I need some advice concerning the building of a new roof/loft and
employing a builder.

Our house has a concrete flat roof with a shallow pitch roof later
built on top. We would like to remove this roof and put a higher
pitched roof on top and then convert to a new bedroom. I have
contacted the local planning department and they have said to send in
rough plans to see if all is OK before having proper plans drawn up to
avoid unnecessary expense. We spoke to a builder who says he can do
the job, and he has plans from his own house that he converted in the
same way, and it is the same layout as our. I am to receive these
plans this evening to send off for the nod from the local planning
office before they are redrawn in our name to the specification of our
house (where different).

This is what I would like to know.

Do I leave it to the builder to get the drawings re-drawn or do I
organise this myself? If I am to do it, how and who?

What insurances does the builder need, how do I know they are real?

What other agencies need to be informed of the job and when?

If we agree a fixed rate for the job how do I make sure it does not go
over this?

What % of the builder's fee do I pay up front?

Is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Insurances
Public Liability at least 2 million pounds cover (now minimum standard on
most contracts)
Employers Liability
If the builder is designing anything then Professional Indemnity Insurance)
Other Agencies
Other than your local authority for planning and Building Regs probably none
Fixed Price
Produce a complete specification for pricing
Once you have employed a builder do not change anything yourself. The thing
that I find makes the price go up more often is for example the
specification asks for standard 75mm chamfered softwood skirting and when it
comes to be fitted the client says change it for 150mm moulded hardwood for
varnishing, or many other things such as that. Also many clients do a "while
you are here could you just ....." All these add up and will change the
final price.
Even so I may have a specification to price and I may qualify in my tender
various unknowns again for example foundations may state down to 1200mm or
to the satisfaction of Building control. I will qualify that by saying I
have allowed to take the foundations to 1200mm deep. If the Building
inspector requests they go deeper then I may charge more.
When working on old/existing properties, there are many items that cannot be
seen and may have to be qualified in the tender documents.
Personally I do not usually charge any fee up front, some builders may do
so. The only times I may charge a fee up frontis either the client hhas a
history to me of being a bad payer or part of the contract is say for
specialist items eg purpose made joinery, Kitchens or similar, that are
specified in a the tender to come form a particular supplier and that
supplier wants a deposit.
I do a valuation on all works lasting more that 14 days and require payment
within 7 days after valuations.

(Trevor) wrote in message om...
I need some advice concerning the building of a new roof/loft and
employing a builder.

Our house has a concrete flat roof with a shallow pitch roof later
built on top. We would like to remove this roof and put a higher
pitched roof on top and then convert to a new bedroom. I have
contacted the local planning department and they have said to send in
rough plans to see if all is OK before having proper plans drawn up to
avoid unnecessary expense. We spoke to a builder who says he can do
the job, and he has plans from his own house that he converted in the
same way, and it is the same layout as our. I am to receive these
plans this evening to send off for the nod from the local planning
office before they are redrawn in our name to the specification of our
house (where different).

This is what I would like to know.

Do I leave it to the builder to get the drawings re-drawn or do I
organise this myself? If I am to do it, how and who?

What insurances does the builder need, how do I know they are real?

What other agencies need to be informed of the job and when?

If we agree a fixed rate for the job how do I make sure it does not go
over this?

What % of the builder's fee do I pay up front?

Is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Thanks for any help in advance.


I would raise one question: what type of roof construction do you plan
on using? A Mansard roof would be especially well suited, giving you
far more room than most other types.

Is your present house 1 or 2 habitable floors? If 2, there may be some
other work required on the other floors as well.


Regards, NT

(Trevor)

Another point that is less likely to get used: if you remove and
replace the upstairs ceiling structure, in some houses there is enough
spare height upstairs to put the new loft floor in at a bit of a lower
level, which would greatly increase the amount of usable space up
there.

Regards, NT