Too much heat without enough ventilation is a common factor and one of the main causes of condensation with a home environment.   In the cold months people have a tendency to increase the heat within the home and reduce air flow/ventilation.  Therefore, what then occurs is warm moist air naturally moves to the colder areas with the home and will condense on cold surfaces such as windows and window boards or in unheated rooms such as a bedroom.  All air carries a certain amount of vapour (invisible water) and warm air carries more vapour. For example, a bathroom mirror steaming up when you run a hot bath, warm moisture/air coming in to contact with a cold surface.  Various common household activities can also increase the risk of condensation.  These include drying damp clothes, washing, bathing, showering, cooking and dishwashing.

The Problems of Condensation

Condensation can cause a number of problems.  The dampness can cause damage to some materials such as carpets, curtains and wallpaper (which can peel off) as well as clothing and other linen around the house.  In some cases, the dampness can also cause damage to some building materials.  Also, condensation dampness can also cause mould which as well as causing further damage to linen and other materials can also cause health problems.

How to Prevent Condensation

Condensation can be prevented by increasing ventilation.  This can be done by way of mechanical ventilation in bathrooms and kitchens (which are requirements under current building regulations), opening windows or leaving trickle vents open on windows (trickle vents are usually situated at the head of a window with an option for them to be open or shut).  Trickle vents are now a requirement under current building regulations to stop condensation but if windows don’t have trickle vents these can easily be retro fitted.  Also, make sure you have good ventilation in any rooms where you are doing the things (listed above) that create condensation risk.

Condensation and Construction

Condensation is a decreasing problem in modern construction and house building today due to ever changing building regulations calling for increased insulation along with natural and mechanical ventilation to conform to energy conservation requirements.  There may be problems, however, with some older buildings and sometimes issues can arise because of mistakes during construction.  Typical causes are bridging between cavity walls and lack of ventilation in roof spaces.

]]> http://www.sis-construction.co.uk/2012/04/condensation-prevent/feed/ 0 http://www.sis-construction.co.uk/2012/03/customer-care-building-trade/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://www.sis-construction.co.uk/2012/03/customer-care-building-trade/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:40:52 +0000 peterjames http://www.sis-construction.co.uk/?p=388 At SIS Construction we not only take pride in the quality of our work and materials, we also take pride in the way we look after our customers and their homes.  We look after our customers’ homes as we would our own home and we treat our customers with care.

• We are respectful and polite.
• We are tidy and do not leave a mess, always clearing up before we leave.
• We take steps to ensure the security of our customers’ homes and possessions.  This is of particular importance when we have equipment or material outside or when we are working with openings (e.g. windows, doors and ways into extensions).
• We take care not to do any damage.

So don’t have any mortar work done if the temperature over the next 24 hours is in danger of falling below 3°C.  A good rule of thumb is that you’re OK if it’s 3°C (i.e. that’s been the minimum night time temperature) and rising.

It’s extremely rare for a tradesperson to be good at all trades, and the expression “Jack of all trades is usually master of none” springs to mind.   Our company, SIS Construction, spends a great deal of time correcting the mistakes of people who are reasonably good at DIY, buy a van and sell themselves as handymen.

For example, I have heard handymen saying their favourite tool is Gripfill to make repairs.  Although trades will use Gripfill it should only be used as a last resort and not a tool – it is much better to make proper repairs to wood, brickwork or plaster and this will usually require a skilled tradesman.

Don’t get me wrong, there will always be a small percentage of handymen who will be good and they are normally carpenters by trade who have worked for a small builder and have therefore picked up other trades over the years.

A bricklayer would have spent years at college and years on site learning the trade as would a carpenter, a plasterer or a decorator.  Always check and ask “are you qualified?” before employing somebody to do work on your home.

A cheap multi trade person will probably cost you more as in a lot of cases the work will need to be corrected. Such ‘handyman’ work won’t necessarily last as long as a proper job done by a skilled tradesman.  Although handymen may charge a cheaper day rate, it’s a false economy as they will in some cases take twice as long to do the job and you may have to get in a tradesman to do or proper job if it doesn’t last or, even worse, to repair other damage that may result from a poor job.

Handymen and bad builders give the whole industry an awful reputation which is grossly unfair as the majority of builders and building companies are professionally trained trades people.

Furthermore, handymen can use poor equipment, which has not been properly checked or serviced, making the site dangerous and potentially causing harm to them and you.

You need to check whoever you employ (and their equipment if you have any doubts) carefully.  Remember that if they are not insured or trained in health and safety then you may be open to prosecution or other legal liabilities should an accident arise.

Think What You Want From an Extension

What do you want the extra space for?  How much extra space do you need?  Where on the exterior walls of your house could the extension be built?  Use these questions to build up a picture in your mind of what the extension will be like and then put down some notes and rough drawings on paper.  These are going to help you in discussions with the planning authority and the architect.

Talk to Your Local Planning Authority

Have an informal meeting with your local council’s planning authority to find out if the  extension would be allowed and what constraints will be placed upon the building.  You may need to modify your ideas after this discussion.

Engage an Architect

Engage an architect who will take your ideas, along with any planning constraints, and produce a set of drawings.

Decide The Specifications

Discuss with the architect what specifications you need for doors, windows, walls, floors and
roofing.  Considerations here include matching the rest of the house and cost.  At this stage heating, electrical, plumbing and draining needs for the extension should be taken into account.  For example, will you need to upgrade the house central heating?  After the specifications have been agreed you can now make a formal planning application but you may want to wait until you know what the cost of the extension will be.

