Choosing a survey level
The house looks conventional and you plan to remove two internal walls. Why is that a Level 3 conversation even though the decoration is new?
Planned alterations change the level conversation. Level 3 is the survey for a home where major works are planned, as well as for older, altered or unusual construction. Taking out two internal walls is that sort of plan. New decoration does not make the house a simple project, and a conventional look does not cancel the reason Level 3 exists for works of that scale.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Level 2 is aimed at a conventional home in reasonable condition and of simple form, either as a survey alone or with a market valuation and reinstatement. A house can look like that from the pavement and still be the wrong place to stop, once you intend to remove structure. The survey you need is one that can talk about the building in the light of those openings, not one chosen because the paint is fresh. Fresh plaster can also hide the very clues a more limited look would already struggle to see.
Say, when you book, that two walls are to come out, and ask for Level 3 to be named on the instruction. The survey still will not design the beams or guarantee concealed parts, and it will not test the services. It is the right level of home survey for the decision, not a structural design. If a firm offers Level 2 because the street is ordinary, tell them the works are the point. Major works planned are a Level 3 reason even when nothing outside looks odd.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Will you treat the removal of two walls as major works for the choice of level?
- What can you say about those walls without designing the replacement structure?
- Will the letter name Level 3 because of the planned work, not because of the decoration?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell the firm about the two walls before they name a level.
- Ask for Level 3 to be written on the instruction.
- Do not let new paint decide the level.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does Level 3 replace an engineer for the new openings?
No. It is the home survey suited to major works. It does not design the steel or sign off the alteration.
If you drop the plan to remove the walls, does Level 2 become the usual fit?
It may, if the house is then a conventional home of simple form in reasonable condition. Tell the firm the plan has changed.