WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:05.360 The Carpentry Show with Robin Clevert and Festal. A passion for high quality power 2 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:10.679 tools for over ninety five years. Discover the full innovative eighteen volt cordless range 3 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:18.359 at Festal dot co dot uk. Festal with you every day. Welcome to 4 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:22.519 the Carpentry Show with Festal on fixed radio. I'm Robin Clevert with you for 5 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.519 the next hour. On the last two shows, I shared my seven sins 6 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:31.879 to avoiding carpentry. One of the seven was not notifying a building inspector about 7 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:36.880 relevant work or notifiable work. So on today's show, I've invited a building 8 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:42.240 inspector that oversees some huge projects in the East of England onto the show to 9 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:46.759 give us some advice. Well, it has been a fairly nice sort of 10 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:50.399 three or four weeks. We've had some sunshine, some really reliable weather, 11 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.000 to the point where I had some sort of work that I had held off 12 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:57.679 until the weather broken and got a bit better. One of the jobs was 13 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.359 cladding dormers, so I've kept stains the client. I'm not getting up there 14 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:03.640 until i know it's going to be dry because I want to go up there 15 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.200 and do the jobs start to finish, and so that's what we did. 16 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:14.599 And I've had the pleasure of having a couple of youngsters working with me now, 17 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.040 so it's work work experienced season time. So the guys are from a 18 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:23.879 six four foot form college called Colliers in Horsham and they're also friends from the 19 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:27.040 village, so they networked and they said, who will take us on for 20 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.560 a week? And I've had the pleasure of having the guys working with me 21 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.760 and they've been doing absolutely everything and they're joining me as part of their work 22 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:41.599 experience in the studio. I'm very lucky to have Joshua Anderson and Joe Collins. 23 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.239 Have you had a good time, guys, Yeah, it's been absolutely 24 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:49.959 amazing. Yeah, best experience. What have you enjoyed most? The planning 25 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.400 at the beginning is great. Yeah, mathematics and kind of the organization of 26 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.159 everything. Yeah, what about you, josh I think the setting up of 27 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.040 the business stuff like the Amazon store, yeah, print on them. Yeah, 28 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:02.920 it's been really good. So you might guess from that. The guys 29 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.400 have had such a varied week. We've done the clouding, which involved a 30 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:07.680 lot of mathematics. They had a bit of standing around, you know what 31 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:12.039 it's like. We've also done a little bit of computer works stuff I'm not 32 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.759 capable of. They've done some designs stuff around my logo, which is really 33 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.800 kind of them, and got some stuff onto Amazon for me, and then 34 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.039 they had the pleasure of four tons of topsoil to shift all around my garden, 35 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.960 which they did really well. You did copell right then? Yeah? 36 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:37.159 Yeah, okay, well, thanks so much. Enjoyed the show. I'm 37 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:42.360 Robin Glevitt and joining me now is Mark Harvey, Building Control Partnership Manager for 38 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.479 East Suffolk Council. Mark, in a nutshell, what does your role involve 39 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:50.080 and what kind of building sites are you inspecting on a day to day basis? 40 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:55.479 So I inspect building sides of all sizes, of all complexities, from 41 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:02.360 the smallest domestic extension to the largest how a block of eighteen meters plus, 42 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:08.520 and also hospitals, care homes, pretty much anything you could think of. 43 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:14.840 Yeah, it's fascinating. I always find the range and variety that you guys 44 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:19.680 as a professional building control officers go out and look at its mind blowing. 45 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.800 I mean I'm in the domestic market, and talking about the domestic market, 46 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:27.039 I find a lot of trades people actually not aware of what you're supposed to 47 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:29.919 notify in the first place. So they may get asked to call around to 48 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.000 look at a job and they take the job on not even realizing that it's 49 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:38.039 notifiable work okay, and it can sometimes be sort of quite minor alterations. 50 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:44.280 I mean, what's your experience being like this in the past. Well, 51 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.759 we offer a very open and approachable service because ultimately all we want to do 52 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.199 is for the tradesmen, homeowners, anybody to feel that they can ask us 53 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:59.360 the question. So there really is no excuse, you know, if you 54 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:01.400 ask us in the first place. I'm thinking about knock on the wall out 55 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:04.759 of my house. I wonder if I need building REGs. We are very 56 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.639 easy to get hold of, we are very easy to contact, and there 57 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:14.479 is a plethora of information online which should direct you to such a service. 58 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:16.959 Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, anyone who's looked at the planning 59 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:21.000 portal and then gone on too l ABC for example, would see that there's 60 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:26.120 so much information there. But it's about signposting people together in the first place. 