Site supervision what your architect checks for you

Once the permit has been granted, many clients think the architect's work is done. Yet it is on site that a large part of the quality of your home or renovation is determined. Here is exactly what we check during our visits and what this supervision brings you.

Full service or partial supervision, what the law says

In Belgium, site supervision is not optional. The Act of 20 February 1939 on the protection of the title and profession of architect states that the State, provinces, municipalities, public bodies and private individuals must use the services of an architect for drawing up plans and for supervising the execution of works subject to a permit.

The Court of Cassation has clarified what this supervision involves: it requires regular site visits enabling the architect to check whether the execution of the works complies with the plans and to act when problems arise. The code of conduct of the Order of Architects adds that an architect may not accept the task of drawing up an execution project without also being responsible for supervising the execution of the works.

A partial follow up therefore never means no follow up at all. What changes is the intensity: the number of visits, the checking of invoices, assistance at completion. The Order of Architects points out that beyond the legal tasks, the full architectural service (recommended by the Order of Architects) covers other aspects too. Our advice: set out in writing, in the contract, the number of visits, the stages checked and any site management involved.

Before the first spade hits the ground

Supervision begins before the machinery arrives. Together with you we check the formalities that allow works to start smoothly.

• Notification of the start of works. In Wallonia, according to SPW Territoire, the permit holder must notify the municipal college and the delegated official by registered notice of the start of works, at least 15 days beforehand. In Brussels, the CoBAT (BWRO) requires notification at least 8 days in advance.
• Displaying the permit on site, which must be done before the works begin, or even as soon as preparations start, and throughout the entire duration of the works.
• The setting out of the building for new construction or an extension. As confirmed by the Town of Gembloux, under article D.IV.72 of the CoDT (Walloon spatial development code), works for new construction or extensions may only start once the setting out report has been received.
• The consistency between signed quotations and the specifications: an item overlooked today becomes an extra cost tomorrow.
• The schedule and sequencing of the various trades, especially when works are split into separate packages.

At every visit, compliance with the plans and the permit

Our first question is simple: does what is being built match what was approved and drawn? In practice, we check:

• the siting, levels and heights to the eaves and ridge;
• the dimensions and position of window and door openings, which determine light and the overall facade;
• visible materials: brick colour, bonding pattern, slate or tile, bluestone sills and frames;
• internal dimensions that matter for everyday use: the width of a corridor, the height of a worktop, the clearance of a staircase.

These checks also have legal implications. A deviation from the permit can constitute a planning infringement and complicate a future resale. It is far better to correct an opening at the bricklaying stage than to explain it to an official later on.

Quality of execution, especially what will no longer be visible

A large part of a building disappears behind plaster, a screed or plasterboard. Our visits are therefore timed around these key stages:

• the excavation base and foundations, before concrete is poured;
• the reinforcement and structural elements, with support from Optibim's engineers when the project requires it;
• the damp proofing at the base of walls and the membranes around window and door frames;
• the continuity of insulation and airtightness before walls are closed up;
• roof junctions, valleys and flashings;
• the slope of thresholds and window sills, which must drain water away without staining the facade.

This is even more true in renovation. An old farmhouse or house often holds surprises: a missing lintel, a decayed beam, a wall less sound than expected. Having the architect on site helps decide quickly, with a technical solution and a cost estimate, without bringing the works to a halt for weeks.

One useful clarification: our role is to check, not to direct the workers. As the Order of Architects' leaflet points out, the architect does not give orders to workers. The contractor remains responsible for the execution of the works, while the architect is responsible for the design and compliance checks. We provide written remarks, recorded in a site visit report, and check at the next visit that they have been taken into account.

The budget, invoice by invoice

Site supervision also protects your budget. Among the tasks of the execution phase, the Order of Architects lists the checking of progress statements. In practice, we check three things:

• that the quantities invoiced match what has actually been installed on site;
• that the prices correspond to those in the accepted quotation;
• that you do not pay faster than the actual progress of the works.

Additional works deserve particular attention. A change agreed verbally on site can seem harmless. Added together, these small changes often cause a budget to run off course. Our rule: any extra work is costed and accepted in writing before it is carried out. This way you keep control over your own decisions.

Completion, the final stage of supervision

At the end of the works, a site visit is organised with the contractor, the architect and the client, to check that the works have been completed correctly and in line with the specifications and the plans. We prepare this visit, note any defects and draw up the remarks to be attached to the completion report.

Legally, completion binds the client and the contractor. The architect takes part not as a party but as advisor to the client. Final completion follows later, generally after a year. Under the Breyne Act, it takes place at the earliest one year after provisional completion. The starting point for the guarantees depends on your contracts, which we review with you to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Why this supervision is worth its cost

A defect spotted during the works can be corrected in a few hours. The same defect discovered after moving in can cost thousands of euros and months of discussion. Site supervision does not guarantee a project free of any problems. It guarantees that problems are spotted early, documented and resolved at the right time, by someone who has known your project since the first sketch.

Are you torn between a full service and a lighter form of supervision for your construction, extension or renovation project? Get in touch with STARC in Gembloux. We will look together at the scope of your project and the level of supervision that suits it best, whether in Wallonia or in Brussels.