Have you brought an old building and not sure how to go about any works you would like to do ?
Are you thinking of carrying out more than just general repairs?
Or are you planning alterations to your property or extending it?
If so,you would be best advised to have the work/project/ extension specified, tendered, a contract drawn up and administered.
The Specification
First off the project /alteration is surveyed and a detailed list of works called The Specification is produced. This is a major element in a projects process.
The Specification provides a means of obtaining accurate costs for the job and forms part of a legal agreement (a contract) between you and a building contractor. It is means of describing the repairs and scope of works to somebody that we might not know as yet. It acts as a way of obtaining any future consents and it is a basis for producing health and safety documents, which is a requirement in law under the CDM 2015 regulations. It also acts as a reference document for the certification and valuation of completed works and guide to the work force on site. It is the basis for instructing changes or additional works – and getting them priced fairly.
Tendering The Specification
Once The Specification has been produced, the next step is to send it out for tender to a number of builders/contractors that have been vetted in regards to their experience with the type of work, their capability, and their provision of adequate indemnity insurance for the project; this sorts the chaff from the wheat.
Tender Analysis
Once the tenders have been returned, they are all analysed and compared with each other.From there the contractor who is thought to be able deliver the best value to the project in terms of cost and quality is selected and a contract can then be formed. For domestic projects we would use an RIBA Domestic Building Contract, this contract has been designed particularly for your type of project; it is set out in plain English.
For commercial work we would us a JCT contract.
Contract Administration
We can then take on the role of Contract Administrator and manage the contract, ensuring that the builder is doing the job to the specification, managing quality control, keeping the project on time and very importantly, managing the budget.
This process takes all the pressure of dealing with builders away from you because that becomes our responsibility. Having a project managed professionally also adds value in terms of cost and quality control.
For information on conservation philosophy and change in the historic built environment see one of our recent articles in; News – Thinking of extending your old building ?
If you have any questions about a project you are thinking about, drop us a line in an email via our contact page and we can discuss whats best for you.
If you have a commercial building, we can help with that too by offering a full Project Management service following the RIBA Plan of works;
‘The RIBA Plan of Work organises the process of briefing, designing, constructing and operating building projects into eight stages and explains the stage outcomes, core tasks and information exchanges required at each stage:
- Conservation
- Cost
- Fire Safety
- Health and Safety
- Inclusive Design
- Planning
- Plan for Use
- Procurement
- Sustainability’ RIBA 2020
We have forged partnerships with AP Cost Consultants and Lockwood Building Projects and formed a collective that can deliver any project in the historic environment.
Please see link to one of our ‘live’ projects;
https://www.ramsgatetown.org/ramsgate/ramsgate-news/news?p=1029176