61 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.120 So I mean, how can trades people build a sort of clearer understanding 62 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:36.199 of what they will need to notify building inspector or about. The LABC website 63 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:40.639 is a very good example, as are many of the websites of the local 64 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:46.560 authority building control teams. But the lab C website have a funt door website 65 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:54.680 which holds every answer to every question that you could possibly ask and then lead 66 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:58.920 you to then make that contact with a professional. Yeah, I totally get 67 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:01.720 you there, so base Basically, I mean, it's in my role. 68 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.160 I'm a domestic builder. I'm a carpenter and joiner by trade, and I 69 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:10.199 get approached by all manner of people to do all manner of jobs from small 70 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:15.120 stuff which might involve period windows that have got to be replaced which they can't 71 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.560 buy uPVC for that sort of stuff, and they just call you around, 72 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:19.759 they say we want to replace a window. And when I say, yeah, 73 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:24.959 that's fine, it's notifiable works because I'm a tradesman craftsman. I'm not 74 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.240 under the fencer scheme. And they're like, well, what you're going on 75 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.639 about. It's like double Dutch to them, you know. And a lot 76 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.519 of people I find think that we're I'm trying to put a barrier up in 77 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.000 their way, if you know what I mean. And a lot of trades 78 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:41.000 people, I know, when I say about even roof in works. Now, 79 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.839 you know, even if you're going to recover a roof, an entire 80 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.439 roof, that falls into correct me if I'm wrong, some sort of notifiable 81 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:54.319 work because of the REGs. Yes, you're correct, we are. The 82 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:00.560 building regulations cover all manner of parts of construction. Ultimately, we are very 83 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:04.439 focused on the thermal achievements of a building, and the accessible nature of a 84 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:11.480 building, and the fire safety of the building. Yea, you know they 85 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.600 are the three big ones. Yeah, and I think all the most important 86 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:19.160 ones as you mentioned. Okay, let's discuss some of what you've observed in 87 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:25.399 your role. Next the Carpentry Show on Fixed Radio. This is the Carpentry 88 00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:29.279 Show with Festival. I'm Robin Clevitt and still on the line is building inspector 89 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:32.879 Mark Harvey, who is giving us some advice and insight into how we work 90 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:39.600 with building inspectors as tradespeople. So what can be the consequences of failing to 91 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:46.279 notify an inspector about irrelevant work? Unfortunately, it's works are undertaken with early 92 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.600 appropriate permissions. Upon the sale of a property, the question may be asked 93 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:57.920 as to how that piece of work complies and with early appropriate certificate and inspection 94 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:03.199 by building Control. Unfortunately, the works has to be inspected retrospectively, which 95 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:06.000 means I, as a building inspector, to go somewhere and look at something 96 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.040 that I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to pass. Yeah, I 97 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.920 mean it's really awkward, and all the way through my career I've had that 98 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:15.480 loads of times where people contact me and said, we're trying to buy a 99 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:20.000 house and there's no building certificate and they're saying that we can just indemnify with 100 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.000 a small insurance And I said, look, guys, I said, you 101 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.360 really want to take something on that may not be safe, it may not 102 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.680 be built. Well, you need to either back out or you need to 103 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:33.079 get the seller to get that inspection done. And if you know, and 104 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:38.360 it puts the pressure on you, guys the building control office to actually come 105 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.800 along. I know you you might be able to charge a fee for it, 106 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.360 but it's still a lot of aggravation for you, and it's quite stressful 107 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:47.519 at that time when people really need to sell and someone wants to buy and 108 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:51.000 you feel like you're in the middle and you say there's no guardrail on this 109 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.720 staircase. There's no smoke alarms. There's all of the basic things, and 110 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.120 that's what you can see. What you can't see is all the stuff that 111 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.600 they should have done that isn't done, you know. So I do feel 112 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.600 for you how to get over that I've mentioned before about us being approachable. 113 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:11.720 I think unfortunately for us being called building inspectors, the word inspector brings an 114 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:15.959 element of fear to people. That is not what we want. Our role 115 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:20.000 is not to go somewhere to say something is wrong. Our role is to 116 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:24.560 go somewhere to say something is right. But we need to be given a 117 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:26.839 fair shot at doing that, and the only way of doing that is the 118 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:31.360 earliest possible communication. If you don't ask the question in the first instance, 119 00:08:31.559 --> 00:08:39.039 there's a great risk that you're going to have some difficult consequences later. That's 120 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.679 so true. And like for me as a structural carpenter, so I get 121 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:43.720 a lot of people approach me and say we want to roof put on an 122 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.519 extension, for example. And this is a classic. So a lot of 123 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:50.840 people will call a local architect and they want to just get planning through. 