Contract Administration in Lee

Lee Manor’s appraisal records changes in house scale, wall materials and entrance details within a relatively close street network. These examples help turn a broad refurbishment enquiry into a location-based schedule. They are not a current condition report or examples of HCS appointments; the actual property, work and agreed responsibilities must be established.

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

Scope and fees

Use the correct end of Handen Road for the material schedule

The Lee Manor appraisal contrasts larger stock-brick houses towards eastern Handen Road with more varied red brick, render and mock timber details further west. For a repair brief, identify the actual address, building phase and elevation before selecting a nearby detail as a reference. Obtain current survey information and ask the designer to distinguish original material from subsequent alterations. The tender should identify the proposed treatment and any unresolved investigation for each component. Keep samples and authorised changes under those references during delivery. This allows the administrator to assess completed work against the specified frontage, without using the street name as shorthand for a uniform construction or repair requirement.

Record the western Handen Road gate piers separately

Lewisham describes low red-brick boundary walls and gate piers with terracotta ball finials at the western end of Handen Road. A proposed access alteration should therefore distinguish the wall, coping, pier and decorative cap, rather than treat the whole boundary as disposable working space. Inspect the present arrangement and obtain suitable advice on protection, temporary removal and reinstatement. Confirm the extent of the employer’s control and the relevant permissions. The contractor’s schedule should make the agreed operation identifiable. The administrator can then retain a component record and assess any changed quantity or making-good obligation against it, without allowing a temporary opening to become an unrecorded permanent alteration to the frontage.

Resolve glazed entrance hoods and hanging details before pricing

The Lee Manor character account records glazed hoods and suspended porches with decorative hanging balusters among its entrance features. Where an instruction affects a similar arrangement, survey the actual support, glazing and adjoining bays before defining the work. Obtain competent design advice on the intervention and any temporary protection required while the entrance remains in use. The tender should identify the components to retain and the decisions needed before replacement material is ordered. During administration, connect opening-up records and authorised revisions to the relevant doorway. Completion can then be checked against the agreed design and retained details rather than a general instruction to renew the porch in a matching style.

Keep the scale change on Effingham and Southbrook Roads explicit

The appraisal notes that the eastern parts of Effingham and Southbrook Roads contain taller houses than the sections further west. A contract spanning several premises should therefore record storey levels, work positions and access assumptions for each building. Measure the relevant elevations and obtain advice on the proposed temporary works; a repeated decorative detail does not establish an identical working method. Separate investigation, permanent repair and reinstatement in the pricing schedule. The administrator should assess progress by the actual property and element, retaining reasons for any changed sequence. This also helps distinguish an omitted work area from a later employer request when reviewing quantities or the remaining items at completion.

JCT tender preparation: Lee

For a Lee Manor-area tender, use the actual terrace or house scale and the levels at its steps, basements and bays. The difference between Burnt Ash Road and adjoining streets makes a measured scope more useful than a standard facade allowance. Identify the proposed JCT form with the completed design and any specialist work still to be allocated. Compare bidders' assumptions about access, temporary protection and reinstatement on the same basis. Reconcile a qualification that excludes lower-room work or changes the specified treatment before award. Keep the accepted quantities and design decisions beside the contract schedule for a clear record of the original obligation.

Lewisham’s Lee Manor appraisal, adopted in March 2008, describes taller house groups around Burnt Ash, Handen and Micheldever Roads and a reduction in scale westwards along adjoining streets. Its Burnt Ash Road account records yellow-stock-brick houses with entrance steps over stuccoed basements and bays extending through several levels. These are differences within named character areas, rather than one form for all Lee homes.

Mark common landings and any passage controlled by another occupier. Ask the access contact which lower rooms, roof spaces and rear surfaces could be opened for the visit. Have lease boundaries examined separately so the inspection request identifies practical access without determining legal rights.

For a Lee house farther along a street where the built scale changes, give its number and actual frontage rather than applying a tall-villa plan. Outline any rear addition and the covering around its rooms. Identify the house’s original entrance and later doorway changes.

Ask which project introduced a wider kitchen opening or additional stair, and attach its documents to the layout. If another address’s repair record is offered, name the expressly shared component.

Check current requirements for the particular property and proposed work.

• Lewisham: Lee Manor character appraisal, Handen Road and entrance details
• Lewisham: Lee Manor Conservation Area Character Appraisal, adopted 19 March 2008

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

• Lee area guide
• South East London area hub

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