Karoo Building Tips
Building a home is not something most people do many times in their lives and so there is a lot to be aware of that can impact the satisfaction with the outcome. The intention here is to provide some educational inputs to support on-time building and cash flow management.
Info
Building in a small town some distance from many suppliers requires additional advanced thinking and planning. As a builder I cannot use freelance labour, as in the cities, so I have a team of permanently employed people to keep busy irrespective of the stage of the build. I also have to be ready to do any number of activities to keep the team busy as we juggle weather conditions or supply delays.
As a result, the more options I have as to what work we can do on any given day, the less bottleneck there will be later in the building programme. So early planning of all of your specific requirements; choosing your finishes and getting them to Prince Albert makes a huge difference. Working out your electrical requirements, knowing what lighting you plan to install, knowing your kitchen and bathroom layout all mean that work is done once, thereby avoiding late chasing in of pipes etc all of which impact your finished result and add delays. For example: Even though the installation of the lights may happen right at the end, the piping goes in before floor slab is done.
I will provide a schedule of work that I plan to do, along with payment requirements so that you can plan both your inputs and your cash flow. In addition, the further out you do your thinking and planning the greater the chances you can get the exact items you want without causing delays to the build.
Commissioning a home: Often people focus on the building part of the project and forget that the commissioning part of a new build is also a critical component. This is the testing of the house in it’s entirety. Tests are done along the way – does the plumbing work? Do the electrics work? But it’s different when things are all running together at the same time. You plug in various appliances on a circuit and perhaps it puts more pressure on that circuit than you thought in the planning phase. These are all part of the snags and it’s not like something is ‘wrong’ but it takes close partnership with the building team to settle them in.
Budgeting
Similarly, whilst most people create a budget for their build, it often doesn’t take into account every last detail that makes a home ready to live in. Applying for bonds, or extensions to bonds takes time and in my experience, because each case is unique; it always seems to take way longer than the bank or conveyancers indicate at the time of enquiry.
Responsibilities
Typical responsibilities of the building contractor:
- To agree upfront who the key contact people for decision-making are for the project – eg is it the architect or the client?
- To provide a building schedule and time frame for key decision making by the client.
- To build according to the plans provided by the architect.
- To meet regularly with you as the client, to discuss progress and raise questions and items needing your decision making and inputs.
- To work with any third party suppliers, such as electricians.
- To provide the client with a monthly invoice based on progress.
Typical responsibilities of the client:
- To identify whom the key contact will be for decision-making and communication regarding the project.
- To provide a guarantee that the financing is in place for the cost of the build.
- To do the thinking and planning around the additional items not covered on the drawings.
- To purchase and arrange the transportation of finishes and any other identified items to Prince Albert on time for the work to be done.
- Independent of the financing aspect, to ensure cash flow is in place for the prompt payment of invoices each month.
