Contract Administration in Harrow

These local examples concern Harrow on the Hill Village, rather than every Harrow address. The hill’s stepped streets and tightly arranged buildings create particular questions for a repair brief. Confirm the actual location, fabric and authorised route before agreeing the contractor’s method and the administrator’s scope.

HCS cannot act as independent contract administrator where HCS is the contractor. Confirm the appointment and executed form; NEC roles differ.

Scope and fees

Measure the working position on West Street’s changing gradient

Harrow’s Village appraisal describes West Street narrowing beyond Crown Street and changing gradient as it descends towards Bessborough Road. For an instruction along that approach, obtain the levels and clearances relevant to the proposed repair before pricing scaffold, lifting or material handling. The contractor should identify the support position and the appropriate temporary-works input for the actual site. Include agreed entrance protection and the route from unloading to the workface within the tender assumptions. When a measured constraint changes the method, preserve the specific finding and revised proposal. The administrator can then assess the effect on the contractual package using evidence for the operation rather than a general allowance for hillside work.

Follow the roof arrangement of the particular terrace

The appraisal contrasts rooflines stepping down West Street and Waldron Road with more level roof arrangements on streets cut into the hill, including Victoria Terrace and Nelson Road. For roof repairs, inspect the actual junctions and drainage layout before adopting a detail from another nearby row. Identify the employer’s work limit and the treatment of adjoining retained elements, supported by the appropriate survey and design information. A repeated appearance does not establish the same concealed construction or defect at each house. Keep opening-up findings, authorised details and photographs linked to the roof location so that valuation and completion assessments follow the particular repair that was instructed.

Investigate a former shopfront before changing the ground floor

Harrow’s character account identifies surviving shopfront character along parts of West Street and Crown Street, including buildings whose use has changed. For an alteration to such a frontage, establish the existing fabric, present use and proposal through current project information. Do not rely on the historic commercial description as evidence of the current consent position. Obtain the relevant design and planning advice and identify the detail the contractor must retain or alter. The tender should distinguish repair of original elements from new work and include the necessary sample or drawing decisions. Record any subsequent client change against those items so the administrator can assess the additional obligation clearly.

Keep adjoining open land outside the assumed contract site

The Village appraisal contrasts its compact streets with Church Fields and the school’s cricket grounds, and records footpaths linking streets to open spaces. Where a Harrow repair approaches those edges, establish ownership and authorised access independently of the visual openness. A pedestrian link is not evidence that construction vehicles or storage are permitted. Define the contractor’s route and working limits, along with retained-tree and surface protection informed by the appropriate specialists. Keep any outstanding agreement against the affected programme activity. At removal of temporary arrangements, use the recorded condition and reinstatement requirement to assess remaining obligations, distinguishing them from a new request to improve land beyond the original contract scope.

JCT tender preparation: Harrow

For a Kingsfield Road-type Harrow project, give bidders the details of this frontage rather than borrow the opposite terrace's gable or bay schedule. Separate original fabric from later additions and identify the access actually available. Discuss the proposed JCT form with the design-responsibility list, including any specialist repair that remains unresolved. Compare quantities, temporary protection and making good on a common basis. If a return assumes replacement where the design calls for retention, obtain the technical decision before accepting that alternative. The final tender reconciliation should link each agreed adjustment to the correct elevation and component, leaving a reliable starting point for later administration.

The Roxborough Park and the Grove study identifies two-storey cottages on Kingsfield Road. It contrasts the brick gables and timber bargeboards on the eastern side with ground-floor canted bays and upper sash windows opposite. The account is specific enough to caution against using one side of the street as the construction template for the other.

The same study describes the yellow-brick pairs at 21–35 Roxborough Road, with shallow hipped roofs and shared entrance arches. It notes variations in decorative treatment within the group. Their apparent symmetry is useful context, but cannot confirm that both halves retain the same internal walls or that later roof work followed one design.

If a house has a loft room or changed staircase, obtain the drawing that shows the relationship to the neighbouring half. Ask which roof slopes and junctions can be inspected from the instructed property, and make any need for a different viewpoint clear.

Harrow's Mount Park study describes Arts and Crafts influences, including tile hanging, projecting eaves and tall chimneys. It identifies attic accommodation and dormers in several named houses, with red brick and plain roof tiles among the area's materials. These details relate to the study's historic buildings, rather than every modern home carrying a Harrow address.

For a larger house with several roof forms, supply plans for the attic as well as the main floors. Ask whether there are separate voids behind the rooms, which hatches can be opened safely and where roof linings conceal the structure. If repairs have been made to tile hanging or high-level joinery, request the dated records and describe the affected elevation. The inspection brief should distinguish roof coverings, decorative external details and concealed support instead of treating all work above the first floor as one item.

The Mount Park study places importance on mature gardens, gaps between buildings and the landscaped setting of its houses. It also records conversions and infill.

Check current requirements for the particular property and proposed work.

• Harrow: Harrow on the Hill Village appraisal, sections 5.1–5.5
• Harrow: distinct Harrow on-the-Hill area appraisals and maps
• Harrow: Roxborough Park and the Grove Conservation Area Study
• Harrow: Mount Park Conservation Area Study

• Major works
• Tendering
• Clerk of Works
• Employer's Agent
• Insurance reinstatement

• Harrow area guide
• North West London area hub

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