Finding Contractors

A huge part of the success or failure of a project will depend on the quality of the contractors you find.  Good contractors are often booked ahead for some time and should always be able to give you good references for jobs they have recently done.  Even if they are not booked up solidly, you need to feel that they are reliable, competent people who you can trust and work with, and a personal recommendation from someone is one of the best ways of finding someone.  In London, with hundreds to choose from, I found a great plumber by asking a friendly letting agent who they used for emergencies, but even this approach may not work when you want a contractor to do a major job for you - he can fix a leak but can he install a complete system?.

Having just moved from London, I had a problem: I knew no-one at all.  What I did find was that people in the country are far more approachable than people in the big city and, possibly because of the small size of the town, they are more concerned about their reputation.  Contractors in London know that there are always new customers who will not have heard of their past misdemeanours, but here word would get around very easily.

So I resorted to the internet and found some local roofers and builders. Then I assessed them on a number of criteria, such as whether they had their own website, how helpful they were on the phone and how responsive to what I wanted to do.  At this stage some people eliminated themselves by not being sufficiently understanding about slate, lime and other traditional materials, or by just not returning calls.  I also wanted them to understand where I was coming from, and to accept that I had some knowledge and experience which I wanted to use and enhance.  There is no point in using a contractor who will battle against your intentions the whole way.  In both cases a face-to-face on-site chat settled my mind and somehow within a few days I had both the major contractors I needed.

I had thought that I would do the applications for consents myself as it hadn't been too difficult with an extension in 1993 but, when I checked the Planning Portal, it was clear that the requirements had changed.  There is now a lot more of them, and they all seem a lot more detailed, so I thought that doing it myself might just introduce errors and delays (and hence more cost) so I also decided to engage an architect for the extension.  Then I realised that if he was going to do the extension, he might as well look after the earlier applications for listed building consent for the roof and conservation consent for the access as well, since the extra work would be small but the benefit could be large, bearing in mind the tight timescales to get the roof done.

I found him in the same way as the contractors; a young chap with a family who lives about 500 yards away, who after visiting the site gave me a quote which was about the sort of sum I expected assuming that the work required is not excessive.

All that I need now is just to actually buy the place.  My sale in London is about to exchange contracts, and I think we can exchange on "The House" in a couple of weeks.  Right now I just feel frustrated when I see the rain outside as I just want to get the roof fixed NOW but I can't!

Urgent repairs, and consents

Those who have never bought a property probably have not experienced the frustration of having to wait while faceless people (i.e. solicitors) follow a process which is fairly commonplace but just takes ages...  They are confident in the knowledge that they will get paid anyway so what's the rush?

Urgent roof repairs needed

In my case I want to get on and get the roof fixed before winter.  Every time it rains I want to get up there and fix the holes but I can't because it isn't mine yet, so I just worry about the damage being caused.  All I can do is plan and try not to worry.  The impending onset of winter was in fact one reason why our offer was found acceptable, because the vendor could see that the property would suffer further if not repaired in some way so either he had to pay out for some work or else sell it quickly.  The worst case for him would have been still to own it during winter and watch it suffer, and then he can only sell it for less than now, or even worse the council serve him with an enforcement notice to repair the listed building. This photo doesn't do justice to the poor quality of the roof, but it really does have three holes in it!

So, I need to find a roofing contractor (see separate entry coming soon)

And an architect...

I also need to tackle the questions about the permissions to do the work and I have realised that the services of an architect might be a good idea; although I could do drawings and complete the forms myself, I would probably introduce delay due to my unfamiliarity with the system.  Also, I feel that a professional approach is more likely to get the council's blessing, and an architect will also be required anyway when we do the extension next year.

Consents required

The permissions required look daunting: apart from the normal planning permission and building regulations, we are in a conservation area and the building is listed.  The issue is that each of these may or may not apply to what you want to do.  Apart from engaging an architect, I think the trick is to get to know people at the council before you actually start work or even before you make an application - they like you more if you speak to them and try to follow the rules!  Locally they are very helpful and have a pragmatic view of things. For instance, before making the offer I spoke to a conservation officer who enlightened me about some things:

• If I repair EXACTLY like for like, I do not need listed building consent or any other consent, but even to remove someone's bodge and restore the building to its original state DOES need consent.  (We have a couple of ridge tiles missing and lead flashing has been used instead and strictly even this replacement will need permission to change.)
• Repair is always their preferred option, rather than complete replacement (especially do not re-point complete walls).
• "A house has to earn its keep" - they are realistic in their outlook on what you want to do, but it helps if your requests are reasonable as well!
• They like to see lime used on old buildings and hate to see cement ribbon pointing, UPVC doors/windows, plastic guttering etc being used on old buildings.
• Hence my proposed stone extension in lime met with immediate agreement as to being a good idea, despite the increase in ground area.
• There is a popular belief which is that only certain parts of a building are actually affected by listing.  This is NOT true - although it may be the case that only certain parts were the original reason for listing, once it is listed then the entire building, inside and out, and its entire plot including boundary walls, is all subject to control.
• If I want to make an access through a low wall, I won't need conservation approval as the wall is so low (I don't know the critical height) but I would need listed building consent as the wall was there when the building was listed.