Aedis Building Inspectors unreachable

theGrinch

guitar77 wrote: »

No. I have some pics we took along the way for interests sake. . Probably not what LA want. None of steel beam either.
I’m fuming and trying desperately not stroke out.

Do you have a contact number for any inspector that visited? They usually take photos. Can you ask if they can forward or maybe your builder took some.

Keep receipts of materials purchased like steels and insulation

This and looking through my photos carefully to spot anything relevant for evidence.

guitar77

Yes I have the inspectors name, number and email. He doesn’t respond.

KittyMac

Any more news anyone? Our council man is giving us no option but to cancel our Aedis contract and give them the work - that seems rather wrong to me but according to him we have no other option? Surely that cant be legal?

daveyjp

KittyMac wrote: »

Any more news anyone? Our council man is giving us no option but to cancel our Aedis contract and give them the work - that seems rather wrong to me but according to him we have no other option? Surely that cant be legal?

Which other company is picking up their work? Four companies now have no insurance.

The CICAIR website is silent on this whole matter, which is astonishing.

If you go to AEDIS link on CICAIR it even shows their insurance is expired.

HockeyUmp

guitar77 wrote: »

Yay!

Aedis replied. They have no inspection notes whatsoever on our build.
What a ******** an absolute pile of incompetence.
I’ll take pictures of my property being smashed all over the place.

That sucks, any evidence you can gather (delivery notes of steels incl. sizes, or actual amount delivered by concrete firms etc.) will help you. In the 8 Local Authorities I work in we are also taking account of the reputation and experience of the builder who carried out the works.

Hope you have a good Surveyor take over - good luck

HockeyUmp

KittyMac wrote: »

Any more news anyone? Our council man is giving us no option but to cancel our Aedis contract and give them the work - that seems rather wrong to me but according to him we have no other option? Surely that cant be legal?

I'm afraid the Council are advising you correctly.
The Local Authority (LAs) can pick up the work if you cancel the original Initial Notice.
If Aedis had issued a partial certificate (clearly they cant now as they are in voluntary liquidation) then legally another Approved Inspector (Private Building Control Body) could serve a Notice to carry out the remainder of the works. If no partial completion is provided, then the ONLY option is to revert to LAs.

There is also an issue with the Insurance of any AIs who do take over partially completed works when they have not seen all the relevant stages. Hence, the work reverts back to the LA who have the powers to serve Notices that require the owner to open up, or expose any works as seen fit by "an officer of the Council". They also have the powers to ensure any offending works are removed or made compliant. But we don't need to discuss this too much, as we [LA Building Control Professionals] try to avoid going through these ultimate sanctions.

I personally wouldn't be scared of the Local Authority Building Control, they are usually helpful, and if you have any issues they usually have a good appeal/ complaint process that works!

HockeyUmp

guitar77 wrote: »

No. I have some pics we took along the way for interests sake. . Probably not what LA want. None of steel beam either.
I’m fuming and trying desperately not stroke out.

Did Aedis carry out inspections?
What area of the country is the job in?

It's sadly an all too familiar tale, with this company in particular, that there are no inspection reports.... but they find themselves in a situation that "has arisen through no fault of our own". I've experienced a lot of jobs where they have done inspections, but never submitted any paperwork to the Local Authority.

Definitely a case for going to CIC AIR with a complaint, especially if you can prove that Aedis did do inspections!

HockeyUmp

foxstorm wrote: »

just to agree with what was said. Normally you just dig a test hole down the side of a foundation to illustrate its width and depth. pictures should then be enough for mesh/ground conditions etc


Other things they look at should also not be too onerous. except for insulation if you have no panels to remove

The main intrusive items I would be looking to satisfy myself on are Structural (Part A), Fire Safety (Part , Energy Efficiency (Part L) and Electrical (Part P - hopefully covered by a registered competent electrician)
However, where possible DPCs, DPMs (Part C), Sound (Part E) in the case of party walls, separating floors, Part F (Ventilation), Combustible Appliances, Drainage (Part H), Windows, Falling from height, ballustrading/ handrails (Part K), Access (Part M), all need to be satisfied. Luckily most these latter ones don't need any opening up.

In new build houses the list becomes a lot more onerous....

guitar77

Yeah Aedis did the inspections.

I have already informed CICAIR who told me to let them know if I get unsigned or incomplete notes. I got none.

Incidentally, the day after I emailed CICAIR to see if they can help get notes, I got the reply off Aedis. Coincidence? Maybe but I suspect they emailed AEDIS straightaway.

myk33

just to give an update with regards to my inspection which happened today from my LABC.


In short they appear to be happy with everything but have asked that we send all pictures to prove as much as possible so that they can make a decision from their office. the feeling is that nothing will need to be uncovered at this time.


It worked my favour that the surveyor has worked with and signed off some of my builders jobs in the past which gives them confidence and "trade history" if you like.


one issue was that on my landing pad in the loft it should be 600mm deep but in fact it is around 400ish and the head height is a little under as the door is soaping before the middle of the door. AEDIS inspector signed this off and was happy.


LA have said that while they appreciate why it was done like that and the fact that they cant see how an alternative could have been made in this position that they most likely will have to write a clause in the certificate which states that the landing pad and head height to the loft is not complaint. In essence this will only affect me for when we sell the house and will be brought up during conveyancing however before it would even get to this stage the potential buyer would have already viewed the house and if they had a problem with it likely would choose not to proceed with the purchase there and then.


I might add that the door has ample head room (im 5 ft 10) and I have never walked in or out of the room even thinking about moving my body or minding my head. furthermore I have no intention on selling so its a none issue for me.


I will update with how we get on in the coming days/weeks ahead - no 2 jobs will be the same so I cant say that everyone will have an easy ride - im still not 100% sure where I stand with regards to footings and steel beams but looks more positive than I thought before they arrived and I hope that my images and the notes suffice for a non-invasive signoff.


I would suggest to prepare for the worst then you can only be happy if it turns out better.