About Great North Building Consultancy Limited.
Helping you make the most of your property
Advice you can trust, information you can use
Great North Building Consultancy Limited is a firm of independent Chartered Building Surveyors based in South Shields. We are regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). RICS is a globally recognised professional body leading the way in:
“…promoting and enforcing the highest professional standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.“
How does this benefit you? By having a well respected and rigorous body overseeing our activities, we can be held to account for our actions and words – our ethical behaviour and quality of work is guaranteed.
Sam Piplica BSc (Hons) MRICS MFPWS, Director and founder of Great North Building Consultancy Limited
All RICS chartered building surveyors have that minimum level of professionalism, so what separates us from the rest?
Great North Building Consultancy Limited. exists because of a desire to help you make the most of your property. We want your building to work for you and meet your needs. What’s more, your building is likely to be the most significant investment you make. And, we want to help ensure your investment is well placed and looked after.
Since 2009, we’ve worked tirelessly on our professional development so we can deliver a high-quality and high-value service to our clients. Having worked for several building surveying firms, and our professional body (RICS), in the spring of 2025, our director Sam took the learnings gained over the previous years and launched Great North Building Consultancy Limited., allowing us to create a business that would always be true to our own values. Our commitment to upholding our values and going beyond what a typical building surveyor would do led to Sam Piplica, Company Director, appearing on the shortlist for Young Surveyor of the Year, Building Surveying Category, 2017 and 2021. Such recognition by his peers has only fuelled his desire to keep on driving the business forward.
Our promise to you is to deliver our expert technical knowledge and advice in clear, plain language that you can understand and put to use in your home or commercial premises.
We don’t do everything. We focus on and can help with specialized areas of building surveying, including.
- Defect inspections
- Residential and commercial property surveys
- Party wall notices and awards
- Expert witness reports
If you have any issue with your property, don’t delay, CONTACT US NOW for an impartial chat.
Area of Services
01
Defect Inspections
Defect Inspections are often needed to identify the root cause of a particular issue. Don’t paper over the cracks or mask the damp – we’ll also provide recommendations for any repair work.
02
Residential Pre-purchase surveys
We specialize in RICS benchmarked Level 3 home surveys as defined in the current edition of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Home Survey Standard. It’s the most comprehensive and thorough survey level and ours is bespoke, tailored to your needs.
RICS benchmarked Survey Level 3: Previously called “Building Survey” or “Full Structural Survey”.
03
Commercial property surveys
When leasing a building (or part thereof), understanding the condition or full extent of any defects is a wise move. Our surveys are indispensable to help mitigate liabilities in commercial leases, evidencing the condition of the building, working together with your legal advisor to avoid any unplanned future expenses.
When purchasing a commercial property, our technical due diligence surveys help you make an informed decision.
04
Expert Witness
We can act as independent experts for a wide range of civil disputes and can provide Expert Witness Reports that are compliant with the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 35. Such as: construction quality and workmanship issues, checks for compliance with Building Regulations, defect diagnosis, Party Wall, and some boundary disputes.
05
Party Wall Issues
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 helps building owners get building work done. Loft conversions and extensions are typical examples. But there’s always another party to be considerate of. Without the Act, building owners are open to legal action from neighbours for damage or trespass. Let’s avoid that situation and use a legal framework designed to look after all owner’s interests. Our director, Sam, is a Member of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors.
06
Contact Us
We will work with you to create a personalised plan to help you achieve your goals.
Our Amazing Team
Meet our team who can help you with your property problems.
Sam Piplica
Director and Founder
Friendly neighbourhood RICS chartered building surveyor.
JAMY Business Support for Surveyors
Administration and Support
JAMY supports our professional activities to ensure our surveyors focus on your property.