TobiasTertius

Hi, Yes the architect did the survey themselves. I do think it is pretty poor that the elevations and sections did not tie. There was other discrepancies in the plan ground vs 1st floor drawings to do with vertical steels appearing in different locations, but that did not have a major impact. Both of these are a sign of sloppy work, perhaps architect running out of budgeted time for his original quote. However, I don't think they warrant a claim in their own right. From my own use of SketchUp etc, and seeing architects produce 3D models (not for us), I had assumed that all drawings were part of the same model. Clearly not. I will reach out to him and ask him to either redesign the window opening to somehow fit the original window, which won't be possible due to headlight and insulation requirements, or to help us purchase a new window to fit the opening. Will see what he says, but I am pretty sure of what the first response will be. If this was earlier on in the build I am sure we would have swallowed it into the overall glazing budget. But now we are at the sharp end of the first phase (getting dry) the money is running out, including contingency, so for now we are likely to block the opening for the winter and deal with it next year. Thanks all for your input. A triple glazed Velfac V200E 2153x1881 will be going on eBay most probably.

Thanks all. I ordered the windows off-plan by supplying what I was told was full construction drawings to the manufacturer. Sizes were confirmed with contractor prior to ordering so they were aware. I was never offered a window schedule, but I can see the value in having no opening sizes on the plan and having a separate window schedule. That would have resolved the difference in dims on different drawings but would not have resolved the roof issues. I guess the architect would only supply that schedule once they have remeasured part finished build on site, and that would be the difference. I have windows on site now, so that would have meant an additional 3 month wait for windows, but I guess for piece of mind and to cover cock ups like this that is the 'wait' you have shoulder. Or with hindsight maybe I could have requested a split order to allow for updates to the important windows. I guess the window will be going on eBay. Is there a site section for unwanted materials?

That is a very good point, and perhaps I should have been clearer from the start. There are two issues at play. Actually the flashing allowance was an extra 85mm. There is also inconsistency in the section and elevation drawings. The elevation drawings have window dimensions and have this window figured at 1881 height. The section drawing I included above has no figures, but when scaled gives 1600 height. So the window is too big by 281 mm due to incorrect figured dims, and should be 1600. This 1600 needed to reduce to 1515 to accommodate roof build up and flashing. Apologies for not being clearer, I had conflated the two myself.

Hi, thanks for your reply. The new extension is sitting at the right height compared with existing, both at ground and first floor FFL. I guess the issue is that the original house roof was not as high as measured. Architects drawings contained all SE details as well. So full construction drawings. I realise that in an ideal world you wouldn't order off plan. But will tight timescales and window prices going up monthly it seemed (ended tup +30% over a year), we wanted to get ahead. Once the footings were in we incorrectly assumed perhaps that site conditions has been considered at that point.

Hi all, Apologies in advance for a long winded thread. The architect on our project designed us a two story side extension where the ridge runs at 90deg to the original house. There is an adjoining roof that runs on the same line as the existing house, but will join below it. See attachment. He told us at the time that it took a bit of designing to get this junction to work but he had solved it. We have plan, elevation and section drawings featuring this roof. All with figures dimensions. Now, with the main extension built it turns out that that adjoining roof as designed does not fit with enough clearance to allow for required flashing to existing. After much wrangling and discussion it has had to be lowered by 300mm to fit. The new door opening has been lowered so the head height is not an issue, but the issue is the glazing which runs on either side of this section. Those windows were ordered off plan once the extension was started and layout had been done. There is of course tolerance there to allow for site conditions, but no where near 300mm. This has resulted in us having to reorder one of the windows at the cost of £3k (twice price of original due to small order size). The other window we can lower and form a box gully in porch roof to fit it, not ideal but we worked with it. The architects drawings have stated disclaimers: "All dimensions and level must be checked and verified prior to any ordering, manufacture or construction." "Figured dimensions must be taken in preference to scaled dimensions. Contractors and suppliers must verify all dimensions on site before commencing any work or production of shop drawings" Question: Could the architect be considered at fault here, perhaps due to general negligence? Do we have a claim for the £3k and he can keep the window? Budgets are tight to get us dry before winter and I really could do with not swallowing this £3k. Many thanks for reading Tobias RoofSection.pdf

Hi All, I have just joined the forum after browsing for a solution to a few issues we have with our current extension. We live in a pair of Victorian farm workers cottages on the Suffolk coast. We bought them in 2014 when we fully gutted and renovated them, adding a large rear timber framed extension 12m wide with large glass doors. We did a lot of the work ourselves, and used considerate materials where we could. The floor is Limecrete throughout, and the walls are all hemp lined with Fermacell board, which gives us a fully breathable envelope for this solid walled property. We are in the midst of a second side extension, this time with a main contractor on board for the first phase. This build is two storey, timber framed with hempcrete sprayed insulation against hempblock lining to internal face of frame, total build up 300mm. To be clad in Larch similar to the first extension. We aim to get dry with help of contractor, and then take over a lot of the internal work ourselves to get finished over a longer period. I may post soon on a couple of issues we are facing. Best regards to all Tobias