We have secured a loft conversion company of repute in Cardiff to undertake a major loft conversion and extension on our house, and they are coming over on Wednesday for us to sign the contract for work.

In car buying, there are warranties; in house buying, one has the surveyors report to at least assure one of the house’s general fitness for sale. What should we be looking or asking for before we sign?

Sorry, but never had work like this done on a scale like this before, and know nothing of the procedure. Any helpful comments welcomed.

What contract is it? There are many different types, with varying levels of detail.

One thing to check for is what the contractor is allowed to do in your house while they are there i.e. can they use the toilets, electricity/water (free of charge?), where do they park their vehicles, the length of defects period (we usually allow for 12 months – enough time to allow for a seasonal cycle), what responsibility do they have for defects, have you signed off the drawings? etc etc

You need to fully read the contractors proposals. In that should be who is supplying what and what is being done. If you’re expecting the builder to paint it then make sure it’s on the list. One other to watch out for is removal of rubbish from site. You don’t want to be responsible for that so again make sure it’s in!

Payment terms.

Are you paying based on how much work is done (and how is this decided) or in even chunks. How much are you keeping back in case you hit problems at the end of the work/when it is completed.

Snagging – when and how it is done.

Make sure you check responsibilities of parties.Take on as little as you can yourself then it becomes a builders liability if it goes tits up/take longer and cost more. Things like skips and waste disposal can be expensive so make sure the builder sorts it.

Designs and plans – agreement on what it is being done and how. When builder say “make good” some will paint, some won’t.

Time scales and what happens when they over run.

Guarantee on work and how this guarantee is backed up (usually insurance).

Whatever happens, focus on quality.

And they could find stuff they weren’t aware of – so be flexible.

Oh, an obvious one: Make sure the contract sum is in there, and is what you have agreed. Plus, any variations to the agreed drawings/cost MUST be run past you before they do the relevant work.

My main concerns would be

1) insurance / liability eg what happens if they collapse your house (unlikely but worth considering). Also if they are doing the design, then they are responsible for getting building control approval.

2) Payment terms – they could go bust so not everything up front, in the event they go bust and haven’t paid the suppliers the material on site will belong to the suppliers not you.

3) Final payment should be on condition of building control signing it off / planning etc so you don’t pay the final wedge and then get told it has to be modified to comply with building regs etc.

More generally I’d not sign a contract without having a solicitor look at it and give you some advice.

Make sure it’s explicit about VAT, the whole building trade works on ex-VAT prices – catches me out every time I pay for materials..

Lots of good advice up here. A couple of other things to think about are:

1. Change control – things will change from the plan either because you want them to or they have to e.g. unexpected complications. Agree a way of formally dealing with these, so there are no surprises on either side.

2. Working hours – when can expect them to be on site.

Good luck!

Another point – worth being explicit about materials eg Slate tiles doesn’t mean quarry slate, but any slate shape tile, so man made Eternit (compressed cement) is called ‘slate’ whereas you might think that the Slate you’ve specified is the welsh quarry stuff. Difference is about 3x the price…..

Payment terms: I was waiting to hear what contract they were using before commenting further.

– Make sure the payments are time based, and not stage payments.
– Insurance, another big one: Do they have the necessary level of cover? We require a minimum of £2,000,000.00, even for small jobs.
– As said above, if in doubt, get the contract checked over by a solicitor PRIOR to signing.
– Check what their definition of “completion” is. I would recommend agreeing a certain milestone to trigger “practical completion”, such as the receipt of the Building Control certificate.
– Who is doing the structural design?
– Check health and safety record, as you are responsible – SERIOUSLY!!
– Check how they are going to go about the work, get materials up there etc.
– Make sure all finishes are agreed with you prior to ordering materials.

Another point – worth being explicit about materials eg Slate tiles doesn’t mean quarry slate, but any slate shape tile, so man made Eternit (compressed cement) is called ‘slate’ whereas you might think that the Slate you’ve specified is the welsh quarry stuff. Difference is about 3x the price…..

That would be an architect responsibility, wouldn’t it? If you get the architect to specify a product, the builder must use it.
Are NHBC guarantees going to cover work like this?
Time frames for resolving problems.
Always pay on agreed points of completion and be sure that you pay for completed work to an acceptable standard.

