Can BCO or my builder prevent me from moving back in to my own house

[ToughButterCup]

16 hours ago, Adsibob said:

Yes, I agree that I just need to take things into my own hands. ...

 

Just Bloody Do It (JBDI)

There is a clear rationale for  your decision  and - most importantly - why you are not doing what you might reasonably be expected to do.  You are not taking the path of least resistance. 

Very few people understand how much self-building exposes the owner  to random insult. No matter, you just have to keep going.

 

Head Down @rse Up Go.

 

[Marvin]

Between a rock and a hard place....

[PeterW]

Mendez and JB Kind do something similar although I’m trying to work out how you’ve ended up with different height doors ..? Has the builder not standardised as handles will move about if you’re trying to hit the stile. 

[Adsibob]

5 hours ago, PeterW said:

Mendez and JB Kind do something similar although I’m trying to work out how you’ve ended up with different height doors ..? Has the builder not standardised as handles will move about if you’re trying to hit the stile. 

Thanks @PeterW, I had a look at Mendes but they didn't have what I was looking for. I have simplified things somewhat by changing our door choice to stuff that is generally in stock. I have found almost all of the doors that I need. The one door I am missing is is an unfinished oak door in 2032 x 710 size in this style https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/shaker-1-panel-oak-fd30-fire-door, i.e. a simply shaker (this one doesn't actually need to be a fire door).

Alternatively I could just buy a blank and add the shaker border to it, but I really wanted to order it at the same time as a matching fire door made by the same manufacturer as it will be going next to a fire door that is 2032 x 813 (and which is linked to above) so would be good if the wood grain and oak type were the same.

To answer your question, almost all of our doors are 2032 high, but the widths vary and sometimes I've found doors supplied as 2032 high in the right width, whereas other times the right width is only available if I go for 2040 and trim it. Sometimes trimming by 8mm is possible, sometimes it's not - depends on the manufacturer and how generous they are with their lippings.

[Gordo]

On 19/01/2022 at 15:28, Adsibob said:

Yes, I agree that I just need to take things into my own hands. Ultimately, the house, even without fire doors, will have a sprinkler system on the ground floor and an alarm system throughout and brand new appliances. It will be far safer from a fire regs perspective than what was there before, so it really comes down to just bureaucracy.

With a sprinkler system who needs fire doors. No one has EVER died from fire in a building fitted with a sprinkler system.

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, Gordo said:

With a sprinkler system who needs fire doors. No one has EVER died from fire in a building fitted with a sprinkler system.

Well this quite makes the point that fire regs in this country have got a bit over the top. This isn’t even a new build, it’s a renovation/rear extension and loft conversion. I think because we are adding a floor, and that floor has bedrooms on it, the whole stairwell needs protection from fire. As part of the ground floor is open plan, and there wasn’t an easy way of dividing the exit route that runs from the stairwell to the front door, from the rest of the open plan area, we are being required to fit sprinklers. A fire curtain might have worked, but we have several design features that make that very difficult, so in the end we had to get sprinklers. Seems very silly to me.

[TonyT]

Fire safety isn’t achieved by one measure it’s a collection all working together.

 

 

[redtop]

Well we , and many others have done this, moved in when watertight and not much else. No internal walls, temporary cables everywhere, cooking of a camping stove and no heating.

 

Oh and outside loo in a camping tent.  Was like that all winter lol. Part of the adventure. And we were skint

[Gordo]

On 26/01/2022 at 20:58, Adsibob said:

Well this quite makes the point that fire regs in this country have got a bit over the top. This isn’t even a new build, it’s a renovation/rear extension and loft conversion. I think because we are adding a floor, and that floor has bedrooms on it, the whole stairwell needs protection from fire. As part of the ground floor is open plan, and there wasn’t an easy way of dividing the exit route that runs from the stairwell to the front door, from the rest of the open plan area, we are being required to fit sprinklers. A fire curtain might have worked, but we have several design features that make that very difficult, so in the end we had to get sprinklers. Seems very silly to me.

That explains sprinkler system. Three storey now & open plan GFL so no protected stair. All the same “no one has ever died in a building with a sprinkler system” stands but may not be code compliant.

[Shire2020]

Reading the latest it feels like you’ve cracked the door issue and for the last one I’d do what you’d recommended and just make another work.

 

Reading your journey the builder has let you down so many times I think it’s time to call it, get the doors on and then get rid of him! I hope the wait has been worth it as know this hasn’t been straight forward for you all.

[MJNewton]

We have fire doors throughout but they're all always left open. It doesn't cause me to lose any sleep overnight. 

[JohnMo]

As others have said, state you cannot keep paying the builder and tell him his services will not be required after date xxxx.

 

Inform him to remove all materials not belonging to you.

 

Once he is off-site, his insurance on your property is void, so what you do is of no concern to him or the now lapsed insurance.

 

Don't ask questions, of BC where you may not want or like the answer.

 

Assume you need fires for a multi level house.  Just live on the ground floor so escape isn't an issue.