Section 20 consultation forces you to name a price early, which is exactly when you know least about the building. A survey led approach closes that gap and keeps the final account close to the estimate.
Survey before you specify
A drone or pole survey of the elevations and roof, ahead of tender, identifies the repairs that would otherwise become variations: failed mortar joints, spalled brick, rotted cills and window heads, cracked render and defective rainwater goods.
Pricing those as measured items with provisional quantities gives leaseholders a realistic figure and gives you a defensible position when the quantities move.
Sequencing around residents
- Agree scaffold alarm and sheeting arrangements before erection, not after the first complaint
- Publish an elevation by elevation programme so residents know when their windows are affected
- Keep one point of contact for access requests rather than routing them through the site team
- Plan window repairs and redecoration in the same visit to avoid a second access round
Specification details that decide the lifespan
Preparation is the whole job. Full removal of unsound coatings, correct primer for the substrate, and a mortar mix weaker than the brick are what get a cycle to eight or ten years instead of five.
Record the paint system, batch and coverage in the handover pack. When the next cycle comes round, the surveyor is not guessing at compatibility.