We offer a one-stop
shop – from concept design to completed build and handover. The usual
process:
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You
contact
us
The
first thing to do is contact us. An initial discussion usually establishes whether or not we are able to help you. If we can assist
we make an appointment with you for an absolutely free, no
obligation site visit from our Director to discuss
your project.
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Feasibility meeting
The majority of our work involves altering and
extending existing properties. In these instances, as in new building, we do a site visit.
At
this meeting we establish what you want and then advise you
if the
project is do-able.
We will offer information about designing, planning and building
regulation issues. At this point we are available to discuss
anything that
relates to your plans at no charge. Considerations
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Client
brief, Instruction Documents and Documents.
After the meeting we will write to you outlining
the main points discussed and agreed. We will also outline our
potential time frame for any future work and provide a cost
proposal for our fees for your consideration. We will also send
you a form to complete to confirm what you want us to do. When you
have completed it you post it back to us to agree. We subsequently
telephone you to make an appointment for our surveyor to do the
measured survey.
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The survey
Our surveyor will do the necessary survey. This will include
all necessary measurements, levels, building structure and
applicable site details. All the associated services information
such as the drainage system are recorded. A full digital photograph
record is made of the property for future reference.
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Drawing up existing property.
The survey information is brought into our
office where the information is put into our computers using the
latest CAD software. Usually we are sufficiently briefed to enable
us to continue to present the proposals. When these have been done
and depending on the complexity of the job, we either send them on
to you for your comment or arrange another meeting for discussion.
We spend as much time as necessary at this point to ensure that
you get you what you want.
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The
Proposals
Once
the proposals have been agreed, we submit the planning application
and any other applications as appropriate to the local authority’s
planning department. From the time that the application
has been
validated it generally takes 8 weeks until the application is
determined (Decided - Approved/Refused). The progress can be
monitored via the Internet through Public Access.
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The
Decision Notice
When
the local authority has determined the application it posts their
Decision Notice to us. We advise you of the result and if
approved, move on to the building regulations. Should it be
refused we advise
you on what your next steps ought to be.
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Gaining Building Regulation Approval
We prepare the building regulation application.
This consists of all the necessary notes, basic specification,
detailed drawings and supporting structural engineer’s details
and calculations. We send a draft copy to you for approval and
once accepted, submit the application to building control. They
and their engineers check our work and normally raise a few
questions or request further information. We answer their queries
and when they have approved it, they send us a stamped copy of the
approved application. We then send further copies on to you to
enable you to get prices from builders.
At this point many of our clients have
sufficient information and possess the necessary permissions to
continue with their projects. Although our job has been done, we
are still available to answer routine queries and to assist with
more serious issues that could potentially arise. However an
increasing number of our clients are deciding to pass the entire
project over to us to act as their Project Managers.
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