The A-to-Z of building a new home... B

B- Building Regulations - All building projects require Building Regulations approval even if they do not require planning or listed buildings consent. Building Regulations confine themselves to the structural and practical elements of a build project, and are relative to the building legislation as set out by government. The design information either conforms to these regulations or it does not. On the odd occasion there are certain elements of the build where the solutions are left to the discretion of the building control officer in attendance on the project. You can either submit for full building regulations approval through your local authority building control department or private building control consultant, alternatively you can carry out the build works under a 48 hour notice through either of these two parties. Building Regulations approval is not normally required for conservatories, but as a general rule all structural, drainage and electrical work will definitely require approval. One should always check with the local authority prior to carrying out any build works. The works will need to be inspected by the building control officer at certain stages of the build, and on completion they will be required to issue a completion certificate to signify that the build works have been carried out in accordance with legislation formulating current building regulations. There is a fee for this.B - Builders - When looking for a competent builder, one first needs to ascertain what size building firm you are going to need for your project. Small contractors with a limited pool of tradesmen are usually capable of carrying out smaller projects, however you can sometimes get a great level of detail and finish from small firms where they pride themselves on being craftsmen and only take on one job at a time. Alternatively, the medium sized building firms can usually slot into both small projects and larger ones, making them more adaptable, and the large building firms can turn their hand to anything but come with higher overheads and ultimately cost you more to have on the project. Also be careful they do not have larger more lucrative work elsewhere at the same time, or you will be left with the less skilled labour on site and will be playing second tune to someone else's project. Remember that all builders need to make a profit, so it is no good knocking their prices so low they cannot come out on the money. Projects where the builders come in with very low prices, will usually come back with extras on the project to make up the shortfall, or worse still will scrimp on the job. Rather work with a builder you like and can communicate well with. Always get a schedule of quantities and prices for your job so you have something to cross reference with your builders prices. A good tool to use can be found at www.mybuildingproject.co.uk if you are not wanting to engage the services of a quantity surveyor.