oldkettle Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 We are looking for a contractor to perform the demolition-and-making-good stage of the build. Does anybody have a good contact who covers Woking? Hopefully somebody capable of working to high standards required by package providers. The works to perform among other things are 1) removal of the chimney stack and breast (although this is probably something I should be tackling myself) 2) removal of the existing bungalow roof 3) removal of the back wall and eventually one internal wall 4) excavation of the existing slab etc. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Where , @oldkettle? You might want to edit your profile (click your logo> edit profile) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Sorry, I did put it in the message itself. Anyway, profile updated as well, thank you @recoveringacademic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I mis-read Woking (for working maybe?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 In my experience ground workers tend to stay fairly local as there is cost in mobilising the plant and carting muck away etc. You're not far from @jack and @HerbJ who I believe used the same groundworker so maybe they can recommend. Your demolition requirements are pretty specific (mine was to tear down an entire house) so a standard GW may not be comfortable with that - you'd need to check. Have you done an asbestos survey? Also, why do you need to retain parts of the old building - did you consider a full demo and rebuild (saving 20% VAT and a lot of headaches on tying new into old)? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 We used (and were happy with) http://www.dovecsl.co.uk/ They're based in Camberley so pretty sure they'd cover Woking. I don't know whether they'd do this sort of demolition, but you could ask. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Thank you @Bitpipe There are a couple of reasons we are not going for a full rebuild The first is our mortgage - TBH I am not even sure our current provider will allow these works to go ahead. But they would certainly not let us demolish. The second is the time. I am planning (ha!) to be out of the house for about a month, i.e. complete the watertight stage by the end of summer holidays. Definitely not an option with full rebuild. Asbestos? Hmm. We do have sheets in the garage roof but - where else? The ceilings? The architect was around twice but didn't mention it, may be it was too early for these details. Yes, I appreciate somebody local is required and I did remember @jack was not far away. I think @alexc may be close as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Your architect will not know (or care) much about asbestos - your demo contractor will want to see the report that says there is none or proof that it's been removed. You'll need to get a full survey - it crops up in unusual places. It's presented as a 'destructive' survey as they poke a few holes. Be VERY wary of doing substantial works without notifying your provider - if they find out (i.e. a neighbour tips them off) then they can foreclose on your mortgage - i.e. you need to pay it all back there and then or risk losing the property. I had a saga with Tesco Bank at the outset of my project - I was tempted to just not tell them but the risks were too high. They prevaricated or 12 weeks and then said no. Then yes (but with strings attached) - finally we agreed to exit the mortgage without redemption fees and went to Ecology. Also good luck on sticking to your 1 month schedule ! What's your plan B if you're out for 3-4 months? It's slower and more expensive to build around residents and you also need to maintain power, water and sanitary. Site insurance is unlikely to cover living in until substantially complete. Not trying to be overly negative here but just giving you the benefit of my experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) Where are you living whilst out of the house? Standard rental contract (AST) in the uk is a minimum of 6 months. You need a side agreement with a LL you trust or some other workaround, such as being Lodgers (which has less security) or one of the other forms of contract (complicated). Ferdinand Edited November 20, 2017 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 11 minutes ago, Bitpipe said: Your architect will not know (or care) much about asbestos - your demo contractor will want to see the report that says there is none or proof that it's been removed. You'll need to get a full survey - it crops up in unusual places. It's presented as a 'destructive' survey as they poke a few holes. Be VERY wary of doing substantial works without notifying your provider - if they find out (i.e. a neighbour tips them off) then they can foreclose on your mortgage - i.e. you need to pay it all back there and then or risk loosing the property. I had a saga with Tesco Bank at the outset of my project - I was tempted to just not tell them but the risks were too high. They prevaricated or 12 weeks and then said no. Then yes (but with strings attached) - finally we agreed to exit the mortgage without redemption fees and went to Ecology. Also good luck on sticking to your 1 month schedule ! What's your plan B if you're out for 3-4 months? It's slower and more expensive to build around residents and you also need to maintain power, water and sanitary. Site insurance is unlikely to cover living in until substantially complete. Not trying to be overly negative here but just giving you the benefit of my experience! Thank you, not negative at all, I'd rather have the facts! I did ask the architect whether we would be allowed back in after MBC (hopefully) complete the watertight structure. He said "why not" :-) Although I was rather concerned about BCO, didn't