Sectors
Façade and building safety expertise for every type of building owner.
From residential blocks and housing estates to offices, hotels, schools, hospitals, industrial units and listed buildings, we give owners, managers and their advisers clear, independent answers about the building envelope, in the UK and internationally.
Every sector asks different questions of a façade. A managing agent needs to know what to tell leaseholders. A housing association needs a fire risk position across its stock. A fund needs to know what it is buying, and a school needs works planned around term time.
Our core services stay the same: FRAEWs and EWS1, intrusive investigations, condition surveys, defect and leak investigations, remediation management and expert witness work. What changes is how we scope, deliver and report them, so the people who rely on our findings can act on them.
Residential & property management
Blocks of flats, estates and the people responsible for them. Since the Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Act, the external walls of residential buildings are firmly the responsibility of those who own and manage them.
You manage blocks on behalf of freeholders and answer to leaseholders, insurers and lenders. We give you reports you can share with all of them, and a single point of contact for the façade.
- PAS 9980 FRAEWs to inform each block's fire risk assessment
- EWS1 forms for leaseholders selling or remortgaging
- Leak and defect investigations that find the root cause
- Specifications and tender reports that support Section 20 consultation
Resident-led companies often take on legal duties for the building without a technical team behind them. We explain what the external walls are made of, what the risk is, and what, if anything, needs to be done, in plain English.
- FRAEWs backed by intrusive survey evidence
- Independent review of previous façade reports and EWS1 forms
- Cladding Safety Scheme assessments for eligible buildings
- Remediation scoping, tender and site oversight
Registered providers need a defensible fire risk position across their whole stock, and remediation that is delivered safely around tenants. We work at block or portfolio scale.
- Prioritised FRAEW programmes across multiple blocks
- Compartmentation and fire door surveys
- Safety case report support for higher-risk buildings
- Remediation and planned maintenance managed through to handover
For individual owners, the façade can decide whether a flat can be sold or mortgaged, and leaks or defects can be hard to get resolved. We give you independent evidence.
- EWS1 forms by approved, insured assessors
- Independent investigation of water ingress and cladding concerns
- Plain-English explanations of existing reports
- Expert evidence where a dispute cannot be avoided
Public sector
Estates that must stay open, safe and compliant while surveys and works go on around them, often with tight budgets and formal procurement.
Councils hold housing, civic and operational buildings of every age. We help you understand the condition and fire safety of their envelopes and plan works across the estate.
- Stock-wide façade and roof condition surveys
- FRAEWs and intrusive investigations for residential blocks
- Prioritised, costed programmes for capital planning
- Specifications and tender support for compliant procurement
Hospitals and care buildings cannot simply close for surveys or works. We plan access around patients, staff and clinical operations, and report with the building's fire strategy in mind.
- External wall fire risk appraisals
- Compartmentation and fire door surveys
- Façade and roof condition surveys for planned maintenance
- Leak investigations in live clinical areas
Schools and academy trusts need safe, weathertight buildings and works that fit the school calendar. We survey during term or holidays and plan works for the summer.
- Roof and façade condition surveys
- Leak and defect investigations
- Planned maintenance programmes with costs
- Specifications and contractor oversight for holiday works
Campuses mix historic buildings, teaching blocks and student residences, each with different risks. We help estates teams prioritise across the lot.
- Campus-wide façade condition reviews
- FRAEWs for student accommodation
- Façade design reviews for new and refurbished buildings
- Independent oversight of remediation and refurbishment
Commercial, industrial & investment
Assets where the façade affects value, insurance, tenants and income, and where problems need solving without emptying the building.
From Grade A towers to older office stock, we survey occupied buildings close-up and find the cause of leaks, glazing failures and defects.
- Close-up condition surveys from BMUs and MEWPs
- Glazing audits, including on-site glass testing
- Water ingress investigations with water testing
- Planned maintenance plans and repair specifications
Where homes, shops, offices and car parks share one structure, problems often start at the interfaces between systems and owners. We look at the building as a whole.
- One coordinated survey across every use and elevation
- Fire risk appraisals for the residential parts
- Leak investigations across shared roofs, podiums and terraces
- Costed, contractor-ready scopes of work
Hotels and leisure buildings are occupied around the clock. We work around guests and operations, and give owners clear evidence for investment decisions.
- External wall appraisals using the PAS 9980 method
- Façade, roof and envelope condition surveys
- Order-of-cost budgets for strategic reviews
- Intrusive roof and façade investigations
Before you buy, sell, refinance or insure, you need to know what the façade means for value and liability. We set out the risks and likely costs before you commit.
