ultramods

Again more just a rant........ We received first set of comments back from the council this week regarding the building warrant. Whilst none of them are serious it appears to me that most of them are due to shear laziness on the part of the architect. It looks like he just copies as pastes generic notes onto the drawings of every project he works on. Surely he must get similar comments for every building warrant he submits so why not just update his generic template? For example the comment about the gas "3.17.6 A gas boiler should be installed by a Gas Safe registered installer not Corgi. Amend accordingly." - I'm assuming this hasn't changed recently. It reminds me of being a CHILD in school writing an essay, I knew that I should proof read it at least once, but I couldn't be bothered, so would just submit it, no doubt with many basic mistakes. Section 1- Structure 1.1.1 In order to demonstrate compliance with this clause, a Certificate of Design from an approved Certifier of Design is required to accompany this Building Warrant application. 1.1.1 Provide any engineers details to support the aforementioned certificate. 1.1.1 The engineering sketches provided for the wall, floor etc do not correspond with the architect drawings. Ensure all details correspond. Section 2 - Fire 2.2.4 A self-closing door with short fire resistance duration should be provided between the dwelling and garage. Clearly indicate. 2.2.6 Provide a specification for the separating wall between the garage and the dwelling. Also confirm that all services will be surface mounted. 2.6.1 Clearly show distance to boundary on the North West. 2.11.7 Provide smoke detection within the hallway outside the door to the master bedroom. 2.11.7 Smoke detection should be provided to the family room area. Section 3- Environment 3.5.4 Several contradicting spot notes refer to existing drainage. One stating it is to be re-routed. Another refers to 'no existing drains' etc, another states exact location of existing drains to be determined. Irrelevant information should be removed. 3.7.1 The spot notes refer to a report by SA MacGregor. This was not received. Provide a copy to enable an assessment to be carried out. 3.7.1 The drainage notes and what is indicated on the site plan do not correspond. The notes state that a treatment plant and soakaway is to be provided, the site plan indicates connection to mains drains. All details should correspond. Amend accordingly. 3.7.1 SVP's should be provided with hand access 1m above each floor level. Also indicate the svp on the elevation. 3.7.1 The specification also refers to an AAV. Clearly indicate its location. 3.7.3 Ensure that the BS EN numbers stated are the current versions. Amend accordingly. 3.7.4 If the drainage is to terminate to public sewers, disconnection chambers should be provided immediately inside the curtilage. 3.10.5 Provide an annotated detail of the garage wall. The cross section just shows the timber frame. 3.11.6 Indicate the indoor drying space. 3.12.3 The walls to the accessible shower room should have robust construction as per this guidance, 9mm plywood would be insufficient. Amend accordingly. 3.14.2 A carbon dioxide detector should be provided within the main bedroom. Clearly indicate and provide a specification. 3.14.3 Clearly indicate mechanical extractors on the floor plans. Also indicate extract termination points on the elevations. 3.14.3 The utility room should be provided with inlet ventilation. Please note this should not be to a moisture producing area. 3.14.11 It is noted that the infiltration rate for this dwelling is designed at 3m3/hr/m2 @ 50 Pa, and it is noted that a MVHR system is to be installed. Provide full details including manufacturers literature etc. 3.17.1 The spot notes refer to a Stovax Riva 2 fire insert. Provide full manufacturers literature and installation instructions to enable an assessment to be carried out. 3.19.5 The stove referred to appears to be an inset stove however hearth details have been provided and a clearance diagram provided. If a hearth is to be installed clearly indicate which type is to be provided and remove all irrelevant information. 