Supplying your own goods or trades.

Hi just in talks with our builder about supplying our own ceiling fans ,vanities, etc and wondered how you got on doing the same?
Did your builder charge you for the privilege? How much and what for?
We want to have our own guy put in the hydronic system but the builders say no, only they can do it, I guess that means they want to ream us again, by charging a fortune, is there a percentage they charge or some formula?

Considering we are going to be paying them nearly half a mill, you would think they would be a bit more accommodating ! But they have to remember we have not signed the contract yet and there's a thin line between doing so.

Still waiting for a price, it better be good!

Cheers

Most builders use a group of tradies consistently because they know that they can rely on them. The tradies perform to the builders expectations because they want the regular work.

If you get your own tradies the builder is all off a sudden faced with dealing with tradies who he doesn't know, and have no loyalty to the builder. This can be really disruptive causing disputes and delays.

It also raises the question who is responsible in the event of a warranty problem.

We werent allowed to. So my partner said he can upgrade things himself for cheaper i.e fixtures etc

Some things can't be done after the handover like the hydronic system, as you have to run pipework behind the walls, no way I am having pipes everywhere on the walls inside so will have to wait and see what we can come up with.

The difficulty of having your own trades coming on building site is that you become second builder on the job and that can cause disruption delays and blur lines of responsibility and warranty. Its asking for trouble. As a builder I would not allow it but would instead be transparent with the price charged. Builder is making margin on the work he does and bringing owners trades is a way of taking that away from him. No deal!

Hi , we have now got an email from the builder saying they have found some to do the quote, who just happens to be the guy hubby was wanting to use so just waiting to see what cost they will quote us on it. Should be interesting to see what markup they add on.
Will post when we receive the quote.
Cheers

Just ask for them to Pc it. As there shouldn't be a mark up on pc items.
If it's something big and complex I would prefer it to fall under the Builders warranty. I don't see a problem with you supplying your own ceiling fans etc.
As long as they are on site when they are needed to be installed it shouldn't be an issue.
There is usually a clause in your contract in regards to this.
Atm we are still deciding if we'd rather supply our own vanities or have the kitchen guys make them but we are supplying the tops either way.

Hi what do you mean PC it? They said that they could not use own fans as if there was a fault they wouldn't know if it was the fan or the wiring lol hubby is a sparky and nearly fell off his chair laughing! So he told them don't bother about the fans, it's bad enough they will charge us big bucks to put power points in hubby could do them after but he said it's better to do them before they put the walls on, rather than trying to get though studs etc. They even told us we couldn't use the vanities we had already as they needed certification papers! Anyway still waiting to hear back from them on Monday I hope,
Cheers

If the cost of Pc item exceeds Pc allowance owner pays the difference and yes there is builders margin on top of the difference.

Pc or ps is like an allowance for certain items. We pc'd a few things like airconditioning, carpets, lighting and tapware, concrete and turf.
That way there is an allowance in the Builders budget but we can pick what we want and get the builder to use the funds to pay for it.
In regards to the bank it better to have the extras pc'd/ included in the Builders contract then separately.
I heard of some Builders charging an admin fee on pc items. But there shouldn't be a margin on the costs as written in the hia contracts. And like stated above if the item cost more than the pc allowance you are liable for the extra.
It is ridiculous that they wouldn't let you supply your own fans. Fair enough if they are second hand.
Ask if you can waive liability from the builder on the fans.