Find a Shop Fitter you can trust in Stanley.

Primarily, quantity surveying is all about the calculation and management of the project related costs, which usually commences with helping with the initial estimates right down to assisting with the finalizing of the overall requirements of the budget. The work is done both on the site as well as in the office with the main goal of minimizing expenses and also to keep them within the set limits of a budget. On a day to day basis, a quantity surveyor is expected to undertake a number of activities which includes preparing tender and contract documents, carrying out analysis, monitoring costs variation and preparing reports, determining the client’s requirements and taking on feasibility studies, distributing work to sub contractors as well as making the necessary payments.

From the start of a building project, quantity surveyors are charged with carefully monitoring all unexpected changes which can lead to fluctuation in costs. Over the course of the project, however, they’re expected to tackle crucial tasks such as outcome analysis, work evaluation as well as progress reports. What’s more? It’s also very common for surveyors to carry on extra responsibilities which includes allocation works to subcontractors, ordering of construction materials as well as seeing to the arrangement of payments. Generally, the list of what they can handle can be limitless, it all depends on the project as well as the employer.

It’s highly likely to believe that quantity surveyors are only involved in large construction projects, but this is actually not the case. Apart from working with local authorities, commercial businesses, consultancies as well as property developers, quantity surveyors also offer their services to small both residential clients and small business owners. They’re very flexible and can capitalize on many different services like providing an initial maintenance schedule for Strata managers and many more.

If you’d like to hire a commercial architect, but have a limited budget, there are a few options you could try.

Firstly, if you’re happy to manage the project yourself, you could just engage your architect to create the designs and technical plans. It will then be up to your builder and any other contractors to follow them. You’ll need to put some serious time and effort in to make sure that this goes smoothly, but it will reduce how much you’ll need to pay your architect.

You could also consider reducing the scope of your project. Many architects charge a percentage of your project’s total construction cost, so if you scale down the work then their fees will be lower. Alternatively, you may be able to negotiate a set fee if you want to guarantee that you won’t pay more than a certain amount.

If you’re currently experiencing some structural issues with your building or property and you’ve heard a thing or two about the several benefits associated with getting underpinning done, you may be wondering if underpinning might just be the answer to your worries. Well, one thing you should when it comes to underpinning is the fact that, while there are some structural issues that may actually warrant an underpinning job, there are also some situations that can not be fixed by underpinning. In this post, we’re going to consider the events whereby underpinning of your house will be required. Let’s take a look!

First and foremost, you should know that underpinning isn’t required for issues related to slab heave. Footing movements which are likely to reverse normally occur when the content of the soil moisture changes unevenly which gives rise to slab heave. This movement results for a reversible effect.

Generally, underpinning is done to remedy problems related with the movement of the footings of a building or property, but as stated above – not all movements require underpinning. So, when is underpinning required? More often than not, a situation that’s resolved by underpinning is the event whereby the footings of a building or structure drops or subside as a result of some reasons that are irreversible. For example, footing movements caused by a footing set on a soft or loose soil which may be irreversible.

In the event whereby the footings of your house haven’t been installed as deep as required during the initial construction, then you will need to have your building underpinned to make it more stable. If you’re also looking to increase the load on your foundation like adding another storey, you may also need to have your house underpinned to support the extra weight added.

The main reason that people use cladding or rendering on their property is the aesthetic benefit. These materials can really boost the appearance of a home. Cladding and rendering can also increase the thermal performance of a property. Speak to a specialist to find out whether your property will benefit.

When it comes to extending your home or creating more living space, you can either construct an extension, transform a current space or add a conservatory. While all the three available options to create more living space in your home are worth giving a shot, the wooden conservatory happens to be the easiest and cheapest of them all. If you are thinking about building wooden conservatory of your own, then you’d probably want to know exactly how much its going to cost. The simple answer is that it depends on multiple factors such as the type of wood required, the size, style as well as the quality of materials to be incorporated in your final conservatory design.

The most significant determinant, however, is the type of wood required. Below is a breakdown of the prices based on this factor:

• Hardwood Conservatory

Hardwood such as elm and beech are one of best options for building conservatories due to their complex structure which helps increase the durability and stability of conservatories. The price of an average hardwood conservatory without fitting usually ranges £10,000 to £15,000.

