Works on site

During construction, your architect, if appointed to do so, will inspect the works in progress on a regular basis, or appoint a clerk of works to do so on his/her behalf. Claims for staged payments will be analysed and appropriate retentions recommended, based on the conditions of contract, so that you do not pay the contractor or suppliers more than is appropriate at any given stage in the contract. On completion, a snagging list will be prepared, setting out remaining elements of work which required to be completed or re-executed to meet the standards set out in the specification. Once that has been completed, and once the defects liability period has passed, the final payment will be calculated and authorised for payment.

Getting tenders and contractors

Once you have planning and building warrant approval, you will usually require a full set of construction drawings and specifications to enable you to go out to tender. The 'preliminaries' section will set out conditions for the execution of the works on site, and may discuss aspect of this to establish any factors which have a bearing on your own activities, such as access, neighbour considerations, contractor's work area, materials stored on site, parking, temporary works, location for skips, maintaining common parts clean and clear of obstructions, and so forth.

Your architect will be able to suggest contractors and suppliers for your project, and if you have any firm that you wish to be included, they can be added to the list. Tendering is a formal procedure and a fixed return date is usually set. Once received, your architect will check and analyse the priced tenders and recommend which contractor to appoint. A formal acceptance will then be made and you will have a firm contract document with which the construction of your project can be controlled.

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