2019-07-01 Homebuilding & Renovating

168 homebuilding.co.uk

When to get the

building inspector out

The building inspector will

need to visit the site at set

stages to approve the works.

Those inspection stages are:

l Excavations for foundations

l Foundation concrete

l Oversite

l Damp-proof course

l Foul water drains

trenches open

l Surface water drains

trenches open

l Occupation prior to

completion (second fix)

l Completion

It’s not rocket science. All it needs is a

knowledge of Pythagoras’ theorem, some

pegs, string lines and something to mark

theground, such as lime or spray paint.

But whether you aim to take on this task

yourself, or want this to be undertaken by

a groundworker or a surveyor, just who

is going to take responsibility has to be

established within the price agreed from

theoutset.

lHiring equipment

If you’re using a builder for the whole job

then they’ll be responsible for hiring any

additional equipment they need. However,

self-builders who are project managing will

need to make provisions for this. If you’re

employing direct labour, for instance,

then bricklayers may turn up expecting

you to supply not only all of the necessary

materials but also the 600mm x 600mm

spot boards upon which the labourers will

load out the mortar. Additionally, unless

previously agreed otherwise, they will

expect to find a mixer, a water butt and a

hose running from a suitable water source.

If you haven’t got these items on site

when they arrive, your bricklayers may

simply go off to another site and you could

be waiting ages for them to come back.

l Liaising with building inspectors

It’s the responsibility of the main

applicant to ensure that the Building

Regulations’ inspectors are advised of

the commencement of work and then

kept abreast of progress and called out

to inspect at the required stages. It’s the

responsibility of the client (the self-builder)

to make sure that warranty inspectors are,

similarly, advised.

It’s also incumbent upon the self-builder

to make sure that service and utility

providers are contracted and that contact

is maintained with them for the provision

of their services and any necessary work

that may need to be undertaken to facilitate

them carrying out their tasks.

All of these actions can be devolved to

the builder or another responsible person

on site (i.e. a project manager or architect

if they’re retained to oversee the build), but

ultimate responsibility remains with the

self-builder. So you need to make sure that,

if you are devolving these responsibilities,

the fact that you have done so is clearly

understood and undertaken.

l Beam and block flooring

It’s a moot point as to which trade this falls

under. If the suspended concrete or beam

and block floor is to the ground floor, it’s

more or less assumed that it comes within

the remit of the groundworkers — but

not necessarily. It can equally be done

by the bricklayers and in some cases, the

groundworkers will position the beams

and the bricklayers will infill them with

blocks and brush grout them. Again, the

self-builder must make sure they know just

who is going to be responsible; you need to

know who’s doing what.

First floor beam and block floors create

an even bigger grey area. By the time they

are ready to go on, the groundworkers are

likely to have left site and, in those cases, it

may well fall to the bricklayers to put them

up. But they, in all probability, will require

a crane to get them up to the higher levels.

l Insulation

Slab insulation to the oversite will be laid

by the groundworkers. Walling insulation to

the external skins (masonry construction)

will be fixed by the bricklayers or

carpenters (when it comes to timber

frame). However, insulation to a roof,

studwork walls or intermediate flooring can

sometimes be a grey area.

Usually the carpenters will put the

insulation within studwork walls or in the

floor zone. But not always. They may leave

this task to the plasterers, dryliners or

tackers on the basis that other trades, such

as plumbers and electricians, won’t want

it in until they have carcassed (i.e. run the

wiring and plumbing as part of first fix).

Either way, it has to go in and once again

the self-builder must establish who’s going

to be responsible.

The self-

builder or

renovator

needs

understand

these

anomalies

and make

sure that

they are

covered

by at least

one of the

interacting

trades

The Build Trades