Upstairs Flat doing a Loft Conversion - Any Questions I need to ask?

Smiley82

Okay, quick background.

I just received an email from my Landlord (I'm renting privately) that the upstairs flat is planning on doing a Loft Conversion, to commence the week after Easter.

My landlord himself is a builder, so I'm sure it's all above board with the proper notices etc, and he has been very good with his communication outling where the scaffolding will be going, how long it will take etc.

He has said that he will confirm their hours of work and get us the contact information for the builders and project manager in case of any issues.

He will also be coming out to take pre-photo's of the house/garden area and roofing.

So from my point of view - okay....bit of a pain but not to worry....they seem to be quite considerate about it, and the owner has every right to improve their property.

But is there anything I need to be aware of? Any questions that I need to be asking? We have a shared entranceway and I'm hoping that this will be kept secured (i.e. door not left open all day? As this is where our mail is stored for the 3 flats).

Also, does anyone know the times that these people can do their work? (I'm envisioning 7am starts on a Saturday morning for 10 weeks for some reason.... ) Also with Summer on the way, we were hoping for some use of our backyard - so hopefully they won't be disturbing us all weekend!!

Just thought I'd ask in case anyone else has been through this before and has any constructive advice to share.

Thanks

poppysarah

Don't just hope the door will be secure. It won't. They will leave it open as much as they need to.

Building control regs probably needed - have a look on your council's website. You can look things up on ours.

sooz

once the scaffolding is up, loft companies/builers normally access the property through the scaffolding & the roof. Until the stairs need to go in, they should barely use the front door.
you want to check that the ladder is secured to the scaffolding properly each night, so no-one else can use the scaffolding to get into the building.

there are times that noise is un/acceptable. 7am on saturday is not. most generally don't work on sundays - even builders like to have a day off. Check to see what times they plan to work.

penguine

Our local council permits work on Saturdays only till 1pm and not at all on Sundays. They have been very responsive in the past when we've phoned them to complain about building work outside those hours. I'd find out in advance and get their out of hours number so you're prepared (though ideally you should be able to talk to the builders directly first to try to keep things civil).

Smiley82

Thanks for the quick responses. The landlord has already said that he will find out what hours they intend to work, but hasn't got this information from them yet. I guess I was just wondering what the possibilities were. I just checked our local borough website and it did say Saturday till 1pm and not Sunday, but said that applications could be made to work outside these times, so we would have to see.

Unfortunately we have just had a nightmare weekend with EDF right outside our window with loud yelling, generators and bright lighting until 4am both nights of the weekend - with nothing that can be done about it according to the council, so I'm a bit paranoid!

Thanks again.