even realise the implications for the insurance! There's never been a plan not to notify the bank - exactly why is may be a show-stopper for us. It would be a very tough one to swallow. The plan (again, ha!) is to keep the downstairs bathroom and the toilet intact, so that they could be re-connected easily as soon as the demolition completes. The same with the electricity meter - not going anywhere until it is just a job of disconnecting one and connecting the other. I've been working on the project plan the whole weekend. Will need to discuss with either proper project manager or the architect in case he is willing to take the management part on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 10 minutes ago, Ferdinand said: Where are you living whilst out of the house? Standard rental contract (AST) in the uk is a minimum of 6 months. You need a side agreement with a LL you trust or some other workaround, such as being Lodgers (which has less security) or one of the other forms of contract (complicated). Ferdinand Not yet decided. We have a summer house in the garden - may just be good enough for me for one summer month, as long as I can keep the electricity there. The rest of the family will hopefully move to the relatives. But that is not much of a plan B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 1 hour ago, oldkettle said: I did ask the architect whether we would be allowed back in after MBC (hopefully) complete the watertight structure. He said "why not" :-) Although I was rather concerned about BCO, didn't even realise the implications for the insurance! There's never been a plan not to notify the bank - exactly why is may be a show-stopper for us. It would be a very tough one to swallow. The plan (again, ha!) is to keep the downstairs bathroom and the toilet intact, so that they could be re-connected easily as soon as the demolition completes. The same with the electricity meter - not going anywhere until it is just a job of disconnecting one and connecting the other. I've been working on the project plan the whole weekend. Will need to discuss with either proper project manager or the architect in case he is willing to take the management part on. It's one of those 'unlikely to happen but severe consequences if it does' situations. What if the demo does not go to plan and you have to pull more of / the whole house down? What if you're injured while living on site? What if HSE comes along and throws a wobbly? BCO are only there to monitor that the build is to regs, but they could possibly notify other agencies (HSE) if they see something very dodgy. I'm pretty sure your existing buildings insurance will be null and void as soon as you start major works (unless otherwise agreed) so that will have additional implications on your mortgage as it's normally a condition of lending. Assume you're putting your personal stuff into insured storage. You should also have site insurance that covers you and your on site visitors plus the value of the existing and new building materials on site etc. Not 100% sure but I believe that if you handed the site over to a contractor for the duration of the works you would not need it. The old phrase 'hope for the best but plan for the worst' springs to mind! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 30 minutes ago, Bitpipe said: It's one of those 'unlikely to happen but severe consequences if it does' situations. What if the demo does not go to plan and you have to pull more of / the whole house down? What if you're injured while living on site? What if HSE comes along and throws a wobbly? BCO are only there to monitor that the build is to regs, but they could possibly notify other agencies (HSE) if they see something very dodgy. I'm pretty sure your existing buildings insurance will be null and void as soon as you start major works (unless otherwise agreed) so that will have additional implications on your mortgage as it's normally a condition of lending. Assume you're putting your personal stuff into insured storage. You should also have site insurance that covers you and your on site visitors plus the value of the existing and new building materials on site etc. Not 100% sure but I believe that if you handed the site over to a contractor for the duration of the works you would not need it. The old phrase 'hope for the best but plan for the worst' springs to mind! Thanks again, I have added these questions to my "unknowns" list, to be discussed with the project manager. Works not going to plan is something that is quite dangerous and I am not sure right now what I can do about it. If the (works) insurance covers some catastrophic events we could rent for a while but I won't count on it. We do have space in the front garden for a caravan or something so if the worst comes to the worst we could probably live there for a while. I have even more space in the back garden so if I could crane a caravan or a container there it would probably be another option. Actually, the front garden space has been measured yesterday with the aim of putting a 40 foot container there as a furniture storage! As this is not a new build we will unlikely be handing the site over to a contractor so will have to deal with the insurance ourselves. Oh, well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbJ Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Dove, the groundwork contractor detailed by @jack was also used by me for my groundworks and all hard landscaping and they do work in Woking. Great, reliable, efficient and very experienced groundworks contractor but not sure they are interested in demolition. Give them a ring - Mick Peffer is the MD, Mob No 07774 786755. Other very experienced demolition contractors in the area are Shorts of Ascot and Woolridge in Bagshot. I used Precision Groundworks