Fixings Into a Finished Envelope Questions Checklist

Write down exactly what is being attached, including who supplied it and whether any documentation came with it about how it should be fixed.

Documentation supplied with an item frequently says something about its fixing, and it is usually still in the box.

Mark the intended position on a photograph of the elevation, rather than describing it in words, and note the approximate height.

A marked photograph removes the ambiguity that causes the wrong answer to be given to the wrong question.

Describe what the item does once it is in place — whether it is fixed, moves, carries weight, is stood on, or is loaded by wind.

What an item does in use is what the fixing has to deal with, and it is the part of the description most often left out.

Note whether the item is intended to stay permanently or to be removed at some point, and what removing it would leave behind.

Something that will be taken down later leaves holes in the outside of a building, which is a separate question worth raising now.

Note who is proposing to carry out the fixing, and whether they have been told anything about how this part of the building is built.

A trade arriving to install an item usually knows about the item and nothing about the building it is going onto.

Look for any drawing, section or written description of how this part of the building is built, including anything from a recent project.

A section drawing answers this question directly, and on a recently completed building one usually exists somewhere.

If you do not have a record, ask whoever designed or built this part of the building for one, while they can still be contacted.

The chance of obtaining this information declines steadily after completion, and the request itself is a short one.

Note what you have been told about whether this part is framed, solid, insulated externally or lined internally, and who told you.

These are very different situations for a fixing, and what an owner has been told is at least a starting point for the question.

Ask whether anything was provided within the construction for fixing things back to, and if so where those positions are.

Provision is sometimes built in and then never recorded, which means it exists but nobody can find it when it is wanted.

Ask what services run behind or near the intended position, and treat anything unknown as a reason to stop rather than to proceed carefully.

Services concealed in a wall are exactly the kind of thing nobody remembers until something is drilled into.

Tracing and isolating services is work for suitably qualified trades; never drill into a building to find out what is behind a surface.

Write down what nobody has been able to tell you about that position, and keep that note with the question rather than proceeding past it.

An unanswered question is a reason to ask somebody else, and writing it down stops it quietly turning into an assumption.

Ask what a fixing at this position would pass through, and ask for each layer to be named separately rather than described as the wall.

Naming the layers individually is what turns a general reassurance into an answer somebody has actually thought about.

Ask whether the fixing is intended to reach something structural, and if so what, and who established that it can carry the item.

Whether a fixing reaches structure and whether that structure can carry the item are two separate questions with two separate answers.

Where the position is on a roof, a balcony or a terrace, ask specifically whether the fixing would pass through the layer resisting water.

A fixing through a waterproofed surface is the situation with the least tolerance for being decided on site by whoever is installing the item.

Fixing anything into a roof, terrace or balcony may penetrate a concealed water-resisting layer; take it to the roof designer before it happens.

Ask whether the fixing crosses insulation or any continuous barrier, and how each of those would be dealt with at that point.

These layers are continuous for a reason, and returning them at a fixing is a designed arrangement rather than an afterthought.

Ask how the fixing would be sealed and who is responsible for that, since it is frequently a different party from whoever supplies the item.

The item, the fixing and the sealing routinely belong to three different people, which is how the sealing ends up belonging to nobody.

Ask whether the fixing and its sealing could be opened and remade later on without cutting into or disturbing the surrounding surface.

This is worth knowing before the item is fitted, because it decides whether replacing the item later is a small job or a large one.

Ask whether the documentation for the wall, roof or surfacing says anything about fixing into it, and ask to see that passage.

Where a system's documentation governs, it settles the question, and it is far better to read it than to ask people's opinions about it.

Find the guarantee or warranty documents for this part of the building and read what they say about alterations and fixings.

Terms attached to a covering or a system often address later work, and this is the moment to read them rather than afterwards.

What a guarantee or warranty permits is a question for the party who issued it, and not something to settle by reading the document alone.

Ask whether the person who designed this part of the building should be consulted, and write down the answer and who gave it.

For anything involving a roof, a terrace or an insulated wall this is usually the right person, and asking takes very little effort.

If the property is leasehold or part of a shared building, check whether the lease says anything about fixing to the outside of it.

The outside face of a building is very often not within an occupier's control, and this is discovered most awkwardly after the event.

Note that the person installing the item is usually not the person who can answer this, and decide who you will actually ask.

Installers answer confidently about their own item, which is a different subject from the building it is being attached to.

Keep whatever answer you receive in writing, with the date and the name of who gave it, and store it with the building papers.

This is one of the alterations most likely to be asked about years later, and a written answer is what makes it explicable.

Ask whether the item could stand on the ground or on its own supports instead of being attached to the building.

A ground-founded alternative avoids the question entirely, and it is frequently not considered because the wall is nearer.

Ask whether anything was already provided for this purpose during construction, and whether it is in a position you could use.

Designed provision that nobody remembers is common on recently completed buildings, and using it is the best available outcome.

Ask whether a different position a short distance away would be a simpler proposition, and why, before settling on the first one chosen.

Position is usually chosen for convenience, and moving it slightly can change the question completely.

Where the position is on a flat roof or terrace, ask whether the item could be held without fixings, and what that would involve.

Arrangements that avoid a penetration exist for some items, and they are worth asking about before one is made.

Whether any arrangement suits a particular roof is a professional determination, including what the roof can carry and what wind does to it.

Ask whether the work could be done at a time when the surface is open for another reason, and note when that might be.

Waiting for a moment when something is being opened anyway converts a difficult alteration into a straightforward one.

Write down who carried out the work, on what date, and what they were told about the construction beforehand.

Years later this note is the only way to find out who made a hole in the outside of the building and on what basis.

Photograph the position before the item is fitted and again before anything is covered, with the date and the location recorded.

The photographs taken in those few minutes become the only description of what is inside the hole.

Ask for a short written description of how the fixing and the sealing were made, and keep it with the building papers.

A description written by the person who did it is far more accurate than anything reconstructed later, and takes them a minute.

If anything was done differently from what was agreed, record what changed, why, and who decided it at the time.

Changes made on the day are the most common gap between what an owner believes happened and what actually did.

Add all of this to whatever record exists for the outside of the building, rather than keeping it with the paperwork for the item.

The next person asking about the building will look for a record of the building, not for the manual of a canopy.

Ask what you should watch for after the work, where it would be likely to show, and over what period.

A specific answer names a place to look, which is far more useful than a general suggestion to keep an eye on things.

Note that anything appearing inside is unlikely to be directly behind the fixing, and record where it appears rather than assuming a cause.

Water moves before it shows, and reporting a position is more useful than reporting a theory about where it came from.

Where water has entered a building is a professional judgement; the place it appears internally is not evidence of where it got in.

Write down who you would contact if something appeared, and keep that name with the record rather than relying on memory.

The contact is obvious in the week after the work and impossible to reconstruct long afterwards.

Decide in advance what would happen if the item were removed, including who would make good the outside of the building.

Items get taken down when they break or go out of favour, and the holes left behind are the owner's problem by default.

Keep the record with the documents that pass on at a sale, so that a later owner knows an alteration was made and who made it.

A fixing through a finished building is invisible to a future owner, and it is exactly the kind of thing they would want to know about.