WINDOWS, doors and conservatories specialist, CR Smith, has claimed that almost 40% of customers wanting a conservatory are “caught out” by additional costs of matching their house foundations to meet building regulations.
The firm, which has a dedicated foundation inspection service, has warned that building requirements on many new estates and on brownfield sites mean that foundation techniques vary, and these have to be matched when building any new living space.
CR Smith is now urging householders to have their homes checked before work starts. Operations director Hugh Eadie explained, “With the growing number of new homes being built there is an increasing number being constructed on brownfield sites.
“This in combination with changes to accessibility regulations, can result in properties having extra deep or special foundations to ensure the integrity of the build.
“To comply with domestic building regulations, new structures must have the same foundation detail as the existing house, in both type and cast. Therefore, to avoid issues once the build is underway, every house should be checked in advance.
“A conservatory, orangerie or sunroom is a major construction project and has to be done correctly. There are a range of building standards that have to be met to ensure the quality and robustness of the project.
“Customers invest a great deal of money and emotion into their homes when choosing a new conservatory or living space.
“For that reason, we feel it is vitally important to support them every step of the way to ensure there are no surprises, and no disappointments.”
