Hey !

I highly recommended Lec. check it out you won't be disappointed!

https://www.lcrenovation.co.uk

Hi there

I have lived between the Commons for 20 years and have run my own construction company and basement company.

I now Project Manage projects and am happy to supply free advice for people thinking of doing work.

I'm not trying to push myself and will be more than happy to give you pointers as to what to avoid etc
over a cup of coffee.

Hi

I work as an insurance broker and specialise in providing cover for both basement contractors and private clients who are having house renovations including basement conversions/digouts. My advice would be to select a project management team who are well versed in basement works. Depends whether you are having a conversion of an existing underground space (i.e. a cellar) or you are digging out a fresh area under the property. For obvious reasons the second of these options is much riskier and you will need an experienced project manager/lead contractor to engage all the structural/waterproofing professionals you will require. I can recommend a number of clients I work with who are full insured and have the right approach to risk management.

From an insurance point of view the main considerations are:

- Contacting your household insures to advise them of the work. Unless they are specialist in this area they will most likely advise cancelation of the policy upon starting the works or at the very least restrictions which will make the cover redundant.

- Party Wall agreements are what often hold the process up, once planning permission ahs been given. If you live in a terraced property with shared walls then you will need cooperation from your neighbours. They may want you to have Non Negligence insurance in place if there are ground works/structural works involved in the contract.

I have a product which can provide cover for your buildings whilst being worked upon, contingent contract cover and non Negligence cover up to £2m. I have worked with dozens of clients in the last year around the Wandsworth/Clapham/Balham area and understand the help you need when having these kinds of work done.

If you want to discuss this further then my email is dominicjones@astonscott.com and landline is 02086437575.

Thanks

Dom

Hi Everyone,

I came across your post, we are an architecture practice based in Wandsworth Town and we do also offer an interior design service. We would be delighted to help you with your project. There are a few examples of our work on our website so please take a look.

Please feel free to give us a ring at the office on the number below.

Kind Regards,


Charlotte Fraser
O: 020 8874 6749

dRAW Architecture
340 Old York Road, Wandsworth, SW18 1SS
www.draw-architecture.co.uk

Book a Site Survey Today!

House Renovation London Ltd be happy to meet you at your property to discuss your requirements and answer any questions you may have.

Quotations are FREE so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Services we offer include:

- FULL HOUSE RENOVATION
- HOUSE EXTENSIONS
- LOFT CONVERSIONS
- BASEMENT CONVERSIONS
- DESIGN & BUILD

Bathroom refurbishment to complete installations.
Painting and decorating
Internal and external refurbishment
Plumbing and electrics
Tiling and flooring

and more...

You can contact us on:

074 6367 7776 and 020 3865 7983

info@house-renovation.co.uk

Kindest regards,

Jon
[url]http://www.house-renovation.co.uk[/url]
[url]https://www.house-renovation.co.uk/our-work/[/url]
[url]https://www.instagram.com/houserenovationlondon/[/url]

I am surprised by these comments. We have just recently had our basement completed by Qualitas and were very impressed with their consideration for our family and neighbours throughout the entire project. The senior team are very professional and the on site team were always helpful and considerate.

I thought Qualitas were excellent and would highly recommend them.

Independent reviews are always difficult to judge as there's always the unknown factors that the client didn't spot or the builder doesn't bother telling you.
Whatever happened to using our own senses about potential contractors or other people when it comes to anything in life.
There are 3000 facial expressions we can use to judge people by and we are great at it just trust yourself and if you think something is slightly out of order or your senses kick in why not trust them and kindly decline doing business.

Hi Balham55, we are in the same position as have just bought our first family home in Balham which requires complete renovation. We are looking to do the loft and side return including extending into the garden. One of the companies we are talking to is Dermarta, and would appreciate taking up the offer to look at the works that have been done to yours and ask a few questions. Will PM you seperatly with my details.

Thanks!

We carried out extensive work to our house last year and used Dermarta who were recommended to us via this forum. We were extremely happy with the works and found them to be reliable, professional and reasonably priced. Further more, they were on time and budget!
We have since recommended them to friends and would definitely suggest speaking to Dermot who runs the company.
http://www.dermarta.co.uk/
If it's any help I would be happy for you to see the works they have done on our house which includes side return extension, loft conversion and full renovation of all rooms.

Hi,

Looks like we're a little late to the party on this one.

