Getting Completion

[worldwidewebs]

We're close to moving in and I've spoken to BC about getting sign off. A couple of the things he's requested that we haven't yet done are:

• MVHR commissioning certificate
• Water efficiency certificate

 

Who generally does these?

 

I fitted and am going to balance the MVHR myself. The SAP as-built has a lot of references to 'water' - is this all that's needed or is there something else?

[Jeremy Harris]

I did both the MVHR commissioning chit and the water usage chit.  No requirement for a person holding any form of special qualification to do either.

 

MVHR commissioning is a PITA, because of the tedious nature of making all the measurements that are required, but not really difficult, just repetitive and a bit frustrating.  The water usage is easy, I just used a copy of a standard spreadsheet.  I'll try and dig it out later and post it up here.

[ragg987]

I did both as well.

 

BPC provided a template for MVHR balancing.

 

For water consumption, I found an on-line calculator and just picked my equipment from the drop-down lists (or nearest equivalent). http://www.thewatercalculator.org.uk/default.asp Number of occupants is also required to drive the calculation. A tip - if you have multiple taps or showers or baths of the same type you need only enter them once, the calculation is then driven by number of occupants.

[Jeremy Harris]

I've found the spreadsheet I used and have attached it, but the online one that @ragg987 has given may well be easier to use.

 

Rename the extension of the spreadsheet to .xls from .txt - it's only changed to allow it to be posted here.

 

Water Usage Calculator - Master.txt

[Mr Punter]

Don't sweat on the water usage as it is a paper exercise.  You could change a shower head and pass / fail.  Quite why they consider the capacity of a bath to overflow level is baffling.  As long as it passes, nobody has an interest in checking.

[Jeremy Harris]

6 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

Don't sweat on the water usage as it is a paper exercise.  You could change a shower head and pass / fail.  Quite why they consider the capacity of a bath to overflow level is baffling.  As long as it passes, nobody has an interest in checking.

 

Very true.  I had all the certificates lined up on the kitchen worktop for the completion inspection.  They weren't even glanced at, and the inspector didn't even want me to give him the copies I'd printed off..........

[worldwidewebs]

Thanks chaps - I'll get the water one done this evening

 

We're moving in on Saturday although there are still a few jobs that need doing - all part of the 'fun' I suppose!

[worldwidewebs]

Given that we don't have a completion certificate from BC yet, what's the position with utilities, council tax, house insurance etc?

[ragg987]

The only issue we hit was standard house insurance and changing mortgage, both required BC. The rest no one seemed to be bothered.

[worldwidewebs]

So we should keep site insurance in-place until we get sign off? Is it not possible to get contents insurance without a completion certificate?

[worldwidewebs]

I've just done the on-line calculator and it's coming up with a figure of over 160 litres/person/day!!! Any tips for getting this down?

[Bitpipe]

We've been in our house a year and still not got completion from BC, external works and some internal glass has been holding us up.

 

Have taken house insurance and currently re-mortgaging without being asked by either (mortgage surveyor was only interested in defects warranty, so far just been asked if I have it - not had to provide anything). 

 

The only way to reduce the water calculation is to choose taps & showers in the tool that have a lower flow rate. You could also consider the impact of flow restrictors in the worst offenders, however as above it's a fairly pointless exercise as even if you did fit them, you could just remove them immediately after inspection - not that these things are ever checked.

 

Rainwater harvesting (even if just for garden use) also reduces your total.

 

Re MVHR, look in the tool hire threads to borrow an anemometer and in the MVHR threads for tips on how to do it. There's a checklist of items in the Part F documents (most of these are very obvious) and you need to meet minimum extract rates for wet rooms on boost and min supply volumes per m2. Also system needs to be in balance.

 

Takes about a half a day of running around to do, not that difficult. Capture your readings in a spreadsheet and create your own acceptance cert in word, sign it off as yourself as the installer 

 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

30 minutes ago, worldwidewebs said:

I've just done the on-line calculator and it's coming up with a figure of over 160 litres/person/day!!! Any tips for getting this down?

 

 

Flow restrictors.  I had a problem with a temporary, part time, building inspector, who had been brought back in after retirement to work a few days a week to help clear their backlog.  He was a complete PITA; started off by saying he didn't like the lack of "proper foundations" (bear in mind this was the completion inspection he was supposed to be doing), picked up on the water flow rates and wanted restrictors fitted and duly certified.  When I told him I'd done all the plumbing and heating system installation myself he nearly had a fit, trying to tell me I wasn't qualified to do it.  When it came to the flow restrictors, he eventually accepted that I could fit them, as long as there was photographic evidence of me installing every single one, plus he'd do a random bucket test to check that they were fitted.  I tried to argue that that part of the regs didn't apply to us, as we had a private water supply (which was true) but he wouldn't wear it.  In the end I bought a whole load of restrictors and spent the best part of a day going around fitting them.