124 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:54.080 So they want an outline plan done of what they want and they want to 125 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:56.000 put it in. And then I get the plan sense to me, as 126 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.799 do a lot of other builders, and they say, give us a price 127 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:00.960 to this, and I say, okay, yeah, no problems, So 128 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:03.000 we all give them a rough price based on square meter is the normal sort 129 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.919 of thing. Then you get awarded the work and then my next question is 130 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:11.080 have you got any of the structural calculations for your roof? And they'll say, 131 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:13.960 oh, no, we didn't know we had to have them. I 132 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:16.720 said, well, you do because it needs to be submitted because the rafter 133 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.399 lengths, the size is, the spaces, the ventilation and the insulation, 134 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:24.120 everything else. So they don't have a package of works for building inspectors to 135 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:26.480 look at, if you know what I mean, like a full submission or 136 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:31.120 full plan submission. And then I find that you get clients and say, 137 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:33.480 well do we really need it? Can't we do it without it? Now? 138 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:37.960 I personally won't do it without it because it's my reputation. And even 139 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.879 if I know I can specify something, let's say, for example, something 140 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:46.480 did go wrong, Well, that's just going to push the responsibility back to 141 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:50.279 me. I mean, what have been your experiences with this and what would 142 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:54.200 your advice to trade people be if they're faced with this, you're obviously a 143 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:00.000 highly competent contractor, as are many contractors we come across. It is incredib 144 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:05.080 be unfair on a contractor to take on that design responsibility when you were there 145 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:09.200 to deliver the role and deliver the work. People often think they're going to 146 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:16.480 save money by not investing in some appropriate design. The best analogy that we 147 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.840 give is if you go to a supermarket without a list, you come home 148 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.240 with none of the items that you were meant to Guess, that's me, 149 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.360 Yes, that's right. The same thing applies that if you are going to 150 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.080 be investing in your property and you want to make sure something is built correctly 151 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:39.519 into the required standards. If you can have a plan of the design to 152 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.279 help your contractor to deliver the work, and then for the building inspector to 153 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:48.720 then also inspect as per the design, you're going to get a far better 154 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:52.080 end result. Yeah, I mean, that is fabulous advice. And it's 155 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.639 as simple as that. And in fact, that document which may specify steel 156 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:01.080 sizes, raft sizes, fireproofing, all of the that the necessary stuff. 157 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:05.399 The builder can then go away and price it properly, he can say, 158 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:07.840 I know exactly what the size timbers are, I know exactly what the insulation 159 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.320 requirements are, where the ventilation is all written down Building control of a greedy 160 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:15.879 and everyone's singing from the same hymn sheet. And if the contractor then decides 161 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:18.279 to go and do something different, well that's on his head. As far 162 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:22.320 as as far as I can see. Fix radio time to crack on. 163 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.440 You're listening to the Carpentry Show. I'm Robin Clevitt, and I'm talking to 164 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:33.399 Mark Harvey, building Control Partnership Manager for East Suffolk Council. So I drive 165 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:37.399 around all the time. I'm a building geek, okay, so I'm looking 166 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:41.360 at everything building related from a that's nice, that material is really nice, 167 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.360 or that design's good. But equally I drive round and I know straight away 168 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.960 that's on someone's doing that on a shoestring A because they probably didn't realize how 169 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.879 much things would cost. And then they've kind of attracted whatever help that they 170 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:56.120 can attract for whatever budget or money that they have. And I often see 171 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:00.960 things that I feel are really unsafe, terrible workmanship. And yes, it 172 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:03.879 might be the person in the house who's having to go themselves, that's up 173 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:07.759 to them. But I often see people who look like trades people working. 174 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:09.639 I think, do you actually really know what you're doing? The way they're 175 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.200 approaching things, even how they stack the material or set the site up. 176 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.480 And it annoys me to the point where I've spent all my life trying to 177 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:20.559 build myself a career and do things properly, and then you think that work's 178 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:26.039 been taken from underneath us as bona fidei trades people by someone who's either mean 179 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:30.679 who just wants to disrespect trades people of what they earned, and that really 180 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.200 really winds me up. I mean, how about you, as a building 181 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:37.000 inspector when you drive around, do you see the same things I'm seeing at 182 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:41.559 all? Yes, I couldn't agree more. As building inspectors, you know, 183 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:48.240 I manage a large team of highly competent professionals, and unfortunately, those 184 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:52.919 works that you talk of, when we do uncover them, the time it 185 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:58.120 takes us to deal with them means that our time with the people that have 186 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:03.440 paid