3.19.8 Where a hearth abuts a wall a solid non-combustible shield must be provided as per this guidance. Metal studs and supalux would not comply. Provide full details on what is being provided to enable an assessment. 3.19.9 If a fireplace recess is to be provided it should be in accordance with this guidance. Provide details. 3.17.6 A gas boiler should be installed by a Gas Safe registered installer not Corgi. Amend accordingly. 3.20.19 Indicate the flue outlet for the boiler on the elevations. 3.20.20 The plan shows a carbon dioxide (co2) monitor within the family room for the stove. A carbon monoxide detector should be provided. Amend accordingly. 3.20.20 Carbon monoxide detection should be provided for the boiler. 3.21.2 Clearly indicate the vent for air for combustion. 3.24.4 A storage container for solid woody biomass fuel is required. Section 4- Safety 4.1.4 Confirm the surface of the accessible route. 4.1.7 The ground floor plan appears to indicate a step at the accessible entrance and a specification for external steps is provided. A suitably sized plat should be provided. Clarification is required. 4.3.2 Provide full details and specification for the cantilevered stair including the tapered section at the bottom 4.3.14/4.3.15/ 4.4.2 Provide full details and specification for the handrails, barriers etc. 4.4.2 Confirm that no opening to the stair will allow the passage of a 100mm sphere. 4.4.2 Confirm that the glazing to bedroom 2 is capable of withstanding the loads specified within this guidance. 4.6.4 A minimum of 6 sockets should be provided to the kitchen area in addition to any for floor standing white goods or built in appliances. Only two are indicated. Amend accordingly. 4.8.5 The sockets within the family area are indicated too close to the corners. Amend accordingly. 4.9.3 Indicate the unvented hwc discharge point on the drawings. 4.13.2 Confirm that all windows and doors will be secured by design as per this guidance. 4.14.1 Provide details to show compliance with this guidance. Section 5- Noise 5.2.3 The intermediate floor detail indicate on the plan is as per the example construction from the BSD website. However, this is not what is actually shown or specified. Clarification is required. Section 6- Energy 6.1.1 Full energy information, SAP, TER, DER and supporting u value calculations will require to be provided to enable an assessment. 6.1.1 The specification for insulation to the ceiling level states 140mm between trusses and 2 further layers across. This would take the insulation above the truss line. The boiler, cylinder, comms cupboard and mhvr system are all specified as being located within the loft space. If a floored section is to be provided this would affect the insulation level. Provide full details. 6.2.5 It is noted that air tightness testing will be carried out. 6.5.1 The specification states that a minimum 100% of fixed lighting will be low energy then goes on to refer to 50%. Irrelevant information should be removed. A minimum of 75% of the fixed light fittings and lamps installed should meet the guidance to this standard. Amend accordingly 6.9 An EPC should be provided. Section 7- Sustainability 7.1.1 A sustainability label will be required at completion stage. Additional Information Amendments and revisions should be highlighted and linked to the above technical observation points. Clearly indicate how access to the attic space is achieved and confirm if there is to be a floored section. The drawings make reference to demolition works. Provide suitable drawings indicating any existing building and clearly indicate any buildings to be demolished. The spot note at the garage section refers to cavity wall being backfilled to ground level. This does not correspond with what is indicated for the garage. Clarification is required. Provide a method statement for any demolition works. Spot notes which are irrelevant to a new build should be removed i.e. exposed pipework to be insulated. Provide a full height annotated section through the chimney. Provide full details of the mvhr system referred to including manufacturers literature. Provide manufacturers literature for the stove and flue. Provide a specification for the timber clad sections. The central heating system notes refers to BS 5256. Provide details of this British Standard as it does not appear to be related to gas boilers.