 

We had a very much nicer bloke around for the final (final) completion inspection, but I'd prepared for the PITA git.  The chap we had in the end wasn't the slightest bit interested in any of the water stuff, as he agreed that it didn't apply to us, anyway.  Needless to say, a couple of days after we'd got the completion certificate most of the restrictors  were removed.  I've left them on the basin and sink taps, though, because they actually makes them easier to control and less likely to splash.  The restrictors are cheap, and just washers that replace the tap connector washers, but with a series of holes and an O ring that moves out to cover them if the pressure differential increases.  They work very well, and are actually worth fitting to some outlets.

Edited October 4, 2017 by JSHarris

[Guest Alphonsox]

Purely hypothetically - If I was to close down the incoming stopcock or the one in the road until I reduced the flow below that required by BC  (poor water pressure, low flow rate , end of line installation etc etc) would this constitute a pass ?

[ragg987]

1 hour ago, Bitpipe said:

Have taken house insurance and currently re-mortgaging without being asked by either

Would your insurance policy be valid under this circumstance? You have a duty of disclosure and our policy has an exclusion clause relating to substantial building works. I cannot recall for sure but something along the lines of less than £5,000 of build value.

[Bitpipe]

36 minutes ago, ragg987 said:

Would your insurance policy be valid under this circumstance? You have a duty of disclosure and our policy has an exclusion clause relating to substantial building works. I cannot recall for sure but something along the lines of less than £5,000 of build value.

 

I read the policy pretty comprehensively and did not see anything. 

[worldwidewebs]

I seem to miraculously have a new figure of 121.45 

[Grosey]

3 hours ago, Alphonsox said:

Purely hypothetically - If I was to close down the incoming stopcock or the one in the road until I reduced the flow below that required by BC  (poor water pressure, low flow rate , end of line installation etc etc) would this constitute a pass ?

 

Also interested in this. 

[worldwidewebs]

12 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

We've been in our house a year and still not got completion from BC, external works and some internal glass has been holding us up.

 

Have taken house insurance and currently re-mortgaging without being asked by either (mortgage surveyor was only interested in defects warranty, so far just been asked if I have it - not had to provide anything). 

Is the house insurance you have home and contents or just contents? Do you still have site insurance?

 

[Jeremy Harris]

43 minutes ago, worldwidewebs said:

Is the house insurance you have home and contents or just contents? Do you still have site insurance?

 

 

I ran into a bit of a problem in the gap between having self-build insurance (massive over-kill when the house is virtually complete and there are few, if any, building site risks) and getting a completion certificate, which was needed for normal house and contents insurance.  I found a broker who was able to put together a policy with Sennocke that was essentially a part-completed house insurance policy, originally intended for people doing renovation work.  It was about midway in cost between the self-build policy and normal buildings and contents insurance.  IIRC, I think I used GSI as the brokers, who were pretty helpful in working through all the cover details that were needed.

Edited October 5, 2017 by JSHarris

[Bitpipe]

2 hours ago, worldwidewebs said:

Is the house insurance you have home and contents or just contents? Do you still have site insurance?

 

I ran the site insurance for another few months and then got a standard B&C policy. 

[worldwidewebs]

13 hours ago, JSHarris said:

 

I ran into a bit of a problem in the gap between having self-build insurance (massive over-kill when the house is virtually complete and there are few, if any, building site risks) and getting a completion certificate, which was needed for normal house and contents insurance.  I found a broker who was able to put together a policy with Sennocke that was essentially a part-completed house insurance policy, originally intended for people doing renovation work.  It was about midway in cost between the self-build policy and normal buildings and contents insurance.  IIRC, I think I used GSI as the brokers, who were pretty helpful in working through all the cover details that were needed.

 

Do you have a contact number? I called 'a GSI' earlier on and they didn't know about Sennocke

[worldwidewebs]

On 10/4/2017 at 21:00, Bitpipe said:

 

I read the policy pretty comprehensively and did not see anything. 

 

Did you mention it at the time of getting a quote? I spoke with Hiscox earlier and they said they needed BC sign-off

[Gone West]

10 hours ago, worldwidewebs said:

 

Do you have a contact number? I called 'a GSI' earlier on and they didn't know about Sennocke

I no longer required site insurance and arranged a one year 'Unoccupied Buildings and Contents Insurance' policy with Sennocke at a much lower premium. Their telephone number is 01732742102.

[Jeremy Harris]

24 minutes ago, PeterStarck said:

I no longer required site insurance and arranged a one year 'Unoccupied Buildings and Contents Insurance' policy with Sennocke at a much lower premium. Their telephone number is 01732742102.

 

I've just found the old policy correspondence, and it seems that this is exactly what I did as well! 

 

I was confused earlier between our current policy, which is via GSI, and the one I'd got directly from dealing with Sennocke.  I've looked through the emails I exchanged with Sennocke and it seems they pretty much customised the policy to meet our exact needs, for a very reasonably premium compared with the self-build insurance one.

Edited October 6, 2017 by JSHarris