Get Building Quotes

Get two or three local builders to quote against the architect’s drawings and specifications.  Use price and quality to select a builder.  See our blog article for guidelines on how to select a builder.  Make sure that the quoted price covers everything in your drawings and specifications (including foundations and groundworks where necessary).  You should  make sure that, beyond the quoted price, you keep back a budget of an additional 5% to 10% to cover any unexpected problems or changes that you may require during the course of the building.

Final Preparations

Your builder will talk to the local authority Building Control Officer to confirm that the  drawings and specifications meet all regulations as well as determining foundation and groundworks needs.  If you haven’t already got planning permission then now is the time to do so.

Everything is now ready for the builder to start work.  Following these steps will help to  minimise any problems and help to ensure that the extension meets your needs.

SIS Construction is a family owned firm of builders in Hungerford, West Berkshire that has much experience in building home extensions that are both cost effective and high quality.

Here are some tips to help you choose the right building contractor.

Health & Safety

The contractor must have the necessary health and safety  certifications (ask to see them), training (ask the staff) and policies.   If they don’t have these they are a danger to themselves and you.

Experience & References

The contractor must be able to give examples and references of work they have done which is similar to your requirements.  Ask for references and follow them up.  A good website here is a boon as it should show examples of the contractor’s work and have customer testimonials.   Look for reviews and ratings in Google Places and other relevant local websites.  Google the contractor’s name and see what comes up and the try  again adding words such as ‘complaint’, ‘problem’ and ‘quality’ to your search.

Organisational Memberships

The contractor should have memberships of organisations such as NHBC, NFB and Exor.  Check with the organisations that they actually are certified members.

Cleanliness & Tidiness

Are there vans and offices kept clean and tidy?  If not, then they are likely to leave your place in messy state.  Their staff should be polite and well dressed (ideally with ID badges and uniforms).

Trades & Contractors

Do they employ a good range of building trades (e.g. bricklayers, carpenters, roofers and decorators)?  If they only have one trade then they will have to subcontract out the others and won’t really have the experience to properly manage those subcontractors.  Where they do subcontract out work they should have evidence of a longstanding relationship
with the subcontracting firms.

Materials

Where do they buy their building materials?  They should use reputable suppliers.

Pricing & Timescale

Wherever possible, they should quote a fixed price and timescale for the job with a clear statement of work so you know what is included (and what isn’t).  They should have a variations process to agree pricing and impact of any changes that are required during the job.

SIS Construction have just sponsored a local roundabout on the A4 in Hungerford.  With this sponsorship the roundabout is then maintained to a higher standard by the local authority with flowers and shrubs making the roundabout look more attractive for local residents and passers through. SIS Construction look forward to local people, when
giving friends directions, referring to the roundabout as the SIS Construction
roundabout.

SIS Construction are a family owned and run builders in Hungerford, West Berkshire.  They specialise in new builds, extensions, repairs, maintenance, refurbishment and groundworks.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 07) state that both contractors and sub-contractors must be able to demonstrate Stage 1 competence which can be approved through an independent assessment scheme.

Assessing health and safety competence can be a complicated and time consuming process. There are two levels that need to be considered:

Stage 1 – The primary level.  This is the ability of an organisation to prove that their arrangements for managing health and safety are sufficient to allow them to carry out work safely and without risk to the health of their workers.

Stage 2 – The second level assesses competence in relation to experience and the needs of the particular job. It looks at an individual’s track record of working on similar types of project to those being tendered for.

What is Safemark?

Safemark has been developed to help home builders meet their obligation to only appoint competent contractors.

The scheme is a pre-qualification assessment designed around the requirements of Appendix 4 of the Approved Code of Practice to CDM `07. Competence is assessed against the criteria set out in Stage 1 including, amongst others, the requirements for contractors to have a health and safety policy, access to competent health and safety advice and to ensure employees are appropriately trained.

By satisfying the Safemark assessment, the contractor is able to demonstrate Stage 1 competence to future employers, avoiding the need to repeat the process for every builder worked for. This also helps those buying services from contractors, as they need only worry about Stage 2 assessments (i.e. matching the experience of the contractor to the work being undertaken).

A certificate will be issued to those who successfully complete the assessment, along with a logo for use on corporate stationery. Accreditation lasts for 12 months and needs to be renewed annually by reassessment.

Why choose Safemark?

• Safemark is the only scheme on the market at present designed by house builder specialists for house builders.
• By accepting a third party assessment of Stage 1 competence, builders no longer need to maintain a register of competent contractors or undertake costly, time consuming Stage 1 assessments.
• Safemark in effect provides contractors with a ‘passport’ exempting them from undergoing repetitive Stage 1 assessments.

•  NHBC’s health and safety reputation speaks for itself with many years experience of running an Audit and Accreditation scheme, quality of assessment is guaranteed.
• The scheme saves clients and builders time as there is no need to manage the lengthy administration associated with self certification.
• Accreditation lasts 12 months so once contractors have satisfied the assessment they only need to repeat it once a year rather than for every builder they work for.
• Safemark is accredited to the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) standard, of which NHBC is a founder member.
• Being registered as part of the scheme will actually help generate business for contractors as clients and builders look to meet health and safety competence requirements.

Safemark provides:

• reassurance that contractors/sub-contractors are compliant with important health and safety legislation;
• time saved as there is no need to repeat the effort of assessing health and safety compliance for every builder worked for;

better business practice in the tender process and more profitable and effective client - contractor/sub-contractor relationships through monitored compliance.