for my demolition but not sure they work in Woking and they now tend to specialise in basement construction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Thanks a lot, @HerbJ, I will talk to all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 52 minutes ago, oldkettle said: Thanks again, I have added these questions to my "unknowns" list, to be discussed with the project manager. Works not going to plan is something that is quite dangerous and I am not sure right now what I can do about it. If the (works) insurance covers some catastrophic events we could rent for a while but I won't count on it. We do have space in the front garden for a caravan or something so if the worst comes to the worst we could probably live there for a while. I have even more space in the back garden so if I could crane a caravan or a container there it would probably be another option. Actually, the front garden space has been measured yesterday with the aim of putting a 40 foot container there as a furniture storage! As this is not a new build we will unlikely be handing the site over to a contractor so will have to deal with the insurance ourselves. Oh, well. Containers can be craned into place (aside from the crane hire cost) but caravans less so as they are not as rigid and are liable to twist and buckle. If you have services (sewage, water & power) to the front then a caravan may not be a bad option - either as a hire or buy & sell on. Same for the container - we actually made a profit on ours! Site insurance will cover both. Make sure the container has an insulated roof (if not, foam on 50mm EPS) to prevent frost making it 'rain' inside. Also use a dampstick to control humidity. We spent 18months in our caravan (family of 4) and our stuff was in the container (mostly in boxes ) for about the same, came out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Bitpipe said: Containers can be craned into place (aside from the crane hire cost) but caravans less so as they are not as rigid and are liable to twist and buckle. If you have services (sewage, water & power) to the front then a caravan may not be a bad option - either as a hire or buy & sell on. Same for the container - we actually made a profit on ours! Site insurance will cover both. Make sure the container has an insulated roof (if not, foam on 50mm EPS) to prevent frost making it 'rain' inside. Also use a dampstick to control humidity. We spent 18months in our caravan (family of 4) and our stuff was in the container (mostly in boxes ) for about the same, came out fine. Thank you. I have spent quite a few hours on Friday looking at container sizes and prices :-) I didn't remember it was you but I knew somebody used it. Coincidentally just got an email from the architects who suggest we price both options with MBC. I am still not convinced though - looking at the costing exercise @Visti went over I am quite sure it is almost impossible to build the whole thing from scratch within our budget. One nice feature of the "extension" is the ability to do things in stages Stage 1. Partial demolition Stage 2. Watertight. After this stage the ground floor should actually be suitable for the family, well, better than a caravan anyway. All services can be re-connected, apart from may be gas (to avoid any risk) but electricity should be enough to keep it warm and cook. Stage 2.1. Roofing / partial (?) guttering Stage 3. Make first floor usable, i.e. 3.1 At least one bathroom and connect to the new drainage 3.2 At least one bedroom .... Stage N: Upgrade the downstairs :-) EWI, new slab in the bathroom, new kitchen etc. I am pretty sure there are plenty of holes in this plan - again, this is what BH and the money allocated for PM are for. Edited November 20, 2017 by oldkettle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 2 hours ago, Bitpipe said: What if HSE comes along and throws a wobbly? Just realised Would a caravan / container feel any better for the HSE than the summer house? I mean it is probably further away from the (proposed) building works than any caravan can be. Is there any definitive guide WRT to the safe distance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Regarding containers, I used to buy and sell a few each year as and when I needed them on a job. Look at a 20 footer 40 footers are a pain, they are hard to find things in them,just to long and skinny, they are also hard to re,sell you will find every man and his dog will want your 20 but not many people have room for a 40. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldkettle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 @Russell griffithsthe usual prices for storage containers I found online were in the region of 1300 (inc. VAT), whether it is 20 or 40 feet. No reason to expect significant bargains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Very few bargains about unless you want a pile of poo. You can pick up ex site containers for 6/7 hundred but they really are battered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitpipe Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 3 hours ago, oldkettle said: Just realised Would a caravan / container feel any better for the HSE than the summer house? I mean it is probably further away from the (proposed) building works than any caravan can be. Is there any definitive guide WRT to the safe distance? No idea - there is a renovation down the road from us and the caravan is right in-front of their house. Personally I think that living in a house that's actively under construction is not a great idea, especially if you have children (of whatever age). Even when ours was nearly complete there were still significant trip & fall hazards, sharp edges etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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