Building Contract ?

DavidJonas

Finally we have architects plans, planning permission, a structural engineers report and building regulations approval. So we are good to go !

Er. What now?

I have a couple of recommendations for builders but am only truly happy with one of them. Even that took a knock when I checked and they are not FMB. Which I was hoping they would be.

I will find some builders one way or another, but it is the next bit that bothers me. I have never had anything built before and this is a 2 storey extension.

I really don't know what I should be offering to the builder. I have the plans and structural report, but it's basically gibberish to me. Can I just throw that at them and it will do? Or do I need to put something extra together myself?

Presumably we need a contract. Should I just download one? The lady down the road had builders in and they overran by about 2 months. I don't want that to happen. Are penalty clauses for late completion usual?

Any and all advice much appreciated.

penguine

We had a ground floor, part first floor extension done last year along with complete refurbishment. We had never done anything like this before (and had never even owned a house before, only a flat). Once we had engineers' drawings I got 5 builders in to quote (until that stage they could only give us an estimate, they needed the engineers' calculations for a firm quote). I found all of them on Checkatrade and read the reviews carefully to make sure that they'd done large jobs similar to mine before. In the end we obtained 4 quotes and 3 were very close to each other. The fourth was about £20k less and we had been advised that if one of the quotes is much cheaper than the others then you should be wary; either they are likely to be cutting corners on the work or there are extras you'll have to pay for that aren't included in the quote. So we chose one of the other 3, balancing between timescales and cost.

We didn't use a contract and I doubt you can charge a penalty for late completion as it would be too difficult to prove that it's down to something within the builders' control. Besides it would seem to set up the possibility of an antagonistic relationship from the start.

Good luck!

Furts

A contract may not be worth the paper it is written on, and it comes down to enforcing it should things go wrong. If there is dodgy work, tardy work, or the builder walks off how does the consumer enforce the contract?

However it is better to have matters in writing than to have nothing. This shows that the relationship is intended to be formal and professional.

You appear to be missing a Specification. This is vital in order to get genuine and comparable quotes. By Specification, I am referring to I joists or solid joists, what types and thickness of all insulations, how many sockets, what brand of electrical fittings, what make and model of internal doors, what decorating and how many coats of paint, what depth architrave and skirting...and so on.

Reece_

Obviously with any job where you're spending a lot of money and expect a certain standard of work you're right to be wary of finding the right builder for you, by FMB, do you mean federation of master builders? If so, I really wouldn't be overly concerned about a builder not being a member, yes they will weedle out some of the cowboys, but there will be rogues that are members and claims of the federation themselves putting work right if anything goes wrong can be a bit hit and miss. No offence meant to any builders that are members, but I've seen quite a few jobs bodged and overcharged by members of the federation and some have lost tens of thousands over it.

The plans and structural report should be enough for them to get going on, but just ask them when you get quotes if that's all they require.
Getting recommendations as you have is a good way to start on finding a builder, as other poster has said, get 3 or 4 quotes atleast and see what they range from to see an average, I'd then go for the middle ground or highest depending on variation.
I'd agree that a customer presenting a contract to a builder will probably not give you the best of starts , it will probably come across antagonising. However a fair amount of builders will have their own contracts they use, outlining costs, timings etc as well as when they expect to be paid and how. If they don't you can atleast ask for a time estimate and schedule of payment to be put in writing for you/emailed over.

andrewf75

I had similar concerns last year before having an extension built.

The truth is (in my still limited experience) that buiders don't really do contracts and the work may well over-run. The weather can cause delays as can other things. They won't want to be bound by strict guidelines. Our builders were pretty good, but it still over-ran by a couple of months. I think it is pretty standard unfortunately. I very much doubt you can get a penalty clause for late completion.

I think you can expect them to give you a breakdown week by week of targets, but not a guarantee that this will be met.

As for FMB, there are other recognised bodies I think eg NHBS. See if he is registered with any other body. Or go by references from previous clients.

EssexExile

We had 3 quotes for an extension all about £40,000, then I saw a house about a mile away having work done on it so I knocked & asked how it was going. They were enthusiastic about their builders, no contract, got paid in stages in arrears, the sub-contract plumbers were useless. I liked the sound of this so got a quote, they were the cheapest & claimed they would be the quickest. It's all finished now, everything was done on budget & on time. I think we got the same sub-contract plumbers though.

paddyrg

You can always stage payments based on milestones - helps keep everyone focussed. I personally would be inclined to hire a project manager of some kind, someone with proper experience who can make sure you don't get fobbed off.

mcoyne1969

A decent contractor should be able to sort everything out for you ( I usually do!), ask for references and go and look at what they have done, don't just take a letter as proof.
You mention penalties for late completion, who sets the time scale? would you pay the builder extra if he finishes early?
If you want it run through a contract you are better getting a Building Surveyor / Project Manager to run it for you.

DavidJonas

Many thanks for all the replies!

Okay so builder first, contract second. Which is likely to boil down to cost, a breakdown of the work, timescales we hope are achievable (!) and milestones for payment.

I think my leaning towards the FMB is straw clutching really. Just want reassurance, but perhaps you make your own reassurance by checking references, etc.

As for a project manager, I don't want to pay for it. It's as crude as that really.

And I need a specification.

I will address that and start making calls!

arbrighton

We got architects to draw up tender pack and pick builders to send it out to, then took their advice plus our own thoughts to select a builder.

Re contracts, architect set up and administered JCT with us, and while there was overrun and they were pushing for enforcing completion penalties, a lot of the delay was not caused by the building company themselves.

We did pay for project management and do regret it as I don't think we got what we expected out of it