TF Suppliers - Any Recent Experience?

[Stratman]

Hi

 

I have quotes from four TF suppliers, with installation included: Scotframe, Frame Technologies, Fleming Homes & MBC.  All have been very helpful and patient with me, updating quotes over a few years while we tuned the design to suit budget restrictions and while we got planning (a long story which I wont get into here).  Each seems to have an established system and good reputation.

 

I am now in a complete quandary about who to go with.  So I would just like to ask if anyone here has recent experience of any of my shortlist (positive or negative) that might sway me.

 

All thoughts will be gratefully recieved.

[Nickfromwales]

I've been on a good few of MBC's projects and can speak very highly of them, particularly the fact they are turnkey foundations / frame / airtight and insulated in one contract. From what I've seen it's a very stress-free process if the foundation and the frame come from the same supplier too.

 

If you disjoint these things by appointing them to different companies you will then have to wait for the foundation to be poured before the TF company will come to measure and make the frame to suit the slab, whereas MBC put the frame into production much sooner as it is they that are doing the slab too, from their own drawings.

 

Slabs done independently will need to meet tolerance criteria from follow on TF companies too, so you'll need to manage that yourself by being on it like Velcro, but a non-issue if it's the same company.

 

If you're technically minded and a bit hands on, not so much of an issue obvs, but something to seriously consider when costing the thing in its entirety as some cost is hidden value.

 

Some TF companies don't install service battens anywhere where there's no airtight membranes, so defo check the small print for big costs / differences or you may not end up with the saving you thought you were getting

[LnP]

I'm at a similar point with quotes from four timber frame companies but still wrestling with planning. I got quotes from Potton, Frame Technologies, Fleming and MBC. They all quote on different scopes so I made myself a spreadsheet to make sure I had a number against every element. Potton were the cheapest, Frame Technologies were +21%, Fleming were + 23% and MBC were + 35%. I got a price from MBC for their proprietary insulated raft foundation but did't include that in the cost comparison - I'm sure it's a high performing foundation but I wasn't sure it was value for money. Some of them offer an insulation package which includes the slab so I accounted for that in the comparison. If I include the MBC insulated slab foundation in the comparison and assume a strip foundation for the others at half the price, the numbers come out still with Potton the cheapest, Frame Technologies +17%, Fleming +19% and MBC +45%.

 

Another aspect to consider is what professional services they can provide - SAP calculation, BR drawings, `CDM principal designer etc.

 

As always, the cheapest price might not be the best value.  @Nickfromwales is right, with MBC you have fewer interfaces to manage, and there's value in that.

[Nickfromwales]

17 minutes ago, LnP said:

Another aspect to consider is what professional services they can provide - SAP calculation, BR drawings, `CDM principal designer etc.

Defo often gets next to no consideration. Great point to add!

[Stratman]

@NickfromwalesThanks for the replies and I agree.  Certainly getting the insulated raft from the same supplier would be better in terms of coordination and liability for defects, which is why I included MBC in the tender.  I am still sold on the idea of the insulated raft and I think I can get it for a better price from Green Raft or a local groundworker using Isoquick or similar insulation - looking like a £20k saving potentially.  I think I can manage the coordination.

 

@LnP I've done similar - spreadsheet to equalise quotes with estimates in the blank that one or the other doesn't provide. Scotframe come out a bit more expensive but they do include for way more elements (insulation, windows, internal doors, plasterboard, SAP, etc, etc). Fleming cheapest but more exclusions.

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Stratman said:

looking like a £20k saving potentially.  I think I can manage the coordination.

That’s a chunk of change, no doubting that. 
 

If you could negotiate that down to £10k I reckon the convenience / stress / time factor would sway me towards “one-stop” shopping tbh.

 

Let us know how you get on with options and estimates plz.