- Façade and envelope technical due diligence
- Review of existing FRAEWs, EWS1 forms and warranties
- Remediation cost estimates and programme risk
- Portfolio-wide screening and prioritisation
Warehouses, distribution centres and manufacturing buildings depend on large areas of roof and cladding to keep stock, plant and people dry and safe. We survey them without interrupting operations, and give owners, occupiers and insurers clear answers.
- Roof and cladding condition surveys of profiled metal and composite panel systems
- Leak investigations and thermographic surveys of roofs and walls
- Identification of composite panel cores and external wall fire risk advice
- Planned maintenance programmes and end-of-warranty inspections for new units
Specialist
Buildings and clients that need a particular kind of expertise.
Historic façades need a light touch and an understanding of traditional materials. We assess stone, terracotta, brick and early concrete, and specify repairs that respect the building.
- Stone and masonry condition assessments
- FRAEWs for listed and converted buildings
- Repair specifications to support listed building consent
- Prioritised maintenance for historic fabric
When a façade fails, someone has to establish why. We provide independent, evidence-based opinion that stands up to scrutiny.
- Expert witness reports for courts and tribunals
- Defect causation investigations
- Review of design, specification and installation evidence
- Early technical advice to help settle disputes
Getting the façade right at design and handover stage costs far less than fixing it later. We review designs, check installations and inspect before warranties expire.
- Façade design and compliance reviews
- Specification writing and tender review
- Site quality inspections during installation
- Handover FRAEWs and end-of-warranty inspections
Long-held buildings benefit from long-term thinking. We help owners plan maintenance and repairs over years, not just react to problems.
- Façade and roof condition surveys
- Planned maintenance programmes with costs
- Repair specifications and contractor tendering
- Works managed from scope to completion
Working internationally
Façade engineering doesn't stop at the border. Alongside our UK work, we advise owners, investors, developers and design teams on projects overseas, drawing on our directors' experience of façade design, testing and consultancy around the world.
Internationally we most often provide technical due diligence, façade design reviews, condition surveys and defect investigations, working to the local codes and to UK and European standards where a client or funder requires them.
Fire and façade safety by building type
What an owner needs depends on the building's use and height. As a guide:
| Building | What we typically provide |
|---|---|
| Residential blocks of any height | A PAS 9980 FRAEW to inform the fire risk assessment required under the Fire Safety Order, an EWS1 form where lenders need one, and intrusive investigations where the construction is unknown. |
| Residential buildings over 11 metres | All of the above, plus fire door surveys to support the regular door checks required under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, and Cladding Safety Scheme assessments where funding is sought. |
| Higher-risk buildings (18 metres or seven storeys, with at least two homes) | All of the above, plus safety case report support for the Accountable Person under the Building Safety Act 2022. |
| Hotels, healthcare and student accommodation | External wall appraisals using the PAS 9980 method, compartmentation and fire door surveys. |
| Industrial and logistics buildings | Roof and cladding condition surveys, thermographic surveys and fire risk advice on composite panel systems, often to answer insurers' questions. |
| Offices and commercial buildings | Condition surveys, due diligence and defect investigations, with fire safety advice where the façade includes combustible materials. |
How we work with each sector
Why owners and managers choose MTC
Frequently asked questions
Do you only work on residential buildings?
No. Much of our fire safety work is on residential blocks, but we also survey and advise on offices, industrial and logistics buildings, hotels, healthcare, education, mixed-use, car park and heritage buildings, for owners, managers, investors and their legal advisers.
Can PAS 9980 be used on buildings that are not blocks of flats?
PAS 9980 was written for multi-storey blocks of flats, but its risk-based method can be applied to other buildings, such as hotels and student accommodation, where an owner wants a recognised, consistent basis for understanding external fire spread risk. We make clear in the report where the building sits outside the standard's formal scope.
Do you work outside the UK?
Yes. We are based in the North West and work across the UK, with regular projects in London, Manchester, Liverpool and the Midlands, and we also take on projects internationally, most often due diligence, design reviews, condition surveys and defect investigations.
Can you work around residents, patients or students?
Yes. We plan surveys and investigations around occupied buildings, agreeing access, notices and timings with the building manager so that disruption is kept to a minimum.
Can one survey cover several of our needs?
Often, yes. For example, a FRAEW and a façade condition survey can be carried out on the same site visit, giving a fire risk position and a maintenance picture from one set of access and one photographic record.
See our work across every sector on the case studies page, or browse all our services.
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