Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 10, 2022 11:18 am Building a house can be challenging, building a home is harder still. Luckily enough for the majority of us undertaking this adventure there is a guiding light to help us along the way, the volume builder, for some it’s the boutique builder and for others it’s the internet that helps to light the path along the owner builder journey. Volume and boutique builders are more commonly used because the majority of people don’t have the time or experience to become an owner builder, placing your trust into the hands of a business you’ve likely not had dealings with previously and may not have again in the future can be daunting. This puts you at a disadvantage. In the age of equity for all and the world governed by social media a sense of entitlement has crept into the psyche of the consumer. The popular motto “The customer is always right” isn’t a customers privilege but a tactic taught to sellers to instil a level of trust with the customer. The much denigrated “let the buyer beware” has lost much of its sting with the advent of fair trading and similar schemes but has seen a resurgence with the impetuousness of thunder thumbing a grievance to any one of the social media platforms that perpetuates victimhood. Whilst many in the service industry are less often taught the popular service motto it is most frequently expected when the customer feels they have been aggrieved. And this places the customer at another disadvantage because they have not received what they expected and they expect to get what they deserve. More often this starts with a misunderstanding or a mistake. The builder may have promised a 3 month build time or the customer may have expected brass door hinges for instance but whatever the case is it generally ends in a strained relationship in one form or another. This can be easily remedied by two things: for one, entering the building journey with a particular mindset. “Be like water” and be like The Dude. In essence: don’t take it personally. Mistakes will happen, products will become unavailable, misunderstandings will occur and changes will be made that may or may not require your input or approval. And read and understand your contract, plans and specification. If an item isn’t specified than you may not get what you expect and this is not the fault of the builder, it’s the ignorance of the customer. So be well informed and avoid the pitfalls of the unknown. Ask what color the door hinges are if this is a concern. This in essence is the building process. Like it or not, building with a volume builder, as many do, puts one in a position where one is in less control than one may wish to be. But is this a bad thing? I say no. I say no because it makes the process so much more enjoyable and building a house and creating a home can and should be enjoyable. Building with a boutique builders offers a little more control and the owner builder path even more, but in the end, any builder whether contracted by the owner builder or as part of a building enterprise is governed by all the same rules. The NCC, the relevant Australian Standards and profit and arguing with these can be stressful. Especially when one doesn’t understand them. If you are presented with an amendment you do not understand help is at hand. Talk with your builders representative and if you are not satisfied seek independent advice but don’t blindly expect to have your expectations meet simply because it seems logical to you. Sure you may be right but as is most often the case you’re not. This is not to say that there are not builders or builders representatives that wouldn’t try to pull the wool over your eyes and they may do this for many reasons. Profit, time constraints, laziness or just plain incompetence but these people are just a gear in the same machine as the customer. They have bills to pay, they have a supervisor to answer to and they’re just trying to make their way through life, such as the customer. So why make the journey harder, why cause others and ones self even more stress than the normal routine of life imparts? Accept that there will be challenges and work with not against those that are in all reality, trying to build you a home. Yes, this may not always be possible and I could write about many instances where the foregoing was simply untenable but for the majority of people building a house this is how your experience will be. For those few who’s experiences differ I suggest self reflection and independent advice. You might be wrong, you may be right but your actions will guide your experience so……chill and thank your lucky stars that there is someone here to help you. Hi All It has been a few weeks since my last update. The build has been progressing well. No major issues to report. The scaffolding was dropped today, gyprock will be… 96 356756 Building a fence now will help limit people dumping rubbish and soil on your property. Many houses in suburbia on small lots have fences up before a build. I moved into a… 1 4384 No idea about the driveway question, but your price for a house that size including landscaping seems very good! 1 6155 |