The warranty and building control inspection process?

Site inspections are when surveyors will come out to your site to ensure the technical standards outlined in Premier Guarantee’s Technical Manual are being met.

Inspections will consist of an initial assessment of the site, stage inspections and a final inspection.

Further inspections may also be necessary for parts of the build with a high level of risk such as basements and roofs.

Our risk management and site inspection process exist to assist site teams in completing developments in accordance with our Technical Manual.

Site inspections are required by our insurers at various stages of the build and areas of particularly high risk to ensure that they are satisfied to provide a structural warranty upon completion.

An assigned surveyor with expertise in your region will visit your site.

They are responsible for undertaking the technical audit process on site.

Your surveyor will contact you within 5 working days of your order being placed to arrange a site meeting. This initial meeting will include a project review which will give you the opportunity to discuss your development with your surveyor and for them to highlight any areas where additional information may be required.

 You will then be issued with a site record folder which will be updated during each visit.

All sites require a Soil Investigation Report, a full set of plans and any foundation design and calculation documents.

We also require details of the plot numbers you are using on your development (if applicable) to allow us to issue documentation and site reports. This information is required as soon as possible and Royal Mail postal addresses will also be required at a later date.

If this is your first development with us, we will undertake an Initial Assessment. This does not apply for Self-Build, Completed Housing or Commercial schemes.

An initial assessment of your site will be made based on the following criteria as a rough guide:

• Ground conditions
• Site exposure
• Complexity of the design specification
• Professional input

This plan check enables the surveyor to judge the likelihood of any problems arising as the building work progresses. The assessment is adjusted accordingly during construction to reflect the standards being adhered to.

If the development includes the refurbishment or conversion of an existing building, we will aim to coordinate with our Technical Services Department a joint inspection to undertake the Refurbishment Assessment (RA).

Premier Guarantee surveyors work closely and collaboratively with site teams across all stages of the build process.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to our site inspections as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to construction.

However, as a guide our surveyors will carry out site inspections at the following construction stages:

• Foundations excavations (or prior to concreting ground beams on piled sites)
• Ground floor
• Chamber joist
• Roof structure
• First fix (or pre-plaster)
• Pre-handover

All builders/developers registered with Premier Guarantee are supplied with a copy of our Technical Manual. 

This provides you with all of the functional requirements for your build.

 Whilst our Technical Manual provides comprehensive guidance on meeting the necessary standards we recognise that we cannot cover every construction option in a single document.

So, if you have an alternative method you would like to use on your build call us on 0800 107 8446 and we would be happy to discuss the solution and work with you to ensure the necessary standards are met.

You can also access an electronic version of the Technical Manual and dedicated technical blog articles on our website.

This will vary depending on the project but the following areas are typically associated with a high level of risk:

• Basement construction and waterproofing
• Roof covering
• Waterproof envelope

For conversions and refurbishments the inspection regime will be considered on an individual basis considering the following:

• Recommendations of the Refurbishment Assessment
• Complexity of the scheme
• Extent of the works

Your surveyor will explain to you when they visit your site what actions will need to be taken and fill out the relevant section of your site record folder.

You will also receive a site inspection report electronically each time an inspection is carried out.

You will also have instant access to all of your inspection reports on our extranet portal.

Your Certificate of Insurance will be issued once we are satisfied you have fulfilled all conditions applied to your development and your site has achieved final sign-off by our dedicated team of inspectors.

You will also need to ensure that all documentation and payments have been received by Premier Guarantee and a logic test has been completed.

Once this criteria has been met our customer service team will issue a copy of your certificate of insurance.