Managing that project
YOU have the planning permissions, you have submitted the commencement notice to the local authority and have a builder appointed, costs agreed.
Next, sign a contract with the builder. This is a contract outlining what the builder has agreed to do.
You pay the builder in accordance with the contract. If the builder does not perform his duties, this contract will protect you and give you redress.
The Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has a number of contracts for domestic properties, particularly the plain-English contract, which is easy to understand and implement.
Appoint a chartered quantity surveyor, or chartered building surveyor, as contract administrator to protect your interests.
A contract administrator ensures that the builder undertakes his/her duties under the contract. The contract administrator will sign off any payments, via a valuation.
The contractor submits his valuation, requesting a certain proportion of the contract sum, and the contract administrator confirms that works have been undertaken.
The contract administrator issues a certificate of payment for the works done, with a pre-agreed retention deducted. Retention is money held back from the contractor for the duration of works. At the completion or “practical completion” of the project, this retention is halved and kept by the client for six — 12 months, to ensure that the builder will come back to repair defects that materialise. The contract will be based on the drawings and specifications used to obtain costs and planning permission.
If your project is straightforward — i.e. you have not had to apply for planning permission, have no professional drawings and you are engaging a builder yourself — you should produce a hand-drawn sketch outlining critical dimensions of the extension, as well as the locations of doors and windows.
Detail the standards of finish that you require, such as the type of roof covering, type of floor finishes, and so on. This information, along with the quote from the builder, can be used as part of any contract. This will protect you.
Certification of the building, in compliance with building regulations, will be required if you intend later to sell the property. From Mar 2014, new building regulations will require the appointment of an assigned certifier to certain construction projects.
This will not apply to properties under 40m2, so the majority of domestic extensions will not require an assigned certifier. This will result in building regulations for projects being certified under the historic self-certification method.
The minimum you will require is a visual inspection by a competent professional at the end of the project, clarifying that the works are in substantial compliance with building regulations.
This certificate is pointless in confirming the property has been built in accordance with building regulations, and is only useful for conveyancing, as none of the important issues, such as the foundations, levels of insulation, or installation of damp-proofing course are inspected.
My advice to anyone constructing an extension is to engage a competent professional, such as a chartered building surveyor, to undertake stage inspections to ensure construction is in accordance with building regulations. The minimum inspections that should be undertaken are:
- Open foundations, excavated, pegged and reinforced prior to pouring of concrete,
- Block-work up to damp-proof course (DPC) level
- Block work up to wall-plate level
- Roof structure complete and felted, prior to slating or tiling
- First fix complete prior to plastering
- Completion.
When a builder knows that the works will be inspected at various stages, he/she will be motivated to undertake a high standard of workmanship. These inspections will give you the security that the works are being professionally managed, and completed, in accordance with building regulations.
Construction becomes stressful when extras are required. There is often a feeling that a builder is out to make as much money as possible.
For example, if the builder has won the contract for the work under a competitive tender, he/she may see the additions as an opportunity to make additional money.
If you have a contract administrator appointed, he/she will negotiate with the contractor on the value of these additions, using prescribed rates and experience to confirm value for money. If you do not have a contract administrator on your project, it will be left up to you negotiate on any extras with the contractor.
This can lead to a confrontational relationship, where the homeowner feels the builder may be inflating prices, which is not always the case.
My advice to anyone undertaking a project, regardless of whether they have a contract administrator or not, is to take ample time, at the design stage, to minimise the amount of potential extras. It is difficult to foresee all potential extras, as, sometimes, when the extension is built you can see things that you couldn’t at design stage, when everything was just on paper.
When the construction is complete, ensure that you get all of the relevant certification, from both the building contractor and your consultant. This should include:
- An Bord Gais test certificate of conformance (where necessary)
- Electrical test certificate, such as a RECI certificate
- Certificate of exemption from planning (if applicable) and certificate of compliance with building regulations.
It is normal for a builder to provide you with a type of health-and-safety file, including all owners’ manuals and warranties for anything that is installed.
Ensure that final payment is not made to the contractor until this is provided.
There are a number of options giving various levels of protection:
Full project management, including the professional acting as a contract administrator and signing off on the works.
Full protection on cost and compliance, with building regulations and future conveyancing.
No protection on cost, but ensures that the extension will be built in compliance with building regulations, and certificate will be suitable for future conveyancing.
No protection on cost or compliance with building regulations. Certificate only suitable for future conveyancing.
No protection at all. Total reliance on the builder.
It is the hope that construction of your extension will go well, be on budget, on time and that you will be able to enjoy your new, well-earned extension, free of defects, for many years.
Putting a contract in place and appointing a competent professional, in whatever level suits your budget, should assist you in getting the finished extension you desire.
is a chartered building surveyor and project management surveyor and is chairman of the Building Surveying Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland; www.scsi.ie.
