Diary - Building Regulations

We’ve got the engineers plans back yesterday and I must confess to being a little disappointed with them. I was expecting some technical wizardry to unfold with baffling symbols and cunning use of supports. It’s essentially a copy of the plans submitted for permission with some extra dashes added to show where the joints will go.

It also has some instructions added for the builder on what materials to use and what windows go where. I’m taking this list to a builder friend who mentioned that building regulations require the minimum of heat and sound insulation. We essentially require our house to be warm and quite (especially with 2 children running around) so Cephas will help pad out the spec so that we get a better result in the end. (If Cephas wasn’t a friend he would get the job - I couldn’t recommend him enough for his attention to detail, professionalism and craft. If you need his number drop me a line, I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you out.)
So the next stage is that these plans go to building regulations for sign off and we send copies to builders for pricing. We were going to contract the whole job to a polish builder we were recommended but having time to think, I’m more comfortable with splitting the job between a UK structural builder - new roof line, extra joints, steel work and dormers (for their guarantees) and then give the polish builder the cosmetic work - stud walls, plaster board, electrics, plumbing, bathroom, plastering and woodwork. I’m hoping this will still come within our budget. I’ll let you know what prices come back when they arrive. I’ll also post the new plans so you can see the difference.

Diary