Architect, SE, or both

Yes the builder should have certtificat

Your builder should have his own insurance for the construction side of things, Building on a building notice is a totally standard practice and absolutely nothing to worry about. Definately no need for extra insurance,phone building control if unsure about what materials, construction methods etc along the way, they are there to help and advise, not just to inspect and pass or fail things.

As long as you have planning in place and building control involved with the build then building control are the ones that sign it off so you are covered

Hi that’s absolutely fine. Lots of people don’t have detailed building regulations drawings done, and if your builder is experienced then he won’t have any problems complying with the building regulations. If you needed any structure designing (a steel beam etc) you would have need an engineer for that in any case. You’ve probably saved yourself some money in fees too. Regards LSH Construction Ltd

You can carry on as long as you have the structural calculations for any steel beams or oversized timber and the b c o is ok with it start digging

Hi If your dad is a experienced builder then just build on notice. Which means the building inspector will inspect and advise as the job goes forward. But there is limited recourse on the council but only on you dad as the builder. If its a complicated job then go to another architect just for building regs this will cost around £250-£500 + structural engineer calculations if required. apply for full submission and then build to the approved plans & specification. You will then have full recourse on the council as well as the architect and the builder.

If your dad is an experienced builder he will be fine working from a basic planning drawing as long as all work is carried out to and with building regs approval. You will need structural engineers calculations for any steelwork/structural work however the building inspector would ask for this anyway. Also make sure all roof timbers, floor joists etc are correctly sized from a span table.

Generally most competent builders will work off a building notice for simple extensions... the building inspector will check at certain stages, footings, dpc level, roof, pre plaster boarding etc.. easy and straightforward process and will issue a certificate upon completion. If you do full plans building regulations then you have to build exactly to the spec of the drawing and not really needed for simple extensions ( used more on complicated builds ) hope this helps

Building notice is fine shouldn’t need insurance basically the same as building regs drawings but must comply with any new changes if they come into practice during the project building regs drawings are built to the specifications at the time of sign off

Hi, you dad(builder) is basically right. BCO can come along as agreed and make sure all okay, but probably still best to get a Struc.Eng do do any necessary calcs, and often the BCO will insist!

It can be done that way, but far better to have detailed drawings, then if the builder misses something you can hold back monies until it is rectified, always hold a 5% retention if the job is big enough for 3-6 months for remedials, then release when you are happy, but be reasonable.

Hello, if it's a fairly straight forward extension and your dad knows what he's doing it should be ok under a building notice. Building control would normally visit to scrutinise the work at key stages. Under current Covid restrictions I'd guess building control may have their own guide about this and may want to have a video call to inspect or presumably want evidence so I'd suggest loads of quality photos showing quality work. From my experience appearance when inspectors visit sites and tidyness, quality of work etc makes a huge difference as they can spot shoddy work a mile off and would know all the tricks too.. Their is also what's called retrospective building regulations application. This is slightly more expensive but beware fees have change recently. I'd look at the local authority website under building control to see what the fees are as there based on the realistic value of works. If your dad's carrying out the work it still has a value based on I guess market value for the work so you can't put in a low cost to save on the regulation fees. You'll also need to check on planning permission as although they have relaxed planning laws in recent times there maybe reasons to still have to apply such as boundary issues. A letter to the local authority or email is probably acceptable for lawful development certificate and again it should be a relatively low cost but check all the same. I'd say this is more important. Usually it takes a couple of weeks for a reply but under the current crisis I can't say. I hope that throws light on the matter. Regards David