Learning More About the Construction Industry

Two Tips to Follow When Having a House Built

Here are two tips to follow when you're having a house built.

Try to check in with the builder once a day

When working with builders, there is no need to constantly be present on the site, monitoring their work. However, it is important to check in with your builder at the end of their workday. You can do this in person at the site, or you can call them. This will give you a chance to find out if they got the construction tasks they needed to do that day completed or if there were complications that arose that led to the tasks being delayed (for example, bad weather may have affected their ability to excavate the site). You can also take a look at their progress (if you're on the site) or have them send you photos of the features they've built so far.

It will also mean that if the builder needs to take a different approach to a certain construction task, due to some unforeseen issue, you'll find out right away and will be able to make adjustments to your construction project timeline and financial plan to accommodate that change. Making yourself easy to contact will ensure the builder can keep you informed of these changes as they occur, which will, in turn, mean you won't find yourself confused as to why a particular task took less or more time or why it was completed differently than how you expected it to be.

If you request changes, be patient when it comes to having them implemented

Sometimes, after a builder has already fitted a certain feature, you may realise that you'd prefer to use a different material, to reposition the feature or to change its configuration. You might, for example, decide that you'd like a marble benchtop instead of a laminate one, that you want your built-in wardrobe to be in a different area of the bedroom or that you want your integrated bookcases to have narrower shelves.

If this happens, your builder will almost certainly be able to make the changes you want them to; however, it's vital to be patient when it comes to their implementation. For example, if your builder is renovating your entire house and you ask them to replace the benchtop you originally asked them to fit, this could take a few weeks, as they'll not only have to order the new benchtop but will also have to carve out time to tear out the first one and install the second one; the latter could be tricky if they've already created a schedule for the other renovation work, that required the booking of subcontractors, as they may need to change this schedule so they have a few hours to complete this job. Given this, you should not expect them to be able to make the changes immediately in most cases (unless the change will be very quick and simple for them to do).