Part 9 Getting the First Fix Work Done
A lot goes into the first fix infrastructure of a home before the walls can be plastered. Chris Bates reveals the lessons we’ve learned during this crucial phase of our build
In this article... Page 61 Smart home electrics & plumbing infrastructure Page 64 Whole-house heating and ventilation system Page 65 Getting the underfloor heating installed Page 67 The pre-weathered larch cladding Page 68 Why we chose slimline sliding doors
There’s been a big communal push at the Build It Education House site over the past couple of weeks to try to get the first fix complete – with various teams beavering away to keep ahead of the plasterers. On some days, we’ve had upwards of a dozen operatives on site moving their parts of the project forward.
Seeing all of this come together is immensely rewarding. But it’s fair to say the organisation side of things sucks up a lot of your time and energy. Scott (from Drewett & Hunt, our lead contractor) and I have regular catch-ups over the phone, but I’m only able to spare two days a week to actually get on site – so it’s difficult to always be fully in the loop. The slightly unusual nature of our project, as an Education House, also makes the process a little different to your typical self build.
Managing first fix works
One thing that’s shone through every part of this phase is that all your trades want to do a good job. They’ll be happy to chat through what they’re doing on site and make suggestions that might help you out. But if you’re taking on some or all of the project management, you’re still going to need to put a lot of effort into coordinating the different operatives and suppliers – particular in terms of understanding exactly what’s needed, where and when. It’s not rocket science, but you do need to keep the channels of communication open and be prepared for the fact that some things might fall through the gaps.
At the start of first fix, the building is completely open, so running cabling, ducts and pipework is straightforward. As the infrastructure, stud walls, acoustic insulation, sockets and switches go in, you really begin to see your new home take shape. But as more of it gets closed off, and the plasterboard starts to go on (a necessity to allow things like
socket back boxes to go in), the whole site team needs to take extra care to ensure everything that needs to have been done, has been.
For example, some our installers have asked to do their own wiring, which in many ways is a good thing. But on a couple of occasions it’s not been completely clear what that means – who is putting in a fused spur or socket, for instance, where exactly should this go, and who’s going to connect it back into the main infrastructure? It’s important to iron these details out in advance. Even finding you need to run in a single extra cable might mean having to wait a few days for the electrician to come off another job (any decent subby will have other projects booked in), and then several more for the original installer to return to finish their works. So you can see how even apparently small delays can sometimes end up getting magnified.
Another thing to watch out for is the natural spread you might get from trades. They want to do a good and timely job – and that’s easiest to do when they can get maximum access to the pipe, duct, cable or bit of plant they’re fitting. Just occasionally, that might mean something moves a few centimetres over from where you’d ideally like it to be. Often, that’s no issue – but if it means the boxing-out for a services void is going to end up 10cm wider, that’s 10cm less living space for you.
Preparation is key
To my mind, the trick to keeping on schedule is to try to predict the pinch points and answer as many questions in advance as you can – and to make sure they’re covered in your specifications and quotes.
It’s clear that time spent at the planning phases is vital to making sure your build stays on track. One of the best questions to ask when you’re mapping things out with the various teams is probably “is there anything else you need from other trades?” and, when you’re on site,
“is there anything that’s going to stop you from finishing your side of the works?”. I’d also say that, if you’re not able to be on hand every day, it’s probably a good idea to get a full written update from each of your trades when they’re going off site. Ask them to detail what’s been done (and check that’s exactly what you’re expecting), what date they will be returning and what they need in place by then.
But it’s also important to realise that things will inevitably go a little awry at some points – that’s just the nature of working on a major building project. As the magazine’s project management expert, Mike Hardwick, always says: “stuff happens.” What matters is how you deal with challenges when they arise, and if you can build a happy, proactive workforce, then no issue will be insurmountable. You just need to be ready to jump to it whenever a decision needs to be made.