ETC

Phew - I’m glad you don’t think I’m giving bad advice! I don’t think you understand how a typical construction contract works. I’ve never done any construction project without a contract (and wouldn’t dream of doing so) - domestic and commercial - using JCT mostly but colleagues and consultants I have appointed have used the NEC suite. Personally I prefer the JCT but many contractors prefer the NEC. The OP is able to consult a QS and I would suspect that the QS will be able to advise him in relation to the most appropriate type of contract to use. I genuinely think advising someone not to use a contract when doing construction work is very bad advice - with the best will in the world and even if the contractor was his best friend - something could go wrong and the contract is there to protect BOTH the contractor and the employer. Trusting a contractor will only get you so far.

Think seriously about doing anything without a written contract. As I said before the NEC have a suite of contracts where everything you need a contractor to do is listed like a shopping list. Check it out.

What’s the FFL to FFL dimension? Whats the rise and going of the steps?

Close Gus - but not correct. The Architect’s Registration Board (not the RIBA, RIAS, or the RSUA) are responsible for the protection of the title “architect”. A yearly fee is payable once you qualify. PII is mandatory. CPD will shortly become mandatory. The RIBA is not responsible for the protection of the title “architect” but in order to call yourself a chartered architect you must join the RIBA and pay the fee. You cannot become a chartered architect in the UK unless you are registered with the ARB and then join the RIBA. If an architect retires from practice he cannot call him or herself an architect unless he or she is still registered with the ARB. If an architect stops practicing he or she would be wise to maintain what is referred to as “run-off” PII for a number of years. There are a number of chartered categories but I don’t think “retired” is one. Clear as mud?

It doesn’t look too bad - personally I wouldn’t be too worried about it - as long as the door width and (ramp) access were OK.

Irrespective of what the Guidance say you should be putting in as much insulation as possible. 75mm is a bit on the low side. For 0.18W/m2K you’re looking at 190mm of Rockwool. Other insulants will vary in thickness.

Absolutely - the door isn’t a wall. The DPC should be 150mm above the ground to EACH side of the opening. This is achieved by the brick layers stepping the DPC up at external each door location. When they forget to do this an acceptable solution is to install an ACO linear drain across the door location. A patio is a different story - where a patio is retrospectively built at FFL the DPC needs to be 150mm - minimum - above the level of the patio in the external wall. I see this all the time when the builder doesn’t know where a patio is going and the DPC is put in too low.

Look at the NEC suite of contracts. The concept can be quite simple and can work like a shopping list of what you want a contractor to do.

@Conor He doesn’t seem to be registered with ARB. If he’s not registered he’s not an architect.

It’s for the TV.

I’ve worked in large and small practices and in my experience the architects and the technicians worked on the detailing and the construction drawings together. I personally have spent a lot of my time preparing construction drawings as well as design drawings and feel strongly that an architect should not solely delegate this work to a technician. Architects should be able to design and should know how a building is built and should not merely fire a pretty picture to a technician to make it work. I do agree that all design team members have something to contribute but I don’t agree that a building project couldn’t be completed without the technicians. Any architects I have worked with can and will do the construction detailing and drawing as well as if not better than any technician.

They look blocked. If they really are bed weeps.

Rubbish!!!!

It’s a pity really that your experience has tarnished your view of architects. Were they registered or just posing as architects? My own opinion is that - yes there are some very bad architects out there but equally there are some bad architectural designers who not only cannot draw a straight line with a ruler but often dupe their clients into believing that they are architects when they are not. There also some very good architects and architectural designers out there who will deliver a project to their client’s requirements and within a budget. You just need to do your research and due diligence. I’m fed up to the back teeth with the stereotypical view of architects as Del Boy and Arfur Daley types who turn up to meet their clients in a sheep-skin coat smoking a cigar in a second hand Jag. Give us a break. As an architect - yes - a real one - I frequently meet people who tell me that their “architect” can do a brilliant job for next to nothing. Turns out the drawing is on the back of a fag packet and couldn’t be built in a month of Sundays - but - and here’s the but - “it only cost me £300”. Money talks and your average Joe Blogs would rather spend a couple of grand on a new TV than pay for a proper professional service. By his own admission the SE above brings in an architect for “the flair”. I really despair when design is seen as something that is bolted on. It should be part of the process. And to say that an architect and an architectural technologist are “equally good” is just ludicrous - a good architect will save you money by designing a project that not only has “the flair” built in but is an asset not to mention the years of training an architect does compared to a couple of years for a technologist. And if only an architect’s PI Insurance was to protect an architect from a building being “too ugly” or letting water in the profession wouldn’t need to carry an PII at all. I think many posters on this forum need to educate themselves on what an architect is and what an architectural technologist is and what jobs they do and what roles they play in the construction process.

I’m not convinced that an engineer will be cheaper or that an architect will not think about how something is built - a bit of a generalisation. A good architect will design you what you want, that is within your budget, that is simple to construct and that should look good and work properly.

😂 Sorry Dave - you wouldn’t get too far asking another BCO - we all sing off the same hymn sheet in our office. But good luck! Seriously though - We would always ask for a raised hearth-it’s clear from the Regulations that the requirement is to have an installation that is safe and the Guidance does refer to a change in level. Thank you. Here endeth the lesson!

As a BCO I wouldn’t be happy to accept a stove without a hearth with a change in level. It is unsafe. Where the complete floor is tiled there is nothing to stop a rug being placed close to the stove. That would satisfy J4. J4. Combustion appliances and fluepipes shall be so installed, and fireplaces and chimneys shall be so constructed and installed, as to reduce to a reasonable level the risk of people suffering burns or the building catching fire in consequence of their use.

I know the difference between the Regulations and the Guidance - I enforce them. If the Guidance cannot be complied with the onus is on the applicant to show how he or she has complied with the Regulations in some another way.

They’re weep vents - if they’re installed correctly. That’s also where the bottom of the stepped DPC should be.

You can get stops that allow a door opening in to be opened from the outside. This is a commercial requirement not a domestic requirement. A door ti an accessible WC should open out if the door opens across the Clear Space inside the room.

Still doesn’t comply. BCO slipped up. I wouldn’t pass it.

The reason for the change in level is so that a combustible material is unlikely to come in contact with the appliance. Doesn’t matter if the complete floor is non-combustible.

Doesn’t comply. A change in level is required.

@ProDave A wee sketch.