Contract planning in Wandsworth Common
Documented building context
Wandsworth's published draft appraisal for The Common distinguishes Dorlcote Road's mainly two-storey semi-detached houses from Henderson Road's three-storey pairs in paragraph 6.8. Its architectural account describes gables, varied bay forms and red brick, and notes decorative iron balconies at Henderson Road nos. 29–35. This is a draft townscape description of named groups, not an adopted condition assessment.
Wandsworth Common tender and contract decisions
For an instruction involving one of the Dorlcote Road or Henderson Road groups, begin with the actual floor arrangement and elevations. The draft appraisal distinguishes two-storey and three-storey forms; it does not establish the present layout, occupation or extent of an individual refurbishment. Give tenderers the current drawings, identify inaccessible areas and state which further survey or design information will be issued before the work proceeds.
If the scope includes a gable or bay, allocate a separate item to its roof, wall and junction with the main building. Identify retained finishes around the operation so protection and making good can be priced. Ask each contractor to distinguish the proposed permanent repair from the access and temporary works needed to deliver it. An undivided facade allowance makes it difficult to compare whether those different activities have all been included.
For decorative ironwork at an instructed Henderson Road property, establish which components are present and which intervention the designer has specified. A photograph of an adjacent balcony is not a specification for the employer's building. Where closer examination is necessary, identify the information sought and the professional responsible for deciding the subsequent detail. Do not turn the appraisal's recognition of a balcony into an assertion about its present capacity, condition or suitability for use.
Prepare the tender programme around decisions that genuinely affect the sequence: access arrangements, any examination from a platform, an agreed repair detail and the procurement of the specified components. When choosing and completing the JCT documentation, align those stages with the actual allocation of design work. Clearly record which permissions or third-party arrangements remain to be obtained, by whom, and before which operation, without representing an anticipated outcome as a consent already held.
What should the Wandsworth Common tender and completion file make clear?
During delivery, use the original component references for instructions, progress photographs and valuation support. If a repair grows after examination, preserve the priced starting scope and explain the proposed addition. Ask for the corresponding programme effect as well as the amount. Completion records should distinguish installed work, items awaiting attention and any specialist information still outstanding; the final account should reconcile these records to the employer's accepted tender.
Appointment
HCS cannot act as independent contract administrator where HCS is the contractor.
Local Sources Checked
- Wandsworth — Wandsworth Common Conservation Area DRAFT Appraisal A: The Common — PDF page 10 (printed page 8 in extracted text), paragraph 6.8; Dorlcote and Henderson Road building forms and named balconies. Draft status retained; edition year not inferred.
Nearby contract administration
Accountability
Provider
Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy — RICS Regulated Firm No. 923064
Other Wandsworth Common surveying services
- RICS Level 3 Building Survey in Wandsworth Common
- RICS Home Surveys in Wandsworth Common
- Party Wall in Wandsworth Common
- Building Pathology in Wandsworth Common
- Redacted RICS Level 3 sample reports
Need a RICS survey quote in Wandsworth Common? We confirm a fixed fee after scoping. Call 020 7101 4590, email enquiries@hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk, or inspect our redacted RICS Level 3 sample reports. Sample reports.