The importance of engaging a builder before you complete your documentation.
So you've decided to build or renovate, you've got your Pinterest mood board full of things you love. What next, and why?
From our experience, we've found we can help our clients save considerable time and money by being involved early in project development. We can refine the way things are done, which can be specified at the time of design.
This includes basement detailing, concrete vs timber subfloor on the first floor, and considering heating and cooling in detail at the time of design – just to name a few.
We would encourage prospective clients to do their research on which builder to choose, and then engage them early in the process. Don't wait until after your architectural documentation (plans, engineering, interiors) has been finalised.
A good builder will work with other design professionals to achieve the best result for the client, and the process.
Sam Gray, our Operations Manager and Head of Landscape Design believes this is something that sets us apart from its competitors. "This (level of engagement) makes us stand out from the crowd. It is a strength of ours and something that not many other builders would usually engage in.”
"Most clients come to builders with their documentation already complete, and when they receive the estimate, they are shocked. The budget they gave their architect for their build is substantially higher than first imagined, as they generally have an unrealistic expectation of how much their beautiful design costs in reality."
Sam goes on to say "If the clients engage us early in the process, we can assist with cost saving techniques and methods that make the job easier for us, and in turn less expensive for them. These cost saving methods are not cutting corners, but evaluating why something is done for a desired outcome when it can be done another way."
"It also might work the other way, where we would strongly recommend not pursuing an element of a build because we don’t feel conformable with how structurally sound it might be, or watertight etc, even if it's been signed off by the architect."
"On the other hand, there have also been many times where we have encouraged additional structural elements, or a more thorough technique than first specified – this all comes back to quality control.”
"We have a proud history of taking on bespoke and technically difficult projects”.