Good builders are easy to find

Here is a statement you don’t often hear. Good Builders Are Easy To Find

The usual complaint is that good builders are hard to find. True some are better then others and its true that some are bad. But getting a good performance out of any builder will depend on your skills and ability to manage them

A bad workman blames his tools. When you are in charge of a project the builders are your tools. The main complaints are that a builder is either unreliable, incompetent, not punctual, overcharges, produces shoddy work, wont come back to finish the job among other things

My builder is no good

Time and again people say my builder is no good . But all these issues can be dealt with if you manage them properly. It starts with your due diligence on the builder. Have you checked that he has the experience to handle your project and he is in a financial position to finance it until you pay him?

Then you have to have the job ready and prepared for him. Have you given him all the information he needs? Have you made sure the site is ready and clear for him? This is part of you being a competent client

Do you know your numbers as a client?

Don’t complain that he overcharges if you haven’t done enough research on what labour and materials cost. You cant guess at how much work needs to be done and how much it will cost

You must have accurate costings before you start. Don’t just have a set amount you can spend and be paying out as the project goes along, hoping it will end up less then your budget

The work is not up to standard

You cant just hope for a good standard of work. It’s important to schedule regular quality inspections. Before you sign a contract with a builder, you need to ask him what his systems are to ensure quality work. All good building companies will have these

Defective work will not only cost more to rectify, it will also slow a project down. If you don’t know what Quality Assurance is don’t complain about the standard of his work

Having the right contract

Have you chosen the correct contract before work starts? If you don’t have the right contract no wonder he is running rings round you

Have you agreed payment terms with him before he starts? Or are you just giving him money when he asks for it? Payment terms should be stated clearly in the contract

If you have paid him most of the money and there is still work outstanding can you be sure he will return to finish the job? If you have the correct contract it will have retention amounts stated in it specifically to deal with this kind of issue

The tender process

This is the process before a project starts and you are getting prices from builders and interviewing them to see who is best for your project

When you interviewed him did you make it clear you expected him to be on time and to be there for a full day every day? The builder is a member of your workforce and as such needs to be managed properly and told what is expected and acceptable

Did you leave sufficient time to interview several builders? Or was it all a last minute rush and you hired the first one you could find?

When problems first started did you nip them in the bud? Or did you allow them to snowball? If you didn’t deal with them, can you say it’s all the builders fault?

When you have done all your preparation properly and asked the right questions, then the only builders you should have left to choose from are good ones

If you need help with finding good builders, contracts, Quality Assurance or any other issues please contact us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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