Documents arrived today for the warrant. I didn't remember submitting 40 odd drawings, but there you go. I have found the process fairly painless but longer than it should be. Having inside info, I know that this is because of poor resourcing.
It would have been quicker if I had paid for an SER Ltd engineers certificate. If you don't know what that is, and are thinking about building in Scotland, listen up.
Under the Scottish building standards system, you have the option of submitting Certificates of Design. These can be submitted and when done so, the Local Authority are obliged to accept them at face value and not question the design the certificate covers. They can ask for drawings for inspection purposes, but that's it. Great?
Well hold on.
There are only two schemes at the moment. One for structural engineering, the other for energy. The structural one is well bedded in, the energy one not. In fact it is seldom used as of yet.
The problem comes with the structural side when you get behind the process. What is supposed to happen is that the engineer (lets say a timber framed house) is supposed to check and certify the complete structure. Ground report, foundation design, timber frame, roof trusses, cladding etc. Supposed to check it all. They should, some of them will charge in excess of £3000 for a small house.
Here is the rub, which I have come to realise is actual fact in some cases. The kit producer will do calculations and issue a design certificate for their part....ok they will issue a design certificate. The engineer you pass the design certificate to, will not, in some cases (I'm sure there are loads who will do it correctly) recheck the calculations. They may just think....ah i know them, tick box.
So what is the £3000 plus for? You figure it out.
A contractor told me recently that a client of his was charged £2500 for a simple two storey extension, by an engineer. Another engineer charged another client £500 for a new house.
So, tight as i am, i thought to myself. I can do a ground report, I can get all the calcs from the kit engineer (it's in the contract), and I can pass it to Building Control for them to check, at their expense, as they are obliged to do. It's what building warrant fees are for after all.
But as they are poorly resourced, they have to send it out to the same engineers who you could approach for an SER Ltd certificate.
I suppose it depends on timescales. And being a tightwad.
It would have been quicker if I had paid for an SER Ltd engineers certificate. If you don't know what that is, and are thinking about building in Scotland, listen up.
Under the Scottish building standards system, you have the option of submitting Certificates of Design. These can be submitted and when done so, the Local Authority are obliged to accept them at face value and not question the design the certificate covers. They can ask for drawings for inspection purposes, but that's it. Great?
Well hold on.
There are only two schemes at the moment. One for structural engineering, the other for energy. The structural one is well bedded in, the energy one not. In fact it is seldom used as of yet.
The problem comes with the structural side when you get behind the process. What is supposed to happen is that the engineer (lets say a timber framed house) is supposed to check and certify the complete structure. Ground report, foundation design, timber frame, roof trusses, cladding etc. Supposed to check it all. They should, some of them will charge in excess of £3000 for a small house.
Here is the rub, which I have come to realise is actual fact in some cases. The kit producer will do calculations and issue a design certificate for their part....ok they will issue a design certificate. The engineer you pass the design certificate to, will not, in some cases (I'm sure there are loads who will do it correctly) recheck the calculations. They may just think....ah i know them, tick box.
So what is the £3000 plus for? You figure it out.
A contractor told me recently that a client of his was charged £2500 for a simple two storey extension, by an engineer. Another engineer charged another client £500 for a new house.
So, tight as i am, i thought to myself. I can do a ground report, I can get all the calcs from the kit engineer (it's in the contract), and I can pass it to Building Control for them to check, at their expense, as they are obliged to do. It's what building warrant fees are for after all.
But as they are poorly resourced, they have to send it out to the same engineers who you could approach for an SER Ltd certificate.
I suppose it depends on timescales. And being a tightwad.
2 comments:
It took just over 7 months for us to obtain building warrant approval, a resource issue rather than too many questions about the design itself.
Good luck with the next stage.
must be a pretty shoddy Building Standards outfit.
What are they doing all day?
Why does it need to take so long to assess a simple timber shed!
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