WisteriaMews

Do structural warranty providers require an approved installer to install internal fire doors? Our architects are currently finalising our technical design/ tender pack and a company that provides fire doors told them NHBC require an approved installer. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case on our first self build, but everything has changed post Grenfell. I have had a look at the NHBC website (aware other warranty providers exist to) and information wasn't easy to find. It did look like they do look at the fire doors during their inspections, but best I could understand they are looking for outcomes not that the work was done by an "approved installer". If anyone has any recent experience I'd love to know your experience!

We purchased a self build warranty (I don't have any experience with professional certificates), so that we could re-mortgage and sell without hassle. There was a page on the UK Finance website (I suspect it is still there) which shows you which warranty is accepted by which mortgage providers so you can check you are buying one with good coverage. A bit like building control, they send out an inspector at various stages of the build to make sure you are doing everything correctly.

If you need finance, but don't have it in place yet, it sounds like your first step should be trying to sort a self build mortgage with the stage payments you think you need. I haven't had to do one for a few years. I went through Buoldstore. I wasn't happy having to pay a broker, but may of the lenders seemed to only want to talk to a broker (not direct to retail customers) at the time. The mortgage will need you to have a warranty most likely. That has to be purchased before you start, so will be another up front cost. You mention drawings for Building Control approve, you'll also need to appoint a Building Control inspector (more costs!). The warranty may offer to package in building control. (The warranty company will send out inspectors at various points, the one inspector can do both the warranty and building control if suitably qualified.) As others have said: - get your utility applications in - discharge your planning conditions - do your CIL forms - if your site doesn't have an official address, get that sorted so that deliveries can find you

Your Lawyer should be able to advise if it is still enforceable, or was a time limited, person specific covenant etc.... I'm guessing it is still enforceable which is why they brought it to your attention. One suggestion - probably high risk - would be to have a pre-app meeting with the council and ask them about it. A lot will have changed in their local plan since 1983 and it may be that they are now supporting small site development etc... (It sounds like they are as they have approved your planning permission.) The risk obviously is that you will have alerted them to the covenant if they still say no. Perhaps your lawyer can advise if these things can even be removed from deeds once they are in there?

We're using Build Collective as the structural engineer for our passive house basement. I'd be interested to connect with anyone else currently using them, or has recently used them, to share experiences. Please drop me a DM if your happy to share your experience.

I hadn't thought of that, put the kiosk somewhere sensible and then don't pay to move it a second time. I'm in the phase of "I want the cheapest option", but it's good to have the designers pushing / challenging you. Meter boxes slapped on outside walls aren't always the most attractive thing.

Thanks. Have they been inside a meter box internally or just wall mounted?

The architects aren't keen on a meter box on the outside, so we're looking at whether the DNO cutout and meter can be located in our plant room. The national grid guide says the meter can be located inside if it is on an external wall, but it isn't specific about the DNO cutout: https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/downloads/2686 It does say in the document that the DNO cutout should be adjacent to the meter (which suggests it could be inside as well), but doesn't explicitly state it can be inside. Does anyone have any experience of trying to locate the DNO cutout and meter inside? If you do locate inside, does it still need to be in meter box? We're planning a passive house with 350mm of wood fibre insulation. Do you think the SMART meter could still connect to the networks? We'll want to be on a smart tariff. We're on London with decent reception, so not a remote rural location.

The Latham's passive door blank is a bit of a "DIY" option. We are based in a conservation area so need a door blank type offering that we can customise on the outside to meet our planning conditions. We can't use go for one of the options that one of the well known passive house window and door suppliers has sadly. The Latham's door does have a passive house certificate, but it isn't clear to me that includes the lock: https://www.lathamtimber.co.uk/contentfiles/files/z_moralt_moralt-passiv-klima-klimasoft-firesafe-akustik_en_2015.pdf

We're looking to finalise the front door specification for our certified passive house. For the front door we're planning on using the passive house certified door blank from Latham timber: https://www.lathamtimber.co.uk/products/door-blanks/brands/moralt/moralt-ferro-passiv-passiv-firesafe-98mm-thick?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google We want a multi point lock on the front door and they recommend Glutz locks: https://www.lathamtimber.co.uk/contentfiles/files/Passive House Security Door Set Solution - Dec 15.pdf Our architect spoke to Glutz and none of their locks are passive house certified apparently. Is this something we need to worry about? Will a lock create a noticeable thermal bridge in a passive house?

I've just completed the survey. Any follow up questions let me know!

Build cost - I don't think £3,500 per sqm is that crazy in the south east if you are going to do a decent specification (e.g. you mention a lot of renewable tech). Build costs have gone up a lot post pandemic. I actually think it's refreshing they've given you an estimate (many architects don't in my experience). I'd suggest an open conversation with them on why they think that will be the cost They'll know the cost of their recently completed projects. I expect they have some comparable projects to yours that have cost £3,500 per sqm and that's why their suggesting that price to you. Architect fees - in my (limited) experience all architects base their fees on a % of your project cost. Stage 0-3 they usually price on a % what you say your budget is. When it has become clearer what the real cost is going to be they'll re-baseline for the later stages. There will be a lot of work in a 441 sqm building. It's really tough. It's a lot of money. It feels very frustrating when you get fee hikes / estimates higher than you expected / hoped. I'm sure you can cut the build cost. Do you have time to fight for every bargain and do work yourself, or do you want to give the job to a good main contractor and take pressure off yourself? In my experience a good architect is really valuable on a project. They'll come up with good solutions, they'll design nice spaces to live in, they'll take a lot of work off you, they'll solve a lot of problems. (I suspect my view are contrary to a lot of people on this forum.)

If they've just asked for a warranty quote, rather than a proof of policy, hopefully you can just give them a quote. Similarly can you just give them a solicitors details, but tell the solicitor not to do any work until you give them the green light.

*penultimate bullet point should say "buy the new build warranty before you commence work...."

It would probably be best to speak to a self build mortgage broker as they'll be able to offer some advice on your circumstances (e.g. Buildstore - not recommending them, but they are one of the bigger players in the market). The Buildstore website has into on it how the process works too. Generically I'd say: - I'd hope you can get an in principle mortgage offer without having to pay any fees. - Knowing that the mortgage looks 'do able' depending on your approach to risk you could then get a QS / costing to price your build, to know if the house you want is achievable within the amount you can borrow. - if happy, press go on the mortgage. Conveyancing, mortgage fees, stamp duty etc.... all kick. The mortgage doesn't cover these. - Once you have the land, you need a bunch of professional services; architect, structural engineer, soil survey, discharging planning conditions, building control, etc... Your circumstances will determine how many of these you'll need (you can never avoid them all). I've not seen a self build mortgage that will release funds to cover these fees. - In my experience you need to buy the new build before you commence work (as they send an inspector as you go along). - Unfortunately there are lots of outgoings before you start building!