FRAEW peer review.
An external wall appraisal, of the external wall system or EWS, is a judgement made on the evidence available at the time. Before a scope is priced against it, somebody has to test whether the evidence supports the judgement, and whether a proportionate route was considered and recorded as rejected rather than simply not considered.
The position
Where this usually starts
You hold a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls and it recommends work. The recommendation rests on a limited number of opening-up locations, assumed construction behind the finish, and every unknown resolved against the building. PAS 9980:2026 cautions against that. It does not carry forward the 2022 instruction to start from high, and it warns against defaulting to a medium or high outcome out of conservatism about uncertainty. The scope that follows is significant, and nobody in the team is comfortable being the person who questions a fire safety recommendation.
We test the assessment against its own methodology. Whether the risk appraisal at Clause 6 was worked through or asserted. Whether the fire performance, facade configuration and fire strategy factors behind the rating were reasoned rather than assumed. Whether the opening-up supports the conclusion drawn about the rest of the elevation. Whether height, occupancy, evacuation strategy, compartmentation and the extent of combustible material were weighed. And whether a proportionate route, including partial works or further targeted investigation, was considered and recorded as rejected, or simply not considered.
Either the scope reduces to what the evidence supports, or the case for the full scope is properly made and becomes far harder to challenge later by a funder, an insurer or a leaseholder.
Scope of work
What the review covers
We peer review the appraisal against the edition it was produced under, whether 2022 or 2026, citing the clause, step or annex relied on. The 2026 edition carries guidance on the review of reports at Annex B. The review states what the appraisal supports, what it assumes, what it does not demonstrate, what further evidence is required and the proportionate next step. We do not criticise an appraisal merely because another assessor might have taken a different route.
Over 75 FRAEW peer reviews have been completed to date, across buildings in active assessment and remediation.
A peer review does not certify or warrant the work of the original assessor, and it does not replace their appraisal. It tells you what their evidence will carry. Where you need an appraisal of your own instead, see FRAEW and EWS1 assessments. We do not peer review our own appraisals: where Beers carried out the assessment, the review has to come from somebody else, and we will say so rather than take the instruction.
Holding a 2022 appraisal, and wondering whether it still stands
It remains a valid appraisal under the edition it was produced under. Whether it is worth revisiting depends on the building, on what has changed since, and on the decision you are about to take on it. Send it to us and we will tell you.
Need a clear position from complex building safety evidence?
Send us the reports, the issue and the decision you need to make. We will tell you whether the evidence supports the position, what remains uncertain and what a proportionate next step looks like.