The span tables deal with individual elements eg floor joists or roof rafters they do not deal with trusses which are designed as complete units.
Do I need calculations for Building to Control to 'pass off'?
- Thread starter Buel
- Start date
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Yep we can but sometimes life's too short!
Apologies, the wrong link . But a starting point to find data from TRADA who have been very helpful with advice about timber related problems.
I can completely understand why you don't want to pay the ransom, but sometimes you have to swallow the nasty medicine and move on, hopefully a bit wiser. Different people have different tipping points- for anyone who owns a house £300 is a useful chunk of cash but the sort of sum that you have to find unexpectedly every so often. By all means have a go (if all it is costing you is a bit of time) but don't go mad and enrich a bunch of high priced 'experts'.
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Reading the rather shabby behaviour of the truss fabricators I would be reluctant to pay them another penny. Have you asked local structural engineers how much they would charge? I wouldn't expect them to cost as much as £300, truss calcs aren't difficult, we used to do them in our structures module at college and it was one of the easiest parts (couldn't do it now though, far too long ago).
Very, very good advice. I appreciate your honest words.
For the record, I will put in the time for my friend - too long to go in to here but suffice to say he really doesn't deserve to have to bow to the almost-ransom demands from those sort of characters (AC Roof Trusses).
Thank you all of you. I shall keep you updated.
Under consumer legislation, surely supplying the Trusses without calculations makes them not fit for purpose as without the specifications and calculations required by the BCO they are useless. This would mean that your friend should be entitled to a refund and entitled to claim for all out of pocket expenses. This would of course include the costs to have them removed and returned.
It the trusses hold the roof up, then they are fit for purpose.
write to truss company saying calculations required so you can comply with the law, if not provided it will cause you harm, and they have duty of care to prevent that. they can prevent that by simply providing calculations as their web site says they will do for free.
if they refuse you will get calculations done elsewhere and then come after them for your loss caused by their negligence. this will cost them more than cost of calculations alone.
if the story is as told judge won't be happy at all with their shenanigans. get trading standards involved too.
if they refuse you will get calculations done elsewhere and then come after them for your loss caused by their negligence. this will cost them more than cost of calculations alone.
if the story is as told judge won't be happy at all with their shenanigans. get trading standards involved too.
The OP has a greater duty of care to prevent whoever opens such a letter from dying of laughter.
Just to recap -
Trusses arrive, my friend requests an invoice by mail and receives a small claims court claim for amount plus interest and charges and requested invoice.
Friend pays invoice, provides evidence to court and court claim gets dropped by Trusses company.
Friend requests calculations and Trusses company say they'll provide calculations upon payment of hundreds of pounds for interest, charges and court costs.
I question whether you would 'Just pay the money and move on with your life'.
Unless I’m mistaken all this talk of using the Small Claims Court is nonsense at the moment as you are not claiming for any money and you have five possible choices:
1) If you wanted to use the SCC you would have to acquire (buy) your own calcs from a separate structural engineer (is that even possible for manufactured trusses?) and then use the SCC to claim compensation for the cost of you obtaining those calcs and whatever you think this hassle etc is worth back from the Truss Company provided they have been given a fair shot (in the eyes of the court) to resolve the issue.
2) Acquire your own calcs (assuming that's possible) and hand them to Building Control and move on with your life.
3) Sue them in the courts but I expect you would be directed back full circle to the SCC for something of this value.
4) Pay them their ransom and suck it up and move on with your life.
5) Burn their factory down to the ground and consider it A Victory For The Little Man (though this may not resolve the issue and could be dangerous as fires are jolly hot).
1) If you wanted to use the SCC you would have to acquire (buy) your own calcs from a separate structural engineer (is that even possible for manufactured trusses?) and then use the SCC to claim compensation for the cost of you obtaining those calcs and whatever you think this hassle etc is worth back from the Truss Company provided they have been given a fair shot (in the eyes of the court) to resolve the issue.
2) Acquire your own calcs (assuming that's possible) and hand them to Building Control and move on with your life.
3) Sue them in the courts but I expect you would be directed back full circle to the SCC for something of this value.
4) Pay them their ransom and suck it up and move on with your life.
5) Burn their factory down to the ground and consider it A Victory For The Little Man (though this may not resolve the issue and could be dangerous as fires are jolly hot).
I'm going to chuck in an option 1b. Send them the letter you'd have to send them anyway in order to action option 1 according to the court protocols. This would read along the lines of "I'm about to begin proceedings against you for the cost associated with obtaining calcs from a 3rd party, and am required to send this letter in accordance with blah blah. In 28 days I will order and pay for these calcs at which we've reached the point of no return and I will begin proceedings. You have 28 days in order to resolve this yourself amicably."
You might be lucky and the person who opens the letter will also think "life's too short" and email them to you.
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