RossJarvis
Established Member
Okay, it's a bit of a long winded moan, but this has stressed me out.
I started a loft conversion job last Monday, helping out a friend, like me who's not been in the trade too long. I hadn't any information before so just started some clearing up, fetching a scaffolding tower etc. I got the first "drawing" that night, which was part of a "proposed" design, not very detailed. I'd picked up that the client's wife seemed a bit unhappy with the performance of the "designer".
Looking at the very scant information on this drawing and checking the loft area I realised the new floor joists weren't going to fit and that what had been assumed to be a load bearing internal partition wall was an original stud wall. I queried this with the "designer", who was hard to get hold of and arranged to meet him on site on Wednesday. By then he'd "spoken" to the engineer and respecified the joists (shallower and wider). He turned up and he suggested using an RSJ instead of relying on the partition wall and said he'd get back to us with the specs for this. After he'd gone we realised this RSJ was going to be directly above a small window on the outside wall and wondered how the ****** it was going to be supported. By now I was wondering where the working drawings had got to and then found out that no-one knew if Building Control had given approval, which it now seems it hadn't.
I said to the client that I still didn't have enough info to order the beams and timbers in and that I was having serious doubts as to whether I'd have enough info to do anything. There was no information on trimming around chimneys, or anything in fact. No engineers calculations, specifications for fixings, the "escape windows" were one of the few things with a dimension on and were shown as being above maximum permitted height.
The client decided to stop the job for the time being and emailed the "designer". He in turn wonders why we can't order in materials and says working drawings will be prepared soon and that information has been supplied to building control.
The upshot is, I've effectively stopped the job and me and 3 other guys have no work, having planned in 9 weeks for this. Personally I think my friend's taken on a job a bit beyond his capabilities and that somehow the client's either rushing the "designer", or the "designer" is just not up to it.
I've now had two sleepless nights and just want to forget the whole thing, but I feel responsible to the clients, who seem really nice and responsible for 3 other guys with families who have no work. I know it's the right thing to do but I'm feeling awful about it.
I started a loft conversion job last Monday, helping out a friend, like me who's not been in the trade too long. I hadn't any information before so just started some clearing up, fetching a scaffolding tower etc. I got the first "drawing" that night, which was part of a "proposed" design, not very detailed. I'd picked up that the client's wife seemed a bit unhappy with the performance of the "designer".
Looking at the very scant information on this drawing and checking the loft area I realised the new floor joists weren't going to fit and that what had been assumed to be a load bearing internal partition wall was an original stud wall. I queried this with the "designer", who was hard to get hold of and arranged to meet him on site on Wednesday. By then he'd "spoken" to the engineer and respecified the joists (shallower and wider). He turned up and he suggested using an RSJ instead of relying on the partition wall and said he'd get back to us with the specs for this. After he'd gone we realised this RSJ was going to be directly above a small window on the outside wall and wondered how the ****** it was going to be supported. By now I was wondering where the working drawings had got to and then found out that no-one knew if Building Control had given approval, which it now seems it hadn't.
I said to the client that I still didn't have enough info to order the beams and timbers in and that I was having serious doubts as to whether I'd have enough info to do anything. There was no information on trimming around chimneys, or anything in fact. No engineers calculations, specifications for fixings, the "escape windows" were one of the few things with a dimension on and were shown as being above maximum permitted height.
The client decided to stop the job for the time being and emailed the "designer". He in turn wonders why we can't order in materials and says working drawings will be prepared soon and that information has been supplied to building control.
The upshot is, I've effectively stopped the job and me and 3 other guys have no work, having planned in 9 weeks for this. Personally I think my friend's taken on a job a bit beyond his capabilities and that somehow the client's either rushing the "designer", or the "designer" is just not up to it.
I've now had two sleepless nights and just want to forget the whole thing, but I feel responsible to the clients, who seem really nice and responsible for 3 other guys with families who have no work. I know it's the right thing to do but I'm feeling awful about it.
