Professional Advice
If you are planning ambitious home improvements,
especially ones that will involve major structural
alterations or extensions, you should consult
a qualified architect. He or she is trained to
design building and interiors that are not only
structurally sound but aesthetically pleasing.
An architect will prepare scale drawings of the
development for submission to the authorities
for planning permission and Building Regulations
approval. You and your architect much work as
a partnership. You can contact the Royal Institute
of British Architects (RIBA) www.architecture.com
for a list of professionals working in your area.
Please feel free to contact London Builders 4
U who are here to help you.
Before you undertake certain developments, you
are obliged to obtain the approval of local government
authorities. Many house owners are reluctant to
cooperate, fearing that the authorities are likely
to be obstructive - but in fact their purpose
is to protect all of us from irresponsible builders
and developers, and they are most sympathetic
and helpful to any householder who seeks their
advice in order to comply with statutory requirements.
People often confuse the two main controls that
exist: planning permission and Building Regulations
approval. Receiving planning permission doesn't
automatically confer Building Regulations approval,
or vice versa; and you may need both before you
can proceed. Please feel free to contact London
Builders 4 U who are here to help you.
The search for the builder who is both proficient
and reliable can be frustrating. Its not that
good builders do not exist, but there is an abundance
of careless and inefficient ones who give the
entire industry a bad name. Recommendation is
a safe way of to find a builder. If someone's
whose opinion you respect has found a professional
who is skilful, reliable and easy to communicate
with, then you will enjoy the same experience.
- Many
of the disagreements that arise between builder
and client are as a result of insufficient briefing
before work commences. Don't give builder vague
instructions. Similarly it is the Builder's
responsibility to provide client a quotation
outlining all jobs to be done and what it involves.
- Agree
in advance with the builder how the payments
are to be made. Some builders are willing to
undertake all work before any money changes
hands, others ask for stage payments.
-
Most people find they get a better job from
a builder if they create a friendly working
atmosphere. You will have to provide access
to electricity and water if this is required
to complete the job and the workmen will need
somewhere to store materials and tools. A certain
mess is inevitable but builders should leave
the site fairly tidy at the end of each working
day.
Londoners produce 3.4 million tonnes of rubbish
a year; this is enough to fill an Olympic sized
swimming pool every hour. The problem is getting
worse as we buy more packaged and disposable goods.
Most of London's rubbish is buried in landfill
sites or burnt. Both of these have negative effects
on our environment and space is fast running out
to bury London's rubbish.
The amount that Londoners recycle has risen steadily
in recent years - from 8 per cent of our rubbish
in 2000 to a brilliant 20 per cent today. But
given the fact that 60 per cent of what we throw
away can be recycled, there's room for improvement.
And with better services now available in every
London borough, recycling has never been easier.
(www.recycleforlondon.com)
Please visit http://www.recycleforlondon.com
and http://www.wrap.org.uk
to make a difference.
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