for their applications and the tractors who really want our help is sacrificed because 187 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:07.559 we need to deal with the enforcement side of our roles, which is really 188 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:11.679 unfortunate because there are the people out there who have paid for our services that 189 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:15.360 sometimes then have to take a back seat for us to then deal with. 190 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:20.799 They're not so easy situations where somebody's went ahead and thought they can just go 191 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.519 ahead and do whatever they like, which is a real shame, I know, 192 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.559 And and you know, I'm sort of not surprised that you know, 193 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:31.960 you see the same as I see, even though you're up there in Suffolk 194 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:37.200 and I'm down here in Surrey. I mean, would you sort of knock 195 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.320 on the door, would you send a letter? What? How does? 196 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:43.720 How'd you go about it? And so we have a very very good understanding 197 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:48.919 of our geographical area being a local authority and all the surveyors. The important 198 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:52.879 thing about local authority build control. All of the surveyors I employ live and 199 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:58.559 work within the districts. You know, we operate so our own friends and 200 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:03.519 families and everybody that we know lives in the properties and around the properties that 201 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.720 we are making sure are safe and accessible for everybody. You know, that 202 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.759 is really fundamentally important. So if I'm driving around and I have a good 203 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:16.519 understanding of the work that I have got in in my area and I drive 204 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:22.200 past the property and I automatically know, because of my geographical understanding and my 205 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:26.519 workload that I haven't got an application there. I will stop, and I 206 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.639 will have a conversation, and if that conversation goes well, I give people 207 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:39.200 an opportunity to then apply retrospectively and then if not. Unfortunately, we do 208 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:45.360 have the ability to take enforcement action, which should always be the last option, 209 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:48.559 which is not something we like to do because then again, that doesn't 210 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:52.600 really help us promote what we're trying to do as building inspectors, because then 211 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:56.919 people see us as enforces. Yeah exactly, Yeah, but it's really suring 212 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.480 to hear that you do take action. I mean, what the things that 213 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.279 really sort of make you angry. Let's say you've got a job that is 214 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.440 has an application, you go out. Is there anything that really makes you 215 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:07.720 angry that you see and you think, oh, you can't do this. 216 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:13.799 What is that? I would say general standards and competence and having some respect 217 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.000 for the wider industry. You know, if you see a bad job and 218 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:26.039 someone's done a bad thing. Unfortunately, that thinks everybody in our industry for 219 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:31.759 that personalist experience that you know, in the same light, which is which 220 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:35.360 you know, not good I know, especially in the local community. Yeah, 221 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:37.440 of course. I mean, so what are sort of some of those 222 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:41.600 common issues that you come across and when you talk about standards, I mean, 223 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:46.320 is there a particular part of the build that's just going downhill and downhill? 224 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:52.279 I think it's people's lack of appreciation of structure. You can't just go 225 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:58.159 ahead and take a structural element of a property out because we're talking about the 226 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.120 safety of the people doing it in the first place, and then the people 227 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.639 that are frequenting the building or walking past the building. You know, the 228 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:11.559 risk and the nature of having a limited amount of ability or design or knowledge 229 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:17.600 jumping into foot to a knowledge it really isn't good enough. The strange thing 230 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.080 in our country, I believe, and this is where we're going with competence 231 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:26.039 in general, is if you wake up tomorrow morning and feel that you want 232 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.960 to be a builder, you can be Yeah, it's totally wrong. It's 233 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.600 something that as a qualified tradesperson, someone who loves their craft, as do 234 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.159 a hell of a lot of our listeners out there. You know, they're 235 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.519 really engaged people and they want to do the best jobs. When you see 236 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:44.039 this flouting of rules or as you say, anyone can get up and say 237 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.440 today I'm a builder. You know, it's just a generic term. You 238 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.360 know, there's no qualification. You can't go to college to become a builder. 239 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.320 You can go to college and have a professional building qualification, but actually 240 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:59.240 being a builder's generally a trades based person like me who is engaged to oversee 241 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:03.399 lots of trades, which makes you a builder. I mean, okay, 242 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.400 so what's the best way to engage with the building stretcher. I know you've 243 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:10.119 touched on this earlier about the fact get in touch, but as a tradesperson, 244 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:12.359 let's say you come on site, what is the best way to engage 245 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:15.960 with the building inspector? Definitely, you know, with the local authority, 246 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:22.559 build control teams, everyone that I know of are very open to contact. 