Level 2

Question 1

What did you consider when designing the toilet facilities? (Joseph Hood School, Merton)?

Answer 1

• The OT Report.

- Approved Documents (M)

Question 2

How do you ensure quality in a specification.

Answer 2

Use quality descriptors such as british standards; manufactureres recommendations and refrence to buillding regulations

Question 3

How long does planning approval last?

Answer 3

• Three Years

Question 4

Can you name a BS used?

Answer 4

BS 8000 - Workmanship on Construction Sites

Question 5

What building regulations did you consider?

Answer 5

Approved Document M:Access to and use of buildings, Vol 2

Question 6

What is Approved Document M?

Answer 6

Requires the inclusive provision of ease of access to, and circulation within, all buildings, together with requirements for facilities for disabled people.

Question 7

The 2015 edition of Volume 1 introduces three different types of dwellings?

Answer 7

Category 1 – Visitable dwellings.
Category 2 – Accessible and adaptable dwellings.
Category 3 – Wheelchair user dwellings.

Question 8

What type of dwellings are Volume 1 only applicable to?

Answer 8

New dwellings and dwellings undergoing material alterations

Question 9

What category is the following ‘a wheelchair user to live in the dwelling and have the ability to use any outdoor space, parking and communal facilities’

Answer 9

Category 3 (M3) – Wheelchair user dwellings.

Question 10

Wheelchair users to access and enter the dwelling, and access habitable rooms and sanitary facilities on the entrance level. What category?

Answer 10

Category 1 (M1)– Visitable dwellings.

Question 11

What category would the following be most suited to ‘make it suitable for a range of potential occupants, including older people, individuals with reduced mobility and some wheelchair users’

Answer 11

Category 2 (M3) – Accessible and adaptable dwellings.

Question 12

What buildings is Volume 2 of Approved Document M applicable to?

Answer 12

1) A newly constructed non-domestic building.
2) The extension or material alteration of an existing non-domestic building.
3) The change of use of an existing building or part of an existing building to a hotel or boarding house, institution, public building or shop.

Question 13

How is the requirements of M1-M3 achieved?

Answer 13

When reasonable provision is made to ensure that buildings are accessible and usable and that individuals, regardless of their age, gender or disability are able to, ‘…gain access to buildings and to gain access within buildings and use their facilities, both as visitors and as people who live and work in them.’

Question 14

What is the recommended door swing?

Answer 14

Opens out into circulation, but does not block means of escape route.

Question 15

What are the recommended cubicle partition dimensions?

Answer 15

min 1500mm wide and 2200mm min long

Question 16

What are the recommended turning circles?

Answer 16

1500x1500mm wheelchair turning space.

Question 17

What are some Doc M pack items?

Answer 17

Grab rails, swing rails, basin, mixr taps, toilet pan/cistern.

Question 18

Is there any further guidance you could have used?

Answer 18

Yes, BS 8300.

Question 19

What is BS 8300

Answer 19

Sets out the requirements of how buildings should be designed, constructed and maintained to meet the needs of disabled people as well as create an accessible and inclusive environment for them.

Question 20

How high should the grab rail be from the FFL?

Answer 20

680mm

Question 21

How high should the hand dryer be?

Answer 21

Between 800-1000mm.

Question 22

How high should the wash hand basin be?

Answer 22

Should be 740mm to top of the rim from FFL.

Question 23

How high should the toilet pan be?

Answer 23

480mm

Question 24

Why didn’t you do the M&E/SE bits?

Answer 24

• I am not qualified to specifiy this type of work.

Question 25

How did you consider sustainability in the design?

Answer 25

• Materials should be re used where necessary
• Reduce waste of matierals and recycle
• LED/PIR lighting

Question 26

Where there any considerations to the building regs?

Answer 26

Yeah we had to consider:
Part F- Ventilation
Part A- Structure
Part H- Drainage and waste disposal

Question 27

How did you produce the plans?

Answer 27

AutoDesk AutoCad software.

Question 28

What is a performance spec?

Answer 28

It provide the operational requirements of a project that the contractor has to meet.

Question 29

What other types of spec could be produced?

Answer 29

• Prescriptive specification
• Schedule of rates
• Bills of Quants (prepared by QS)

Question 30

What is a prescriptive spec?

Answer 30

Where the design is already complete

Question 31

What made up the full specification?

Answer 31

• Prelims,
• M&W,
• schedule of works,
• drawings

Question 32

How were the provisional sums dealt with post contract?

Answer 32

The provisional sums were removed and the actual cost added by way of a Contract instruction.

Question 33

Where do you use Provisional Sums, Prime Costs and Provisional Quantities? What are the differences?

Answer 33

Provisional sum = allowance for a specific element of the works that is not yet defined in enough detail for tenderers to accurately price.

Provisional quantity = work can be described and given in items in accordance with the tabulated rules of measurement but the quantity of work cannot be accurately determined.

Prime cost sum= Costs allowed where the extent of the works is known but the specification is not

Question 34

What is the difference between a defined and undefined provisional sum?

Answer 34

A defined provisional sum - described in sufficient detail that the contractor is expected to have made allowances for them in their programming.

E.g. defines amount of brickwork but the brick to be used has not been chosen.

An undefined provisional sum - less well described so the contractor cannot be expected to make an allowance for them in their programming, planning and pricing prelims.

e.g. works required beneath an existing structure but the extent of the work required cannot be determined until the structure is removed and ground opened up.

Question 35

What could an undefined PSUM allow the contractor to claim.

Answer 35

Extension of Time.

Question 36

Other than a specification is there anything else you could have prepared for the works?

Answer 36

I am not familiar with them as I have not worked with them but I am aware that bills of quantity or schedules of rates can be used as an alternative.

Question 37

How do you determine life cycles?

Answer 37

We have a schedule of anticipated lifecycles that we use for PPM surveys. This based on:

• manufacturer’s recommendations,
• guarantees and
• experience of dealing with the relevant materials and products.

Question 38

Other types of specification tool

Answer 38

BRE - The Green Guide to Specification

Question 39

What are the different way of writing specifications and the differences

Answer 39

Prescriptive specifications: design is already complete when the project is tendered as it is prepared by the client’s consultants.

*gives the client more certainty about the end product

Performance specification: describes the result that is required from particular items and leaves it to the contractor to design.

*may be more cost effective but less control over design and therefore, quality.

Schedule of Rates