With hindsight I would recommend this approach. Spend a lot of time researching architects (websites, social media accounts and previous planning submissions) to find a one that designs houses similar to what you have in your mind.

The one plumber of the 3 that i don't quote understand came over to my house and spent 45 minutes going over the plans with me and seemed keen. He told me he would start working on a quote that week and kind of implied that he would have a quote back to me towards the end of the week. When no quote arrived I chased him the following week and he said he was waiting on a couple of suppliers getting back to him.He then asked me on the same phone call if I want plastic or copper pipes. A few more weeks passed, I called him again on Thursday and he said he would have quote back to me on the weekend - no quote has arrived. Again on the same call he asked me another question about the spec - why ask if you have no intention on quoting?????

When the architect put it out to tender he only got 2 quotes back. I would prefer one more quote which is why i asked the 3 local plumbers myself. I was thinking the same thing, if they are constantly busy with small easy jobs then why take on something more complicated that involves more design, planning and organising. Once the build has started I will be leaving 1 star reviews on their Facebook pages etc with a description of why.

I looked at the local community Facebook page for recommended plumbers and contacted the 3 most recommended ones to quote for doing all the plumbing for the house. All 3 said that they would quote, but didn't. I then chased all 3 of them and again they ensured me that they are preparing the quote, one of them kept insisting that he is waiting for suppliers to get back to him. Almost 11 weeks later I haven't received a single quote. I just don't get it, if they don't want the work just say so. I would have thought that a large house with 4 wetrooms, UFH etc would have been a good bit of work to pick u, especially when i see some of the small jobs that they are doing for people on the local Facebook page. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Rant Over.

@billt I wasn't suggesting that individual councils start setting their own prices

Why are they so understaffed, surely people and companies would pay more for a faster service?

I suppose what you might get from a good architect compared to a draughtsman is: a house with architectural merit better use of internal/external space better positioning on the plot in terms of views and sunlight should factor is sun angle in terms of solar gain/over heating might speed up the planning process in terms of knowing what will/wont get planning permission Have you tried negotiating with the architects or reduce the scope? I spent a fair bit of time looking at architects that I liked and then finding their plans on the council planning websites for inspiration. Also if I drove past a new house that I liked, note the location and again look up the plans of the council planning site. For my next house once I have found the plot and I don't know how to make best use of the site I would get an architect that I like (in my case https://brownandbrownarchitects.com/) to design the house and get it through planning. Then if I was going to use a main contractor/TF company I would have them complete the structural engineering design and building warrant stage as they can be cheaper than if the architect and third party SE company do this for you.

@Dreadnaught The TF company are supply only of the TF and the windows and doors. Once i have picked a joiner maybe I need to see his take on it, as he may just advise to buy them direct from Rationel (ADW)

@prodave I was trying to negotiate with ADW but they were adamant that they already provide a discount to the TF company, but wouldn't say how much (which is understandable). They might have treated your case differently if your joiner didn't use ADW a lot, therefore there wasn't a contractual discount already in place. However I assumed they would offer me better than a 1% discount for the TF and the windows and doors. Also when i asked the TF company for a discount he asked me who would be buying the TF me or the joiner, again I said the joiner for VAT reasons. So again the joiner is probably getting the discount and not me.

The timberframe company will be supplying the Rationel windows and doors from ADW. In the quote from the timber frame company the TF is £68,000 and the windows and doors are £26,000. I then went to ADW and asked for a price if I were to buy the windows and doors direct from them, they said the price would be £25,000, so £1000 less than if I get them through the TF company, however I don't really want to do this incase there are issues with the measurements etc. I then asked ADW what discount they could offer me and showed them a comparable quote from a different company which is £18,000. ADW said that the only provide discount to the timber frame company so I would need to negotiate with he timber frame company. I then explained this to the TF company and asked for their best price for the TF and windows and doors. They came back with a £1000 discount. Am I expecting to much to, to me a £1000 discount seams very low on a £94,000 order? I suppose part of the problem is that I don't have a lower TF kit price yet, which I could use to increase my negotiating position.

Gold fixtures and fittings?

eek!!!!! including or excluding land?

600 - 3000+

What irritates me with this slightly is he asked us last year if he attach his large advertising banners onto the site Heras fencing, I had no problem with this. But now I see him potentially trying to extract more money from us on grey area when I have let him use our site for free advertising for the last 8 months - seams very one sided.

@Ian yes we are in Scotland, he is not registered with RIAS because he is an Architectural Technologist.

