Its interesting reading replies and of course photo of the problem.

The thread then goes into all the details then about fire ratings of compartments, walls ceilings etc which I have no issue with at all.

But surely this is all down to the "Competency" of persons/organisations??

In other words failure to ensure compliance with standards during the build, so the client didnt receive what they should have done and has been let down badly by installing contractors/inspectors and local authority or a combination of those parties and could possibly suffer because of those ommissions. Or subsequent alterations/additions since original install.

I have said this many many times in numerous arena's and meetings. One can have as many Standards/Regulations etc etc as you like, but without adequate enforcement of those Standards/Regulations by competent people and of course compliance to the details of the same Standards and Regulations we are all simply wasting our time. Yes, money has a lot to do with it and many clients dont help themselves but in 2023 in the UK surely we can do far better?

Regards GTB

I think I will give your post my 100% backing GTB!

In fact, the BRE document to which I referred to above, dated though it is, says;

"Workmanship

The objectives of building regulations and codes of practice and of building designers to achieve buildings which are fire resisting will be lost if good workmanship in the factory or on site is not achieved. 

Good quality control is important......but it becomes more important with those fire protecting materials which can be applied by unskilled labour. Education in the needs of quality control must start with the Architect on each new project..."

In that regard, it goes on to highlight the importance of the roles of the site engineer and the competence of the person applying the fire resisting measure.

Sadly, in my experience, many of the sites in todays building industry do not have the quality control that the document promulgated!

I think that there are two issues here:

(1) Workmanship. How can one put it politely? We have some tradesmen in at the moment and some of the work is a little disappointing. That said, if they took their time and did it better, the work would cost more. By contrast, I have every confidence in another tradesman who came to do some work for the first time today. At this stage, I will admit to having a streak of perfectionism, but not to a pathological standard!

(2) Contract compliance. Surely a building owner (or tenant even) would want to ensure that a contract is being performed. Perhaps, like yer average householder, they have no idea how to do that.

I think that there are two issues here:

(1) Workmanship. How can one put it politely? We have some tradesmen in at the moment and some of the work is a little disappointing. That said, if they took their time and did it better, the work would cost more. By contrast, I have every confidence in another tradesman who came to do some work for the first time today. At this stage, I will admit to having a streak of perfectionism, but not to a pathological standard!

(2) Contract compliance. Surely a building owner (or tenant even) would want to ensure that a contract is being performed. Perhaps, like yer average householder, they have no idea how to do that.