The Building Detective – A Book for Problem Solvers

The Building Detective is a practitioner-led book written for building surveyors, students, and property professionals who want to understand how buildings actually fail and how building surveyors really think. It is not a textbook and not a how-to manual. It sits between professional practice, building pathology, and lived experience.

Written by a Chartered Building Surveyor, the book uses storytelling, detailed case studies, and real projects to place the reader inside the decision-making process behind inspections, technical due diligence, defect diagnosis, and professional judgement. It explores building pathology through an investigative lens, showing how evidence is gathered, weighed, challenged, and interpreted on site and in reports.

The book resonates with experienced practitioners by reconnecting them with the craft of surveying beyond standards, templates, and checklists. It is equally valuable for early-career surveyors, APC candidates, and students, providing applied context that helps bridge the gap between theory, guidance notes, and real buildings. International case studies demonstrate how the same forensic, evidence-led approach applies across jurisdictions, climates, and building types.

The Building Detective reframes building surveying as an investigative discipline, grounded in observation, deduction, and professional judgement. It is written for those who recognise that the most important parts of the job are rarely captured in standard forms, but live in the thinking that happens before, during, and after site inspections.

Praise for The Building Detective

“A strange book where you feel like the protagonist could be someone working in your office.”

“Many of the situations described closely mirrored my own experiences in practice, making the book immediately recognisable as a Chartered Building Surveyor.”

“The Building Detective takes a different approach for surveyors, using storytelling to provide an insightful and reflective entry point, particularly for those early in their careers.”

“The insight drawn from Craig’s professional journey adds character and perspective, while expanding appreciation of the wider discipline beyond my own experience.”

“Not a bad read”