We clarify why you need to have a contract in place with your builder, whether you personally know the builder or not. We can provide a template contract and recommend additional terms and conditions specific to your individual project and personal circumstances.
Generally at this juncture, we will have prepared your drawings and you are using our Step 2 & 3 process. We will complete due dilligence checks on your chosen builder and we will pro actively assess your risk of additional or rising builder costs to eliminate them and recommend appropriate clauses to add in to your contract before recommending your contracts are signed.
Many homeowners are amazed when they are made aware of the other legal requirements necessary to comply with legislation and to ensure they are protected throught their project. This includes The Party Wall Act, Health and Safety obligations, Insurance considerations. Out team have many years experience and access to up to date requirements and solutions. We are here to help.
Many homeowners have told us that they simply didn’t realise that there were a lot more legal documents to consider, and have in place, than just a contract they and their builder have to sign. We take you through where you can be exposed and help you address the legalities you need to know about.
We produce a bespoke Programme of works tailored to the building phases of your project. We indicate how long each building phase is likely to take. This is reviewed and agreed with your builder prior to signing any contracts. You will be able to discuss at which phases you and your family may experience the most inconvenience, so this period can be kept to a minimum and contingencies considered. The programme is used to monitor the builders progress and pre agree penalties/actions necessary to bring the project back on track e.g. Working weekends or increasing the number of men on site during the working week, until your project is back on track.
An Interim Payment Schedule is a written agreement of the payments due to your builder. This is contractual and is put in place so you know how much to pay the builder and when. This document is aligneded with the programme of works so you can see if the amount requested is in line with the contract and the programme. The contract will generally also include a retention payment which is witheld until all of the snags and outstanding work is completed to your satisfaction.
Due diligence checks before you sign your contract can save you £1000’s – Bricks and Pieces team have over 40 years experience individually in the design and build industry. We know where builders will have to charge you extras during the building phases. We take builders through our due diligence check list so we can protect you against additional costs, once the builder has commenced on site.
An example of perfect ground conditions at 900mm, which is what the builder has allowed for and priced for. The building inspector has passed this ready for concreting.
Once the perfect foundation is passed by the building inspector and the concrete foundation has been poured, the rest is plain sailing and you are out of the ground.
Here you can see we can proceed with confidence and bring the brickwork out of the ground.
It doesn’t matter what hurdles you encounter.
Bricks and Pieces are here to get you over them.
With minimum inconvenience and cost.
We provide you with guidance around your legal responsibilities under the current legislation. Including help to comply with the Party Wall Act (to prevent unnecessary issues with your neighbours and the Local Authority) and we will provide guidance to help you and your builder to comply with the Health and Safety CDM 2015 Regulations – Failure to comply could lead to prosecution.
Did you know that you need to advise your insurers that you intend to carry out your home improvements? or that you should have Public Liability in place to cover visitors to your property. We will also assist you to check that your builder has insurance and request a copy of these documents for you to refer to if required.
Although many builders prefer to use their own contract; that can be one sided and not give the contractual guarantees necessary to protect you. You may prefer to use one of the many recognised approved contracts, to ensure the contract is fair and protects you and your builder for the duration of the project. Our team will be available to ensure this essential document is fit for purpose and is in place before commencement of the works. We strongly advise all homeowner not to proceed with a builder who tells you that you don’t need a contract because you do.
Any extra works you request that falls outside of the original scope of works should be passed through our Quantity Surveys. This will ensure that the price the builder is quoting has been verified and that the price is reasonable for the works suggested. It is common that some builders charge a premium rate for changes and additions to the project, mid build. Our team will ensure changes and extras are costed using the same calculations (for materials and labourer) as the original cost model.
Once the contracts have been signed and the builders have commenced on site, we are here throughout the works. We can offer telephone and technical support to you and your builder. We keep in frequent contact with you to act as your personal design and building advisor. We can also act as your personal shopper; finding you the best suppliers and prices to get the best bargains and trade offers, obviously without any compromise on quality.
Suite 318
Broadstone Mill
Broadstone Road
Stockport
SK5 7DL
Email: info@theheas.co.uk
Freephone: 0800 084 2061
Local Phone: 0161 464 3939
Business Hours: 09:00 - 17:00