That would be an architect responsibility, wouldn’t it? If you get the architect to specify a product, the builder must use it.

A lot of the smaller roof conversion companies do the design themselves and there isn’t a 3rd party architect. I’ve chatted to a few about getting mine done.

– Make sure the payments are time based, and not stage payments.

Surely you mean the other way around?

Thanks for those incredibly helpful responses. It’s threads like this that convince my wife to let me spend so much time on here.

As for the type of contract, my wife has been dealing with it so I don’t know, but I will find out.

Forgot to mention that the company we have secured works with their own architect, although they will let my brother (who is also an architect) look at the plans and make changes if we want. They also use their own structural engineer, though if you suggest it, I can have my FiL, who happens to be a structural engineer, look at those drawings too.

They also use their own structural engineer, though if you suggest it, I can have my FiL, who happens to be a structural engineer, look at those drawings too.

Building control will check it all for you as well. Are they doing full plans submission (ie submit upfront) or ‘on notice’ where you just say ‘I’m starting now, pop along and take a look at key stages’. Either way they inspect at each stage, just with full plans submission they pick up on design issues before anything starts.

A lot of the smaller roof conversion companies do the design themselves and there isn’t a 3rd party architect.

OK, that wouldn’t make me feel comfortable.

OK, that wouldn’t make me feel comfortable.

Does depend what it is, eg where I live everyone pretty much has the same thing done (Victorian terraces, so all houses are near identical), hence the loft company pretty much knows the size / quantity when you tell then your address. Eg the roofer I used has just done three houses in a row for a loft company in my street – so he knows better than I do what my rafters look like!

so he knows better than I do what my rafters look like!

Which means the builder would be in the perfect position to buy any slate shape tile, so man made Eternit (compressed cement) is called ‘slate’ whereas you might think that the Slate you’ve specified is the welsh quarry stuff. Difference is about 3x the price….. Wouldn’t he?
Specs are there to be adhered to and protected or broken depending on which side of the fence you sit.

Okay my 2ps worth…. Outline info should be along the lines of:

Info, site, numbers, contacts, persons

What, when, start, payment, time, how (phasing), cost, variations (day works?) LAD, retention, defect period.

Ground rules, working time , welfare, radios, site storage, accommodation, parking, delivers, allocated areas/ specific times, temp supplies or counter charged costs for elec and water etc. etc.

Insurances, PI, cover to work and property.Joint policy? (Check that you are covered – worth speaking to your building insurance company for advice and what they would require to protect their risk)

Planning / Building Control Fees – Who pays? Part of works?

Party Walls Awards – Included / required? Fees?

Architect’s / Structural Enginner’s fees? Collateral warranty if 3rd party? In house?

There might be a clause for dispute within the contract or you may wish to add it.

I would also add an schedule of existing conditions of the propery / externals before works. Photograph evidence. Sometimes arguments occur and the Contractor will say it was like that. (Any respectable contractor would also do their own but not necessarily share the information!)

As per Footflaps I would also agree a building works specification and add this to the contract as a clause / addendum. Drawings would also be nice if available ( I doubt it).

Have a look at the JCT Homeowner contract for further information / definitive guidance. (Never used it myself)

A lot of the smaller roof conversion companies do the design themselves and there isn’t a 3rd party architect.

I did a bespoke loft conversion in Fulham in 1987. The Client was very happy but 9 months later rang up to complain. When I popped along I noticed that another 4 loft conversions had sprung up in the street using the same designs. Hence the moan.

It turned out that the same loft conversion company had taken and reused our plans / details for the other projects and the bespoke loft conversion was unfortunatley no longer bespoke!

Surely you mean the other way around?

No, I don’t: Stage payments can cause all sorts of problems defining what constitutes the end of each stage. If the contractor can’t finish one particular stage, for reasons outside of their control, it would mean they won’t get paid for it, despite having put significant amount of time and resources into getting to that stage; resulting in a very messy final account and potential cash flow issues throughout the course of the project.

I would arrange to pay, say every two – 4 weeks, depending on the length of contract.