247 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:26.680 You know, seekon early stage contact is the only way. You know, 248 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:32.440 the contact details of many of the build control teams around the country are very 249 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:37.119 very good, not like they used to be, and just give that early 250 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:41.200 stage opportunity for the building inspector to engage with you. And you know, 251 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:47.640 the really fundamental part of that early engagement. Many many building control teams mine 252 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:52.960 included. We offer and hours free advice brilliant and hours free advice might be 253 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:56.759 over the phone, it might be you know, over a coffee somewhere, 254 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.359 or it could be at the property in question. We're very, very open 255 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:06.519 to the early engagement and that's the only way that we can actually make sure 256 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.759 that we're doing the same thing and we've got the same ambitions wrote from the 257 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:14.440 earliest point. Well, Mark, I really really appreciate you coming on, 258 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:18.960 especially after last week's show where I talked about the seven sins of carpentry and 259 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:22.000 one of them was obviously not notifying building control. And I think you've made 260 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:26.720 it so easy the very fact that there is this free service, you know, 261 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.880 and I know it may not be every local authority, but I know 262 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.799 from my personal engagement with the local authority building controls, the ones that I 263 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:37.200 use, five or six that I use over the years, has always been 264 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:41.200 fantastic. You can build an amazing rapport into the point where sometimes we have 265 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.519 inspections and the guys don't need to come on site that you know, I 266 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:48.880 can evidence it and they don't even need to come on site. But that 267 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.720 takes years of trust or you know, at least an appreciation. Mark, 268 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.519 thanks so much for your time for coming on the show today. I think 269 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.519 I think i'd like to add as well, from our perspectives from a building 270 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:04.000 for jobspective LABC, who represent all of the local authority to build control, 271 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:08.880 we like to celebrate our tradesmen and the achievement for the tradesmen, and we 272 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:15.160 do recognize that, and we have regional and national awards and in them the 273 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:22.599 regional and national awards the hard work of everybody in the trades a scene by 274 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:26.599 all and celebrated by all, and that's something that I don't think people realize. 275 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.480 Yeah, and I can vouch for that because I actually got highly commended 276 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.599 when I went up to one of those competitions for a big project we did 277 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:37.200 in Hendon, Thames and I was nominated by the building inspector of the area, 278 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:40.160 which it was a real accolade to me, and he was a very 279 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:41.720 quiet, serious man. I had no idea he was going to turn to 280 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:44.799 me at the end of the job on the completion. By the way, 281 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.079 we're submitting this for an award and it was wonderful. Anyway, Thank you 282 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.799 again, hope to catch up with you in the future. Mark lovely, 283 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.680 Thank you ever so much. That's it for today's Carpentry Show, where I 284 00:19:55.720 --> 00:20:00.079 was joined by building inspector Mark Harvey. So I something I found really interesting 285 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.279 at the end, and it was a bit of a sort of shock to 286 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.599 me really that Mark is seeing what I'm seeing and what probably a lot of 287 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.559 our listeners, what are you guys are listening today are seeing as well out 288 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:15.119 on site and now that is that standards are changing. Okay, I don't 289 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.480 want to say slipping, because you know, I can't judge everyone the same 290 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:22.440 as I'm not walking in their shoes, but I do think that standards are 291 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.960 slipping and the way that we go about things, everything's rush, rush, 292 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:27.599 rush, you know, it's always a power tool to do something that, 293 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:32.279 you know, taking the skill out of things by automating staff and using new 294 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:37.799 products. And he sort of intimated there that it could be that in sort 295 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:40.400 of a few years time, the standards are going to get so low that 296 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:42.359 that no one's going to be able to control it. As people of my 297 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:48.680 generation are getting tired and moving out of the trade and not teaching new people 298 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:49.920 to come into it, you know, we could be in a bit of 299 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:53.839 a mess. So all I'm going to say is providing you're doing a good 300 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:59.759 job, stand by that. Keep doing a good job and it will pay 301 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:02.240 off in the end. I know that you might say I'm going to get 302 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:07.079 undercut, but just hold your line and it will be absolutely fine. So 303 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.960 that's my last little bit of advice on that subject. This and all of 304 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:15.519 my previous shows are also available as podcasts from wherever you get them online, 305 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.319 download, subscribe and leave a review as well, because that's a big help. 306 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:23.359 We're building a community of carpenters at Fixed Radio and we want you to 307 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:26.400 be a part of it. If you want to have your say, head 308 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:30.920 over to fix radio dot co dot uk and sign up for a regular newsletter, 309 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:33.960 The Carpentery Show on Fixed Radio.