Just been informed that you now longer have to get the council's
building inspector in to well .. do inspections.

Seems that there are inspectors now available to do this job seemingly
quicker and cheaper, anyone else used one?..
--
Tony Sayer

In article , says...

Just been informed that you now longer have to get the council's
building inspector in to well .. do inspections.

Seems that there are inspectors now available to do this job seemingly
quicker and cheaper, anyone else used one?..

No I have not but friend doing a self build is and sister doing an
extension did. Seems to work when you have a good sized project.
Bother wer/are happy with the arrangement. The relationship is
different from that with the Council because the inspector is working
for you.
Google 'approved inspector'
Regards
Bruce

[Default] On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:12:57 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
BruceB , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

No I have not but friend doing a self build is and sister doing an
extension did. Seems to work when you have a good sized project.
Bother wer/are happy with the arrangement. The relationship is
different from that with the Council because the inspector is working
for you.

ITYM "working for his insurance company". Who do you think the Local
Authority Building Control Surveyor is working for?
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have I strayed"?

[Default] On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:16:15 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
tony sayer , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

Just been informed that you now longer have to get the council's
building inspector in to well .. do inspections.

That option has been available for 25 years. Due to the recession
there are a lot more moving in to the 'bottom' end of the market.

Seems that there are inspectors now available to do this job seemingly
quicker and cheaper, anyone else used one?..

They can be cheaper because they don't check plans and very rarely
carry out inspections. Good news if you're a s*** builder who doesn't
want anyone checking your work; not so good for the householder. For
example, this week I've spotted partial cavity fill insulation clipped
to the outer leaf (risk of excessive heat loss & condensation),
partial cavity insulation fully filling the cavity (water
penetration), foundations undermining neighbour's property
(subsidence), and no escape window to a bedroom in an extension (risk
of being trapped by fire). And this was a good week!

You have to ask yourself how many visits can you expect if the AI has
an area covering hundreds of square miles. I've heard anecdotal
evidence that for many jobs, they rely on the builders sending photos
of their work. I know for a fact that one of the jobs featured on
"Cowboy Builders" was 'inspected' by an Approved Inspector.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have I strayed"?

On 22/07/2011 21:12, Hugo Nebula wrote:
[Default] On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:16:15 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
tony , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

Just been informed that you now longer have to get the council's
building inspector in to well .. do inspections.

That option has been available for 25 years. Due to the recession
there are a lot more moving in to the 'bottom' end of the market.

Seems that there are inspectors now available to do this job seemingly
quicker and cheaper, anyone else used one?..

They can be cheaper because they don't check plans and very rarely
carry out inspections. Good news if you're a s*** builder who doesn't
want anyone checking your work; not so good for the householder. For

If the householder is a competent DIYer and doing their own work however
it sounds like it might have merit.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article , Hugo Nebula
scribeth thus
[Default] On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:16:15 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
tony sayer , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

Just been informed that you now longer have to get the council's
building inspector in to well .. do inspections.

That option has been available for 25 years. Due to the recession
there are a lot more moving in to the 'bottom' end of the market.

Seems that there are inspectors now available to do this job seemingly
quicker and cheaper, anyone else used one?..

They can be cheaper because they don't check plans and very rarely
carry out inspections. Good news if you're a s*** builder who doesn't
want anyone checking your work; not so good for the householder. For
example, this week I've spotted partial cavity fill insulation clipped
to the outer leaf (risk of excessive heat loss & condensation),
partial cavity insulation fully filling the cavity (water
penetration), foundations undermining neighbour's property
(subsidence), and no escape window to a bedroom in an extension (risk
of being trapped by fire). And this was a good week!

You have to ask yourself how many visits can you expect if the AI has
an area covering hundreds of square miles. I've heard anecdotal
evidence that for many jobs, they rely on the builders sending photos
of their work. I know for a fact that one of the jobs featured on
"Cowboy Builders" was 'inspected' by an Approved Inspector.

Well as this is a self build sort of with some assistance, I intend to
see that it's to spec..

Seems the one around these part's is ex local authority..
--
Tony Sayer

In article ,
says...

