Two of the commonly used terms in the UK and Irish construction industry is “First Fix and “Second Fix First fix encompasses all the work required to take a building from foundation to stroking plaster on the interior walls. This comprises of building walls, floors and ceilings, and implanting cables for electrical supply and pipes for water supply.
Some claim that First Fix starts after the shell of the building is complete, and ends when the walls are plastered. Some of the elements in the first fix are as follows.
• Drain runs: must be downhill and straight
• Spare conduits: drawstrings
• Soil pipes
• Copper pipes
• Normal pipes
• Doorbell
• Door frames
• Pocket doorframes
• Stairwell
• MVHR (mechanical heat recovery ventilation runs)
• Push-fit or other plastic piping
• Electrical back boxes
• Electricity cable runs
• Telephone, data and audio-visual cables
• Socket location
• Security
• Fire alarm
• Sound insulation
• Plasterboarding
It is to be kept in mind that the list goes on as there are several things that you can do when you are building a house from scratch and it is impossible to cover each and every aspect in detail.
The second fix includes all the work after the plastering of a complete house. These include linking cables to the electrical fittings, coupling pipes to the baths and sinks and fitting doors into doorframes. Second fix work requires a tidier finish than the first fix.
Carpenters, electricians and plumbers get a proper idea on the division of work. They will also be able to visit the construction site at different times.
Project managers can simply report it as the "first fix complete" or "the second fix 50% done" and others would very easily understand.
Regardless of the fact that a construction company might specialise in a certain form of fix, be it the first or the second, they are obligated to have a rudimentary understanding of both and are required to perform them from time to time.