Terms & Conditions

Our terms and conditions are as follows:

1. Our calculations, drawings and details are prepared on the basis that
   a) all existing buildings and structures are in a suitable structural condition for the work proposed.
   b) the building work will be directed and undertaken by an experienced, competent Building Contractor. Should this not be the case we reserve the right to charge you on an hourly basis at our current rates for telephone advice about the method of construction. It is your responsibility to organise the submission of the Building Regulations application for the building work (either personally or through a third party such as your Architect/Building Designer). We will not do this for you unless you have instructed us to do so in writing. If you do not get Building Regulations Approval for this work this could affect the future sale or valuation of your property. It is also your responsibility to make sure that you have retained copies of drawings, calculations or correspondence for your own records. Please note that we only keep paper records for 6 years. Unless stated otherwise any dimensions shown on our calculations and drawings are approximate and your Building Contractor must check them against the latest architectural drawings or site dimensions before any materials are ordered. We do not check steelwork setting out dimensions unless specifically instructed to do so. We accept no liability if our calculations and drawings are used for any purpose other than that for which they were originally prepared.
2. We do not take on the role of Principal Designer as specified by CDM 2015. It is your responsibility to appoint a Principal Designer. All our designs are produced with due consideration being paid to the reduction of risk.
3. We do not make site visits unless we are specifically asked to or with the specific agreement of the Client. When a preliminary site visit is undertaken, the sole purpose of this is to gather structural information about the existing building specific to the preparation of our contracted calculations and drawings; it is not a general inspection or warranty of the condition or workmanship and materials of the building. If we are not specifically requested to visit site, we will rely solely on the drawings sent to us by you or others engaged in the scheme. Our comments and designs will be limited to the specific areas of the project identified in our fee proposal letter.
4. Our fee proposals are based on the information available to us at the time we quote. If you or your Architect/ Building Designer/ Building Contractor change the proposed scheme after we have quoted we will notify you and issue you with a new fee proposal which will reflect costs already incurred. If the design we have been working on becomes redundant through changes as stated above, we will invoice you separately for the time spent on the redundant design. Time will be charged at our current hourly rates.
5. Foundation depths, ground conditions, water levels and workmanship can vary, even from one part of a site or building to another and therefore the results of any site investigations cannot be assumed to be absolutely representative of the conditions across the whole site or building. We accept no liability for the workmanship or services of other parties.
6. If we are to inspect building work in progress on site then our scope of services would be to make periodic visits to site to inspect those parts of the structure for which we have provided a design and specification service, in order to see whether at the time of our visit these have been carried out generally in accordance with our design intentions. Inspection of the work on site by us does not relieve the Building Contractor of his contractual liability for the quality of materials or workmanship supplied by him. Inspection of the work on site by ourselves does not constitute a ‘Building Regulations’ check. Your local council’s Building Control will issue certificates against their own checks which are defined by central government: organising and obtaining these are the responsibility of you or your building contractor.
7. Our duties will be performed with reasonable skill, care and diligence. Without prejudice to any other exclusion or limitation of liability, damages, loss, expense or costs our liability for any claim or claims under this agreement shall be further limited to such sum as it would be just and equitable for us to pay having regard to the extent of our responsibility for the loss or damage giving rise to such claim or claims (“the loss and damage”) and on the assumptions that:
   (i)  All other consultants, contractors, sub-contractors, project managers or advisers engaged in connection with this scheme have provided contractual undertakings to you on terms no less onerous than ours in respect of the carrying out of their obligations; and
   (ii)  There are no exclusions of or limitations of liability nor joint insurance or co-insurance provisions between you and any other party referred to in this clause and any such other party who is responsible to any extent for the loss and damage and is contractually liable to you for the loss and damage; and
   (iii)  All such other consultants, contractors, sub-contractors, project managers or advisers have paid to you such sum as it would be just and equitable for them to pay having regard to the extent of their responsibility for the loss and damage.
8. Our liability shall be limited to the reasonable cost of repair arising from any defect in the building work by reason of our breach of duty and shall exclude any other economic or financial loss. Liability to third parties for all or any part of our services provided in connection with this agreement is specifically excluded.
9. Our calculations, designs and drawings can only be assigned to our client or any party taking over the role of client or taking over the financing of the project.
10. No activities relating to the Party Wall etc Act 1996 are included unless specifically mentioned. Appropriate compliance with the Act remains entirely the responsibility of the Building Owner(s).
11. ‍Rhodes and Partners – COVID19 Site Visit Policy v1
    We are currently undertaking site visits in line with the latest government guidelines. We request that, if you have not already done so, you inform us if you, or any person occupying the property, is shielding or in the vulnerable category, if they will be on site during the visit. It may be necessary to postpone the visit if there is anyone within either of these categories. We will not undertake the visit if we, or anyone we have knowingly been in contact with within the 14 days prior to the visit, has displayed any symptoms of COVID19. You must also inform us if you have had contact with anyone displaying symptoms within the 14 days prior to the visit as we will need to cancel and rearrange the visit. We will thoroughly wash or sanitise hands prior to entering the property, wear gloves and a face mask if appropriate or requested, minimise touching of doors/surfaces etc and maintain a min. 2m distance from you. We would request that only one other person maximum be in the property during the visit. If you wish to vacate the property whilst we undertake the inspection, then we can assure you that Rhodes are fully insured to be in your property unsupervised. Rhodes and Partners accept no liability if, at some future date, you contract COVID19. We hope that this is acceptable but please give us a call if you have any questions (07384 600 835).
    
    R Rhodes & Partners (Consulting) Ltd.