Common mistakes a client can make before a builder starts work

So, you have had some design drawings done and you absolutely love them. You have had Planning Permission granted and Building Regulation drawings have been prepared. And you have got a builder lined up to make a start on making your dreams of a better home come true.

In our experience of over 26 years, there are a few mistakes that can be made which could turn the project from a huge success into a project full of problems and stress. They are as follows.

Similar to the planning process, the Building Regulation drawings need to be submitted to a Building Inspector and approved before any work starts on site.

It is common for Building Inspectors to request slight changes to the prepared drawings or additional information to be added. In some cases information could be required from third parties, like a structural engineer, in the form of steelwork calculations or designing the roof and floor structure in a loft conversion project. If your builder starts on site before this occurs, then it may result in significant delays if, for example, you need to wait for a structural engineer to become available, or you have to alter work that has already been built on site.

All work carried out on site will be at the client's risk until a Building Regulation approval has been issued.

Building Control have five weeks to determine a full plans application, or eight if you agree an extension, so it isn't a long wait in itself. What catches people out is that those five weeks start when a complete application lands, and waiting on calculations from a third party can add several weeks on top without anybody having done anything wrong.

Action steps: It is important for you, as a client, to communicate with the designer as to when you have arranged for the site works to commence. That way, the designer can make sure that all of the Building Regulation drawings are approved well before a builder starts, and the structural calculations are approved.

The Building Regulations consist of minimum building standards that all buildings, especially dwellings, have to comply with. This includes insulation, means of access into the building, means of escape in an emergency and structural stability, to name a few. All these parts of the Building Regulations have a knock on effect with each other.

If the client instructs a builder to differ from the approved drawings then you may find that by altering wall, door or window positions and material specifications, you suddenly make the project non-compliant with the Building Regulations.

At the end of the project when the Building Inspector makes his final inspection, you may find that non-compliant work needs to be rectified at the cost of you, the client. This not only causes you extra cost, but increases the time you cannot use your new space.

The one we see most often is a window moved a few hundred millimetres because it looked better on site. On its own that's nothing at all. But if that window was providing the means of escape from a first floor bedroom, or was sized to meet the ventilation requirement for the room, then moving it or shrinking it has quietly broken something the drawings had already solved.

Action steps: Keep the designer informed at all times when you would like some changes making to the scheme. You will have immediate reassurance that the changes will still comply with Building Regulations, and the small cost of updating the drawings will be worth it compared to any enforcement action being taken against you.

During the planning application stage, the planners will check that the external appearance of the proposed works, the height, the access and visibility all comply with the planning regulations. Checks are also made on how your project affects your neighbours and the street scene.

Once planning permission has been granted then the external appearance should not be altered without running the changes past the planning department.

Changes can be made to the scheme externally but strictly with the consent of the planning department. This can easily be done by your designer, usually in the form of a non-material amendment application. Although this application can take a similar length of time to a regular planning application, it is worth doing for peace of mind and to avoid having to rectify work already built.

Especially on new builds, it is important that you do not change the finished floor level or ridge height without applying to the planning department for confirmation in writing that this would be acceptable.

Action steps: Talk to your designer about any changes to the approved drawings before you tell your builder to build it differently.

When a project receives planning approval, the approval notice usually contains some conditions of approval. This basically means that you can have planning permission providing that you comply with the conditions stated.

These can be in the form of submitting a finished floor level, external material samples, drainage layouts, landscaping layouts and so on. Although all of the conditions are serious, the main error many clients make is to make a start on site before the information requested in the planning conditions has been approved. If you find yourself building the shell of the building only to find that the planning department wants the floor level lowering by a metre, because floor levels were a planning condition, then it may have a huge cost implication.

Worth knowing too that there is no right of appeal against a breach of condition notice, and that enforcement time limits in England changed in April 2024, so a breach that would once have become immune after four years now takes ten.

Action steps: Get written confirmation from your designer, along with copies of the letter from the planning department, stating that all conditions have been accepted and discharged.

All of the above mistakes that can be made on a project are very easy to avoid with good planning ahead and communication with your designer.

We understand that to suddenly reach a stage where you have a set of working technical construction drawings is very exciting, as all you need now is a builder to follow them to build your exciting project. A client must understand that there are still important steps and approvals to obtain before a builder can start to dig out the foundations.

Tell them about any last minute changes that you are thinking about, tell them if you have instructed a builder to make a start and on what day, at least four weeks in advance. It is always worth keeping your drawings up to date with any changes.

Make sure that your builder is kept up to date too. It is surprising how many building projects commence when the client has given the builder old or incorrect copies of drawings and information. This can result in high costs as well as the project taking far longer than planned.

We always recommend our clients send us an email when they have a start date from their builder, so that we can offer a final copy of drawings and approvals with structural information to make sure that you are fully up to date. There's more on the whole sequence in planning a building project from start to finish.

If you would like to discuss any content of this blog further then we would be very happy to hear from you.

For more information please call us on 07773 899 597 or contact us through this website.