I just received the following email from our architect this morning and not sure what to make of it. The architect has done all the drawings and managed the planning and building warrant stage. In January he also put the work out to tender for us. At the time I asked him to tender the work to sub contractors. However more recently I have noticed that some of the main contractors are struggling so I decided to ask a few of them to quote for all the work. I sent them all the plans including the Structural Engineering drawings. I suppose my question is do the CAD drawings belong to me and therefore can I ask the architect for them, or does he actually own them and I can only PDF versions of the plans? ------------------------------------------- Just a quick e-mail to let you know we are being contacted by Nordan, Russells, Scotframe and a granite suppliers on behalf of other contractors asking for confirmations, sign offs, CAD drawings etc. Just to let you know we can’t issue CAD drawings or be involved with any production information stage if we are not employed to do so for that stage. I am not trying to be awkward or anything like that but we have no control of the project and levels of information / communication if we distribute such information and voids our PI insurance. I would be very wary at ordering windows and doors without kit manufaacturers being appointed. I trust you understand this and if you do want us involved in this stage then we are more than happy to do so but you have to let us know. we do not issue the CAD drawings purely because these can be edited, manipulated and outwith our control therefore flags issues with PI insurance. ---------------------------------------------------

Seams like an expensive way to save on architect fees. Have you gone to any other timber frame companies and said that you like that design and can they do one similar? My Architect (technologist) was £3300 for planning application drawings, detailed building warrant drawings and obtaining the planning and building warrants. SE was £1500.

@Jdyerif it's a standard design that the company offers can you share the plans and cost? That would help us let you know if it's good value for money or not. Including spec (what's included and levels of insulation)

@AliG can you tell me the supplier that you used on Aliexpress for the Moooi style lights please and what was the lead time for them?

@cjackson129 Another thing to consider is building using blocks instead of Timber frame. One of the advantages I see of blocks compared Timber Frame is cashflow. With timer frame you need to pay for the timber frame upfront, but at this stage the lender will have only given you money for the land and maybe foundation/slab. Where as with block you should be able to pay the builder more in arrears, however you would need to confirm this as i don't know if the builder would only want payment once the entire shell has been constructed, some may have sub milestones.

Hi Claire, If you need a mortgage start looking into this ASAP as it can be a long process. Plus there are some extra fees that you will need to budget for such: surveyor to value the land/house plans for the lender. You might need an indemnity policy (ours is costing £2500) site insurance, structural warranty. Some Mortgage providers will insist that you can't PM the build as you will need to have builder, architect or surveyor PM. If you use Buildstore you will need to pay them £600 for their services. Then there are then the usual fees related to a mortgage lenders do a lot more affordability calculations compared to when i last applied for a normal mortgage. If you are going to be renting and the affordability is tight, try and rent as cheap a place and possible, or live with family/friends. As others have said really look at the fine details of what "Service Plot" means and includes - Could you potentially need to have a site survey, trees felled, soil surveys? Also what does the Service part include: gas, water, sewage, telephone, gas, and where does the seller run the services to, to the plot boundary, into your house, across a road from your plot? Does the seller pay for any of the connection costs into the services? If you are going to use an Architect watch for the ones that try and charge you x% of the total build cost as this pricing strategy to me is just ridiculous. If i want to have all gold taps I shouldn't have to pay the architect more for that. Again as others have said if you are looking to build a more standard house it might be worth seeing how much of the work the timber frame company can do. Some companies will have standard designs that can be modified or may even design a bespoke house you for. Some can also submit the planning permission and building warrant - which might work out cheaper compared to an architect. In terms of thermal efficiency v heating costs @JSHarris heat loss spreadsheet calculator is very useful. You can spend 1000s more making your house almost require no heating, however if you only plan to spend 10 years in the house, the extra cost might not be worth it in terms of the additional heating costs for a less insulated house. http://www.mayfly.eu/2017/03/energy-consumption/ Try and engage with the council sooner rather than later, some councils will provide pre planning advice, they should be able to tell you what they will and wont accept which may save you time and money in terms of not having to revise the design and submit a new planning application because the council rejected the first one.

We went to look at tiles for the first time today. The guy in the shop said exactly what @nod is saying, go for Italian or Spanish. He also said that if we place a large order we could expect a 35% discount and fitting would be between £30 - 38 psm for large 600 or 800mm porcelain tiles.

I have spoken to a company in Glasgow called The Beauty of Marble that would make it for £1500. That price seams pretty reasonable for a marble bespoke vanity/sink. https://www.facebook.com/thebeautyofmarble/

Looking good @AliG