Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Assigned Certifier role - too good to be true?

Options
  • 24-11-2014 6:01pm
    #1
    mrsWhippy
    Registered Users Posts: 673 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    Still in the process of vetting architects and I had an interesting conversation with someone last week (small registered architectural firm).

    I asked him about what his company's experience was with the new regulations and how they managed the AC/DC roles. He shrugged and said that it was extra work, but something they had been doing all along anyway, and there was just extra paperwork etc. He said it was going to cost us extra alright (I was expecting the 4-6k quotes I had been getting up to now) but just quoted a few hundred :confused:

    Should alarm bells be ringing here? I haven't received the fee proposal yet but even if he doubled his fees, it would still be a fraction of everyone elses.

    What questions should I be asking here to ensure they are doing everything they should?
    Thanks a million


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,547 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    RIAI number.
    Copy of relevant insurances.
    Confirmation in writing of service provision with details of exactly what they will do.


  • Options
    #3
    galwaytt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,761 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    ..a few hundred ? I nearly spat out my tea.........

    ...if you consider there's about another 100+ man-hours of work for a typical house under BCMS, then multiply that by whatever rate-per-hour you think is applicable. Even at €50/hr, that adds €5,000 to a build.

    Where 'a few hundred' comes from escapes me.

    ....unless of course they were charging mega-money before that, and it's already 'built in' to the price.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • Options
    #4
    mrsWhippy
    Registered Users Posts: 673 ✭✭✭mrsWhippy


    galwaytt wrote: »
    ..a few hundred ? I nearly spat out my tea.........

    ...if you consider there's about another 100+ man-hours of work for a typical house under BCMS, then multiply that by whatever rate-per-hour you think is applicable. Even at €50/hr, that adds €5,000 to a build.

    Where 'a few hundred' comes from escapes me.

    ....unless of course they were charging mega-money before that, and it's already 'built in' to the price.

    Thanks - im really still trying to come to terms myself with what is involved in the AC role. What exactly are the 100 hours for? I'll see when the proposal comes in what the the costs are (though I expect them to be less than other quoted I've received), but the fee he proposed for the AC role would have come in at less than 700 inc VAT.


  • Options
    #5
    BryanF
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 10,140 Mod ✭✭✭✭BryanF


    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057212937


  • Options
    #6
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,547 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    mrsWhippy wrote: »
    Thanks - im really still trying to come to terms myself with what is involved in the AC role. What exactly are the 100 hours for? I'll see when the proposal comes in what the the costs are (though I expect them to be less than other quoted I've received), but the fee he proposed for the AC role would have come in at less than 700 inc VAT.

    Holy Fcuk tbh
    Does the architect know he will be acting as AC under the new building control regulations? Just the preparation for a commencement notice now takes a few days of work alone.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    Tefral
    Registered Users Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭Tefral


    Funny this should come up to be honest. In recent weeks I've spoken to two architects about this, one who would be very well respected in my city, and one who my company would deal with. He has said he has only added on a few hundred also for the typical house build. And he used the same words in the OP, that as far as he is concerned that paperwork level should have been up to that standard all along. Both those architects have said pretty much the same thing.

    I'm still a little shocked to be honest.


  • Options
    #8
    galwaytt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,761 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    cronin_j wrote: »
    Funny this should come up to be honest. In recent weeks I've spoken to two architects about this, one who would be very well respected in my city, and one who my company would deal with. He has said he has only added on a few hundred also for the typical house build. And he used the same words in the OP, that as far as he is concerned that paperwork level should have been up to that standard all along. Both those architects have said pretty much the same thing.

    I'm still a little shocked to be honest.

    Technically he's probably right, it should always have been that way. But who would pay you to do it when it wasn't mandatory ?? Just from a commercial point of view you'd be pricing yourself out of the market, out of work.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • Options
    #9
    mrsWhippy
    Registered Users Posts: 673 ✭✭✭mrsWhippy


    So what questions do I need to ask to ensure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing?
    By acting as AC, are they signing off on the fact that the building is being constructed as per building regulations - I presume verifying this at each stage of the build?


  • Options
    #10
    sydthebeat
    Subscribers Posts: 41,095 ✭✭✭✭sydthebeat


    definitely ask to see a inspection plan.

    it has been calculated and assessed that to sign off all building regulations it would require approx 25-35 site visits.


  • Options
    #11
    Drift
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,395 ✭✭✭Drift


    You could ask for a preliminary/sample inspection plan. This details the number and times of site visits he proposes to carry out. Might be helpful to gauge the level of oversight he will be giving the build.

    Just a word of warning though. Inspection plans are created on a bespoke basis for each project and he won't be doing one specifically for your project unless he is hired so the most you might get from him is a sample from a previous project. (Having said that if someone was looking for a sample one from me I'd want to be sure they weren't a tyre kicker before giving them the time of day!)

    Edit: Snap - Syd got there before me!


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    BryanF
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 10,140 Mod ✭✭✭✭BryanF


    mrsWhippy wrote: »
    Thanks - im really still trying to come to terms myself with what is involved in the AC role. What exactly are the 100 hours for? I'll see when the proposal comes in what the the costs are (though I expect them to be less than other quoted I've received), but the fee he proposed for the AC role would have come in at less than 700 inc VAT.

    Has this guy actually quoted for AC/DC or is this all speculation?


  • Options
    #13
    mrsWhippy
    Registered Users Posts: 673 ✭✭✭mrsWhippy


    That's great, thanks all.

    Presumably as our architect, they'd be doing regular site visits anyway - so Sydthebeat, for an 8 month build, in order to sign off the build regs, it would require roughly 1 site visit a week?

    BryanF, I got the figure during a consultation meeting - I asked how they were handling these new regulations and what extra cost it was typically adding to a project - that's when this 'rough' guide price was presented to me. I'm expecting the full fee proposal this week. I did ensure to ask that this fee did include both AC and DC roles, and it did.


Advertisement