Private Building Control

[LV0210]

Hi,

My house renovation will be starting in July. Has anyone used the services of a private Building Control and be happy to recommend the person they used?

Many thanks!

[stevie23b]

would not recommend it lv private building control companies are mostly used by dubious builders trying to save money on not doing the job up to local athourity spec

[LV0210]

Thanks for your view stevie 23b. Are you speaking from personal experience with a private building control firm that you used?

[Tradesman32]

That's total rubbish Stevie23b.

Try PWC building control or BBS building control. Both very reputable and offer very good service. We have used both the council and private.

Council is fine but you Rarely see the same inspector reviewing which affects consistency. No mobile phone contact so can be difficult to contact. They are generally in their office after 3pm.

Better and more personal service from private inspectors. Direct contact. 1 inspector. I have worked with many and have never met an approved inspector that will put his neck on the line by allowing sub standard work past.

Pm me if you have any questions. I would be happy to give you direct numbers

[red devil]

What Tradesman32 said, and I would also second PWC...

[UVArchitects]

Hi

We have used Andy Travers for years, he is now at Quadrant AI. If you get the right guy who has a good understanding of the spirit of the regulations you will get a much better and more consistent service than from LABC.

http://www.quadrantai.co.uk/news/detail/2014/11/17/104/2/andrew-travers-welcomed-to-the-quadrant-team

Direct contact and advice even before a submission, pretty much every builder we introduce to him, uses him for all future projects.

Please PM me if you would like any further info.

[lpool]

I've never used private building control but can see possible advantages if they are reporting direct to you and not via a project manager/builder. I've found LABC to be good and always had same person from start to finish of project. We did have a serious problem on one project where the LABC reported through the designer/project manager, and twice we discovered we were being told LABC had requested specific works which they actually hadn't. Our contract meant we were liable for additional costs where works specified by the LABC. In an attempt to hide mistakes by the designer/project manager they used the cover of the LABC to claim extra works had been specified. Once I discovered this I ensured I obtained copies of all building control sign offs and work requests.

I guess having an independent private building control person reporting direct to you could help avoid the need of employing a separate project manager and ensure you avoid the kind of problems we faced above.

[Tradesman32]

LV0210

[CreativeLiving]

I to would agree with the comments from Tradesman32 , If you are working with a reputable building company, both the DS and private building control companies are fine, we work with both . I would say private companies do keep continuity and a single opinion which is better to work with as it can be an issue having different local authority building control officers turning up at different stages of the project.

[LV0210]

Great, thank you for your replies. I will reach out to the companies mentioned. Much appreciated!

[stevie23b]

CreativeLiving Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I to would agree with the comments from

> Tradesman32 , If you are working with a reputable

> building company, both the DS and private building

> control companies are fine, we work with both . I

> would say private companies do keep continuity and

> a single opinion which is better to work with as

> it can be an issue having different local

> authority building control officers turning up at

> different stages of the project.

like 'turning up before you bury your insulation'

[CreativeLiving]

like make you dig out another 800mm from the bottom of your trench while the concrete lorry stands there !! as the last guy failed to see a big tree in the garden next door!! lol