I would arrange to pay, say every two – 4 weeks, depending on the length of contract.

Ok, but playing Devil’s Advocate, what if no one turns up at all for 3 months – you’ll have paid 100% of the sum and got nothing in return.

although they will let my brother (who is also an architect) look at the plans and make changes if we want. They also use their own structural engineer, though if you suggest it, I can have my FiL, who happens to be a structural engineer, look at those drawings too.

Would be worth asking both the FiL and brother to have a read through the contract as well as look at the design/drawings. Mostly to make sure that what you think you’re buying is the same as what’s in the paperwork.
Any fresh pair of eyes can sometimes spot things you may have missed, but that sounds like two very useful allies with valuable experience.
Internet forum advice can only be of a generalist nature, wheras any discrepancies are more likely to be specific to the individual project.

When I did my extension:

• Works will be payable upon invoice. Invoice dates can be agreed to suit time periods and or key items

So a bit of both! As it was the Contractor invoiced me monthly however I paid for the rooflight (2k), doors (18k) and hardwood decking (1k).

Ok, but playing Devil’s Advocate, what if no one turns up at all for 3 months – you’ll have paid 100% of the sum and got nothing in return.

No, you only pay upon receipt of an invoice. All proper building contracts require the builder to make an application for payment, detailing what they are requiring payment for. The employer then reviews this and checks whether or not the application is fair, and then gives the contractor an indication that they are happy for them to invoice for the listed work.

If the contractor is asking for a different way of payment, then be wary.

Most important are defining in as much detail in writing exactly what you are getting for what you are paying = specififcation
Plus agreeing how you will manage any changes or overs. It is contracting lore that changes are licence to print money.

Things overlooked are – when will he turn up, who will be working and when, when will he finish. get him to provide list of people/trades who should be working on site and when (and check they are competent/skilled) and define major milestones and dates they will be done by (schedule) plus try and include penalty for not finishing on time. Check slippage during the job and deal with it, make sure he supervises the job personally instead of putting his barely trained guys on it and leaving them to f****k it up.

Acceptance must be conditional on all building approvals – and consider a building surveyor to check it all for you at various stages and at the end.

When it’s your money on the table, a little knowledge (even wonderful STW knowledge) can be a dangerous thing.

Contracts are funny beasts at times, quite often it’s not what it says, but what it doesn’t say, and those things can be harder to spot.

If you’re bothered enough to ask advice on here, then it means you care about what you’re planning on signing up to (that’s a good thing!), so my advice would be to get it done properly and have a solicitor look at it.

A lawyer will listen to what you think you’ve agreed to and make sure it is refelected in the contract.

Specification, specification, specification!

Be very clear about exactly how you want the work to be done; dimensions, materials, types of fitting, finishes, everything you can possibly think of. The specification is there to protect both parties, to make sure the client has the end product they desire, and that the contractor is fully aware of the works they are required to undertake. If there are elements you’re not sure about, chat to the builder about it, that way further down the line there hopefully won’t be any ‘we didn’t really want it to look like that’ or ‘oh you want xxxx, they cost a lot more than we’ve allowed for’ moments.

Our loft conversion / building works all carried out by a loft conversion company are just in the process of being finished off. Ours did not go smoothly, here are some of the issues we had:
Confirm that your builder will not be pulled off your job until its completed.
Get the name of the lead on the job who will oversee and liase between you & the various tradesmen on site (sparky/plumber/plasterer).
Have a meeting with the lead person before they are on site to go through all the personal touches that you want on your project (which way doors open/positions of light switches/lights/plug sockets etc).
Ensure which materials are used where (aqua board in shower/bathroom).
In hindsight i’d use the councils building control rather than their preferred guy as they’d be more anal and independant.
Get the contract to state that they leave site with it ready to decorate (paint) so all filling work etc is carried out by them.
The final sum payment on our was quite small in comparison to the others, once ours had had the last large sum they slacked off, keep the final payment as large as possible.
I think that legally they are supposed to dispose of the waste.
Go look at their previous jobs.
Confirm daily on site hours expected from builders.
Agree quality of windows fitted.
Thats all that springs to mind so far, although i’m sure there are more!