observed, not readMaintenance is reactionThe condition can’t be evidenced
View profilePersonally vetted · independent match

Which path fits your situation?

01

Diagnosis

390 € fixed price

A vetted Hospi analyses your situation in a structured way — in conversation and with a written result. Every statement clearly labelled: FACT, BENCHMARK, HYPOTHESIS or CONCLUSION. You get a concrete path, not a sales meeting.

  • A legitimate outcome is also: no engagement needed.
  • If an engagement follows, the diagnosis fee is fully credited.
02

Urgent support

Acute situation? Your case is reviewed with priority — response within 48 hours.

Cause fields — how to tell them apart

Unknown building fabric isn’t negligence but the norm in grown properties. It only becomes risky when decisions — refurbishment, extension, succession — are made on assumptions instead of knowledge.

These fields are complete, and many properties get there on their own — that is what this page is for. The cost simply does not appear on an invoice: internal hours, a few attempts, and a season that keeps running in the meantime.

01

There are no reliable plans

How you spot it

The original submission drawings show what was approved — not what was built. Every renovation since has moved walls, rerouted services and documented nothing. Only those who built it know the building.

The way out

An as-built survey that draws the building as it is: floor plans, structure, service routing, age of components. That is the basis for all further planning — and saves more on the next refurbishment than it costs.

02

Damage is observed, not read

How you spot it

The crack in the stairwell has been there for years. The cellar was always damp. The balcony wobbles a bit. Everyone in the house knows the spots — nobody knows whether they are harmless or the end of a deadline.

The way out

Walk someone through the house once who can read damage: what is cosmetic, what is movement, what needs action. From that comes a list with urgency — and calm about the points that have none.

03

Maintenance is reaction

How you spot it

What fails gets repaired. The roof gets attention when it leaks, the façade when render falls. Every intervention is an emergency at the highest price and worst time — usually in season.

The way out

A ten-year maintenance plan: component, condition, remaining life, measure, year. It turns emergencies into off-season appointments and surprises into budget lines.

04

The condition can’t be evidenced

How you spot it

The bank asks before financing, the insurer after a claim, the next generation before taking over. “Actually quite good” isn’t an answer for any of them.

The way out

A documented building condition with plans, findings and a plan is an asset — in every financing, every succession and every conversation about the future of the house.

Frequently asked

What does a building survey cost?
It depends on size and the state of existing documents. It is almost always a fraction of what a single unexpected finding during a refurbishment costs.
Do we need a structural engineer or an architect?
Both, in the right order. The architect reads the house as a whole and brings in the engineer where needed. The Diagnose clarifies where that is.
We are planning a renovation anyway — isn’t that enough?
Then especially, the survey should happen first. It decides whether the renovation stays on budget or turns into a refurbishment.

Describe your situation

The problem context is automatically included — you do not need to repeat anything.

Problem
We don’t fully know the state of our building fabric

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