• Oak Conservatory

Due to its popularity and high availability, oak is a very common wood type used in the construction of conservatories. And as a result, it can be gotten within a range of £9,000 to £10,000 for just the wood. Oak can also be made to be resistant to bugs and pests. The price of this type of oak wooden conservatory jumps to around £15,000 to £20,000.

• Timber Conservatory

This refers to various types of wood that’s readily available before being subjected to treatment in different plants or factories. Due to its rather rough exterior and lack of a clean finish, this type of wood is usually gotten at a giveaway price. Depending on the type of wood, the price to buy just a timber conservatory kit can vary between £10,000 to £20,000.

Click here to learn more about wooden conservatories

A French door simply means a door style which features two sections that pivots on hinges installed on the door framing’s opposite sides, which opens and closes at the centre. Glass panels are used to make each door’s section covering the middle of the door ( either individual panels that are muntins framed or a single panel of glass). When open, the whole doorway is an open space with no post at the middle. French doors are popular for a number of reasons. Not only do they bring a particular level of charm, class and elegance to your home, but also allow natural light into a room and create a wide opening unlike a sliding patio door. They’re mostly installed at the rear of a home so as to allow for a direct walkway exiting the house and straight into the garden, thereby making your garden even a lot more closer to your home.

There are 3 main types of patio doors which includes the following:

• External or French patio doors

As the name suggests, they’re the French door that leads outside mostly into the garden. Generally when opened, the two door swings outwards, but there are some that can open inwards. They mostly possess a number of large glass panels which enable natural light to brighten up your home.

• Interior

This basically means fitting double French doors between two rooms in a house. This is very similar to the external ones with two doors and also made up of glass panels.

• Sliding

They are very similar to both the external and interior designs but rather than the two doors swinging open, they slide apart to create a great amount of space to walk into the garden. This is the classic charm that sliding French doors provide.

Do you wish to save money on your air conditioning expenses and energy bills? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’re going to consider some of the common myths you shouldn’t buy into if you really wish to save some money on your air conditioning system. Let’s take a look!

• The size of the system does not matter. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when purchasing an air conditioning system. A too large system will not only consume more energy meaning more higher heating bills, but will also keep turning off till it finally breaks down. And on the other hand, a system that’s too small would have to work harder to have your space cooled which means that it’ll wear down sooner. Consult a specialist in order to determine the right size of HVAC unit for your home.
• Turn down the temperature for a faster cooling. The fact here is, your AC system works just as hard whether you lower it 4 degrees or 25 degrees. Therefore, getting the temperature you want is just a matter of time. Also, you can end up paying a higher bill if you set it lower than you need to and in the process you happen to forget about it. Here, using a programmable thermostat can save you money and you’ll also get the temperature you really want.
• You don’t have to change the air filters. This is an idea you never buy into if you wish to save money. Air filters are usually inexpensive and can save you huge repair costs as well as heating bills on the long run. Normally, air filters should be replaced every 30 to 90 days by a specialist.

Are you looking to replace your old window for a new double glazed window and wondering what it’s going to be the cost? Well, the double glazed windows market is a very competitive one in the UK with varying prices across the country. Therefore, if you shop around you’re most likely to find something that’ll fit your budget both products and quality wise.

As you would have expected, the more windows you required the more money you are going to spend. However, the cost per window is likely going to be lower depending on the number of windows you purchase. Several double glazed windows come with a 10 year warranty but it’s advisable to also obtain a solid workmanship warranty which provides coverage for any potential problems for a good period of time upon installation.

To determine the cost of double glazed windows, there are so many things to put into consideration that just the primary dimensions of the window itself. Other factors that works to decrease or increase the cost of the project includes the frames’ quality as well as the material used. For example hardwood can be quite high priced when compared to uPVC.

The number of opening windows within the frame can also play a huge role in the cost of the windows as well as the type of the glass. The cost of a double glazing window usually ranges between £100 to £3,200 per window, depending on the available options.

To have a more accurate estimate of the cost of a double glazing window, you’ll need a obtain a survey from a double glazing installer who can take into account any possible complications that may arise when installing your windows while also giving an advise on the most suitable window style for your property.