Problems Often Forgotten
Cities bring their own set of potential problems so if you’re thinking of converting your loft and live in London or any major city, bear in mind the following problems which could be missed by a small builder, loft designer or local loft company. These unforeseen problems could cost you, the customer, huge amounts of time and additional money that you will not be aware of until it’s too late and you have already committed and paid your deposit…
These problems are listed below:-
- If there is only one entrance point into a flat.
- If your house or flat is on a double yellow line or on a red route.
- If there is a bus shelter and/or bus stop outside the property.
- If your house is on or below a parade of shops.
- If there are no parking bays out side your property.
These problems are explained in more detail below:-
If there is only one point of access into your flat, the builders’ access may only be through your front door.
If there is no rear access to the property all the materials will have to go up through your communal area or up your stairs. Some builders may forget to charge you extra for this; this extra charge is necessary as it will take them more time to carry the materials up through tight turns and corridors, not to mention making good any damaged areas that happen as a result of this. This would be a vital question to ask other companies as it could lead to thousands of pounds of additional outlay if forgotten. We always suggest that you think about budgeting to decorate your hallway or communal area after the loft has been completed but we also believe that if we cause any damage to your house, we put it right at our own expense.
If your house or flat is on a double yellow line or on a red route it will almost certainly have a council restriction that will have to be adhered to.
Regulations governing when and where cranes can operate outside your property are the most common restriction. On a certain day, a crane could restrict the flow of traffic outside your house and therefore your local authority may suggest you start your loft conversion on a Saturday or Sunday. If this problem is not discussed with you by your local builder or loft company, it will certainly be classed as an “additional extra” and in turn could well become a big problem between you and the company you have already chosen to go ahead with. These extra costs (between £600 and £3500 on average) can sometimes spiral out of control and if you don’t pay their costs you could find other builders walking off the job, leaving it half finished or even removing what they have already built. At Marble Construction we write a full, detailed quotation specifying all the potential problems and a plan about what we intend to do about them.
If there is a bus shelter and/or bus stop outside the property.
This will cause similar problems to the scenario above but the worst thing is, you may never be able to use a crane. This decision will be made by the local council and is subject to the health and safety of the general public. It takes 6 weeks for a decision like this to be made and if we can’t use a crane, we would use an electronic wench that would be attached to the side of the scaffolding. The costs are similar for either an electronic wench or a crane but with a wench it takes twice as long to lift everything up onto the scaffolding and start the loft conversion. Some loft companies will try and charge you more money for these problems whereas Marble Construction guarantee not to charge you a penny extra.
If your house is on or below a parade of shops there is also a major issue regarding scaffolding.
The scaffolding will have to be wire netted, have a scaffolding alarm installed and will need to be specifically designed so the general public can walk safely underneath the building site while your loft is being converted. Marble Construction will take care of all of these problems and will oversee all the necessary correspondence with your local authority. The additional scaffolding costs would already have been discussed and, if for some reason the additional scaffolding costs were overlooked by us, it will not be you that foots the bill.
If there is nowhere for your skip to go outside your property.
If there is nowhere for your skip to go outside your property but there is a side road nearby, we will apply for a skip permit form your local council. However, if there are yellow lines on this side road there are unfortunately costs that we will need to discuss with you before you proceed with us.
With other companies, the problem of additional costs could be overlooked or not even spotted in the first place. This means that as soon as they go to start your loft or extension, you have already paid your deposit but they will then ask for more money for the skip permits. Council fees payable to your local council can be as much as £200 + per week for a permit on a busy road. Marble Construction know we are the experts in developing properties and if a problem like this arises and we have overlooked it, we will absorb this cost – simple!