We offer packages for homeowners (http://www.whiteandlloyd.com/home-owner.html) which give our clients an idea of what to expect in terms of the processes and target times for each.

We also project manage, design, give cost consultancy, structural engineering and party wall advice to ensure that our clients have one point of responsibility. This allows our clients to tender projects competitively with all of the information to hand.

If you'd like a chat to discuss your options please give the office a call and talk to Mike - 01932918348 or email in a quick summary of the work office@whiteandlloyd.com. We can let you know your options, costs and timescales with no obligation.

PS We'd also be wary of builders who will not work with a project manager - normally the first question would be "why not?".

Regards,

[i]The White and Lloyd Team[/i]

Those offering PM's are generally the all in one outfits like landmark lofts etc who do everything from design and planning through to building. For the type of project you mentioned an architect, good general building contractor (or 2 as other posters have suggested) might be more appropriate. The builders we spoke to didn't have their own project managers, just a site foreman who deals with our PM on the day to day stuff, and the owners who deal with the overall contracting etc.

I wouldn't worry about putting their noses out of joint, and if they are worried you've got to question why the don't want someone else who knows what they are doing so closely involved...

Thanks for the further replies. I think I am convinced about an independent PM... The only remaining question in my mind is, if you use a building firm that has its own PM, does it annoy them if you use an independent PM (guess you might say if it does then don't use those builders...) and does it mean you are doubling up on PMs and PM cost?

Pie81

We're about to complete on a fairly large renovation comprising a rear extension, loft conversion and full refurb throughout the property including moving partition walls. We had an independent architect, and have employed our own project manager (Andy from a local firm called Runprojects) who ran the tender for a general building contractor, and has overseen the build. our PM has been invaluable in keeping the day to day hassle to a minimum and heading off potential issues in the tender and contracting process. I know where we are on timing and cost, and what decisions we need to make, but I don't have to check in on the site just to make sure things are running smoothly. For us it has been the right balance of being involved and in control, but without being swamped with questions and constantly having to check up.

My view is this; if you have an independent PM that you employ, they are going to act in your best interests at all times. Can you be sure that's the case with the project manager assigned by your builder? And if the worst happens and things go wrong, you will have someone there to deal with it as a professional. I've seen friends who have been so emotionally invested in their projects that when things have gone wrong it led to a complete breakdown in the relationship between them and their builders.

In terms of architects vs project managers, just bear in mind it is a totally different skill set to manage cost, time and detailed contracts and scope, compared to designing something unique and special. Also, I am fairly certain our PM has saved us at least 50% of his fee just by negotiating deals direct with suppliers on our behalf, so it is worth bearing this in mind too.

If you've got any questions then do feel free to message me.

[quote="pie81"]Thanks very much for the further advice!

Hmm still lots of different views about independent PM or not. Perhaps it depends on what building company we use and how good they seem to be at the PM side (though I suspect you only find that out mid build!)

Very interesting about LEDs - I have been unimpressed with LEDs I've seen in friends' houses but know that things have improved in recent years and also they may not have chosen so carefully! Thanks for the advice.[/quote]

You are quite right, it is normally the middle of the project you suddenly realise you should have done something different or organised it another way. It is very fustrating, but try not to stress too much, pretty much everyone does the same thing on their first couple of big build projects.


With LEDs, they have only really become viable in about the last 3-4 years, and even then you were paying a premium. It is one of those niche things about lighting designers in that we all love low voltage halogen and the quality of light it gives. I have only felt satisfied doing LEDs in the last 2-3 years really, and there is still a lot of terrible LED lights out there. For a good quality downlight which is not excessive in price (so not a designer fitting or anything) you would look to spend £40-50 each. Glare is the other issue. Everyone knows what it is like to walk into a new extension and be blinded by all the rows of spotlights in there. Getting a fitting with an anti glare baffle just changes that entirely (not that there should be rows of spots in the first place, but that is a whole other conversation). Also, I am talking about downlights, but this is relevant to any lights you will use. And you will need LEDs since for building regs you need to have 75% of the fittings been low energy.

Hi Pie81, I know you don't want self recommendations, however, I thought the article we wrote on Project Management may be of interest http://www.ensoul.co.uk/blog/posts/professional-project-management-saves-money-your-sanity-your-relationship/ Hope it all goes well, best regards, Mike