Home Extensions- Engaging a design consultant.

You should invite a Building Surveyor or Architect or someone who has a professional knowledge of the building and design process to discuss your project in your home. This will be someone who can prepare plans and is actively involved in submitting applications to the local authority for home extensions. This consultant has the advantage over all other advisors of being able to offer you a design solution to meet your own needs and also give guidance on what is legally acceptable.

You should avoid consultants who do not carry Professional Indemnity Insurance. This is a sign that they are probably “moon lighting” and as such will not have your best interests first and foremost.
This insurance is mandatory from all the professional institutes and exists to protect you in the event of your consultant making a mistake. Any one offering these services without Professional Indemnity Insurance is telling you that they are already acting in an unprofessional manor.

You should also avoid consultants who do not specialise in this type of work. Many larger practices and some individuals simply can not deal with this type of work efficiently. In construction terms these are small works but in real terms are every bit as demanding of time and resources. As such the fee level does not allow some practices to operate at a profit and they will only accept this work as a last resort.

Having identified your prospective consultants you should invite them to your home.

Before you build it . . . Plan-It

Modern Door Widths

The building regulation now stipulate that all rooms should be accessible through a door with a clear width of 800mm. This can be reduced to 775mm in certain circumstances but not many. The out come of this is wider passage ways, bigger doors and generally less living accommodation or more costs.
The purpose of these doors is a new word "visitability" meaning that anyone may visit any property without being restricted by lack of access.

Before you build it . . .Plan-It

FINANCIAL INCLUSION NETWORK (FIN)

FIN is a network of Voluntary, Local Authority and Business organisations who have come together to assist all citizens of West Lothian with various financial matters. There objective is to ensure that all residents are aware of there financial choices and to promote access to financial advise, financial products and other services particularly for the most excluded social groups. Over 60 organisations are involved with FIN including Credit Unions, employability, welfare, health and financial literacies and Small Business Groups

For Further information contact The FIN secretary Janet Munday on 01506 633222

Fire escape windows

Although Fire escape is not usually a concern for most two storey houses the regulations were changed in 2005 to introduce a means of escape from every room at first floor level.
A window ( nick named a dreep window) must now be installed to allow occupants to (dreep) escape in the event of a fire.

Down stairs loos.

The Building regulations do not permit the removal of a down stairs toilet. These are installed in the current regulations to facilitate people with mobility issues. They were installed in the past for convenience. Either way you can no longer remove them.

Project 1060 completes

Corporate Manslaughter. YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS

FIRST CORPORATE KILLING PROSECUTION UNDER NEW LAW

For the first time in the UK, a company has been charged under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. The company, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, is accused of the criminal offence of corporate manslaughter following the death of one of its employees, who was killed whilst taking soil samples from a pit in September last year. The company's director has also been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and could face life imprisonment if convicted. Both the company and the director have also been charged with breaches of health and safety legislation.

This is the first prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, which was brought in to make it easier to hold companies accountable for the death of their employees. A company will be guilty of corporate manslaughter if the way its activities are managed or organised causes a death, and amounts to a gross breach of the duty of care to the person who died. A substantial part of the breach must have been in the way its activities were organised by senior management. If convicted, the company will face an unlimited fine.

It is expected that this will be the first of many such prosecutions – since the Act came into force in April 2008, many other work-related fatalities are under investigation for corporate manslaughter. Commentators have also speculated that the construction and engineering sectors are particularly vulnerable, because of the number of workplace deaths that occur in them each year. In view of this, it has never been more important to ensure that your organisation is aware of the scope of its health and safety obligations and what it must do to comply with them.

Courtesy of MacRoberts solicitors e update of 30.4.09
Note: This is not legal advise and may not be relied on for any reason.