The Secret Surveyor

The Secret Surveyor takes you to the heart of the UK construction industry, looking at what it does, who it employs, the amazing things it makes, and why things often go horribly wrong.

You live in it. You work in it. You spend your money on it. But how much do you really know about the industry that built Britain?

Construction is the third largest sector of the UK economy — employing three million people, generating nearly £200 billion a year, and shaping every road, home, school, hospital, and office in the country. Yet 30% of all construction work is rework: fixing what was done wrong the first time. At a cost seven times the industry's entire annual profit.

The Secret Surveyor is the book the construction industry probably doesn't want you to read.

Written by a senior surveyor with over twenty-five years of hands-on experience — who started out as a labourer and worked his way up — this is a frank, funny, and unflinching guide to how the industry really works. From the cowboy builder who disappears mid-job to the billion-pound contractor that collapsed overnight, from Grenfell Tower to the great leaseholder rip-off, this book leaves no stone unturned.

Whether you're a homeowner planning an extension, a first-time buyer navigating the new-build market, a student considering a career in construction, or simply someone who wants to understand why that new motorway has been half-finished for three years, The Secret Surveyor gives you the inside story.

You'll discover:

• How to choose a contractor — and the costly mistakes that catch people out
• Why projects run over time and over budget, and how to protect yourself
• Who the real players are — from the architect to the quantity surveyor — and what they actually do
• The scandals, disasters, and institutional failures that have shaped the modern industry
• What green technology, offsite construction, and BIM really mean for the future

Sharp, opinionated, and genuinely illuminating — this is the construction industry as only an insider could tell it.

Don't stay in the house without reading it first.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.