[Default] On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:12:57 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
BruceB , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

No I have not but friend doing a self build is and sister doing an
extension did. Seems to work when you have a good sized project.
Bother wer/are happy with the arrangement. The relationship is
different from that with the Council because the inspector is working
for you.

ITYM "working for his insurance company". Who do you think the Local
Authority Building Control Surveyor is working for?


Local Authority Building Inspectors are certainly not working for you as
the homeowner, they are making money for the Council. As I said, in the
right circumstances an Approved Inspector seems a good solution. Your
contract with them can cover whatever you want and they can provide
advice if you contract them to, which can be useful for self builders.
Council inspectors are under no obligation to offer you any advice.
many will and are helpful, but like all big public organisations there
are also some unhelpful jobsworths among them. If you do not like your
Approved Inspector you can always sack him and get another.
Regards
Bruce

[Default] On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:46:47 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
BruceB , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

Local Authority Building Inspectors are certainly not working for you as
the homeowner, they are making money for the Council.

********. local authority building control sections are under a duty
to cover their costs (IIRC over a three year period), but most make a
loss on domestic work, mainly because the bosses can't get a grip on
their staff making 'too many' inspections (as they see it). Even after
25 years of private sector competition the overriding ethos within
LABC is of public service.

As I said, in the
right circumstances an Approved Inspector seems a good solution. Your
contract with them can cover whatever you want and they can provide
advice if you contract them to, which can be useful for self builders.
Council inspectors are under no obligation to offer you any advice.
many will and are helpful, but like all big public organisations there
are also some unhelpful jobsworths among them. If you do not like your
Approved Inspector you can always sack him and get another.

No you can't. Once work has commenced you have to either stay with
your chosen AI or the work reverts back to the local authority.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have I strayed"?

"Hugo Nebula" wrote in message
...
[Default] On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:46:47 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
BruceB , randomly hit the keyboard and wrote:

Local Authority Building Inspectors are certainly not working for you as
the homeowner, they are making money for the Council.

********. local authority building control sections are under a duty
to cover their costs (IIRC over a three year period), but most make a
loss on domestic work, mainly because the bosses can't get a grip on
their staff making 'too many' inspections (as they see it).

Is that because they "don't trust them" to do it right and thus make less
inspections for "professional builders because they do "trust them".

If so, I guess that would be why my previous home had a fan in a window-less
bathroom that went off with the light and only had 3 cm of insulation in the
loft (stupidly under the CH pipework and not over it) :-(.

tim

"Hugo Nebula" wrote in message
...
[Default] On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:10:14 +0100, a certain chimpanzee,
"tim...." , randomly hit the keyboard and
wrote:

Is that because they "don't trust them" to do it right and thus make less
inspections for "professional builders because they do "trust them".

There's no such thing as a 'professional builder'. There's no entry
requirements to call yourself a 'builder' so experience shows that a
good DIYer can be head & shoulders above any so-called 'professional'.
Therefore the only guide I have to go off is my previous dealings with
the person carrying out the work.

This may be why DIYers here have had negative experiences with
Building Control - if the BCO doesn't know you from Adam, he has to
assume the worst. Conversely, if I go onto the site of a builder who I
know has done proper work (and no bad ones) in the past, I am willing
to take more on trust.

An AI is coming at the work from a 'risk assessment' standpoint. They
aren't asking themselves, "what's the likelihood of this work being
incorrect?", they are asking, "if this part of the work is wrong and
causes damage that results in a claim, how much will it cost my
insurance to put it right?".

If so, I guess that would be why my previous home had a fan in a
window-less
bathroom that went off with the light and only had 3 cm of insulation in
the
loft (stupidly under the CH pipework and not over it) :-(.

Was this in a new-build or an extension?

It was a conversion from a (old) commercial building to a group of
apartments.

If the former, was it
inspected by an AI or by the LA? If the latter, again, if it was
inspected by the LA did you have a Building Regulations application
for the work, and if so, was it ever 'completed'?

No idea, I only rented it (or rather part of it).

tim