Getting the best builders in for your project

How do you find a builder with the right experience and skills, and that you can trust? Reading up on this can be a good way and place for you to get going and started on this. From here, you can also be sure to ensure you don’t hire the wrong people to also work on your property. After all, there are no end of builders and in general, contractors out there in the market. My advice is only approach builders once you have a set of drawings and a list of what will (and will not) be included, often known as a 'schedule of works'.

Another good way to find a builder is by approaching builders undertaking work in your area. If there is an advertising sign with a phone number. From here, feel free to get in touch and go over what it is you want doing in terms of wider overall project works.

See if and how soon the builders can get to work on your property

Because of the length of time required to complete a build, many builders and contractors are booked up many months in advance - or at least, good contractors are. Contractors who are able to start work next week on your home should raise an eyebrow or two. For instance, it could mean that their services aren’t in demand, meaning other homeowners have seen some off-putting signs to their work. Or, even worse, it could be a sign that this contractor is taking on more work than they can handle. A contractor juggling multiple projects, without the proper team in place, puts your home at serious risk of delays, poor craftsmanship, not to mention the building company going bust before construction is complete.

Time is of the essence – this is key in all projects

You probably don’t need us to tell you this, but knowing how long a project is going to take is a huge help. This is especially true if the construction work forces you to either rent a new place, or live off-site in some other form of temporary accommodation. An experienced contractor will be able to give you the best idea of time required. Alongside when the work will be finished, you’ll also want to look into the day to day timings of the build.

Do certain elements need to be completed by a certain point? Say foundations being laid before a change in seasons. And what working hours will your contractors keep? If you’re paying a day rate, it’s worthwhile to establish about many hours who you both expect to be working in a 24 hour period. Another timing issue to consider is delays. Sometimes these can be unavoidable, but what is your contractor doing to avoid them, and what safeguards have they in place should they arise? If your contractor is unable to commit to timelines beforehand, and more important, within your contract, alarm bells should start to ring.

Have a good and clear budget in place and in mind

Mercifully, very few projects fail. But if it’s going to happen, it’s probably because the money has run out. If this occurs, things tend to get tricky both practically and emotionally. I am still yet to meet the self-builders who have found themselves coming in significantly under budget, and most will admit that their finished home cost a little more than they originally thought it would. But provided you use a little common sense, you won’t end up with a Grand Designs-style overspend.

The key to achieving this is to work out how much you can raise in total for the project and use this figure as the basis for your design choices, rather than trying to make an inadequate budget fit an overambitious scheme. This total sum should include a contingency of at least 10% of your build costs to cover unforeseen events – trust me, you’ll use it.

You need to ensure the building regs are followed and adhered to

Like or loathe them, we have laws controlling planning and development for good reason. You can’t build a new home without full planning permission – and any consent is likely to come with conditions attached that must be complied with, so don’t try to bend the rules. Just to complicate matters, there are some situations where obtaining formal planning consent or building control approval is not actually required. This can often be the case when renovating (or sometimes extending) an existing property.

Note that there will still be permitted development rules to follow in these circumstances, and every project has to meet the minimum standards laid out in the Building Regulations – even if approval isn’t needed. While you might think you can get away with it, works that don’t have planning and building control approval tend to surface when the house is put up for sale. This is when purchaser’s solicitors start asking awkward questions that can be expensive to answer. It’s best to get it right and follow the rules from the start.

Overall

Every project will be different and every job throws up its own challenges. Just when you think you’ve dealt with one issue, along comes the next and this can be a real test of patience, especially if you have taken on the role of project manager. If several problems arise simultaneously it can seem overwhelming but rest assured that this is normal and your project will get to completion, even when that goal might seem a long way away. If you have fostered a good relationship with your trades, this is where they can help by offering advice or solutions.