Questions to ask a builder before you begin?

olly80 · Aug 20, 2023 12:13 am

I have some meetings lined up in the coming weeks with a few builders to discuss a build next year. I have already had quite lengthy chats with them via phone and email explaining what we're looking for, and zeroed in on floor plans which need some further refinement. I obviously have not engaged with anyone officially yet, or handed over any money, but before I DO get that far along, I am curious what others experiences were at this stage, and what are the most important questions to be asking, things to be aware (and wary) of in deciding who to go with, and ultimately what swung it for you in your final decision?

Fionaclark · Aug 20, 2023 10:04 am

Ask them which contract they are going to use or if you can use one that you source. This is THE most important thing in this process. Making sure you use contract that protects you and one you know how to administer during the build.

olly80 · Aug 20, 2023 1:52 pm

Fionaclark

Ask them which contract they are going to use or if you can use one that you source. This is THE most important thing in this process. Making sure you use contract that protects you and one you know how to administer during the build.

Thank you. What are the best resources for reading about these types of contracts, how to source etc?

Kippers01 · Aug 22, 2023 9:48 am

Ask the builder for a copy of their contract template, wirh all their special conditions and amendments included. Read it and ensure you understand every clause and definition. Understand all the implications for ypu. You can ask the bulder, a solicitor or homeone forum members to help here.. No question is silly. If the builder wont provide their contract template, thank them for their time and go elsewhere.

stonesthrow · Sep 01, 2023 11:34 am

You need to ask exactly what their inclusions are. Don't get a verbal list or rough dot points.

You will be surprised what builders don't include and how much extra it will cost you to get them to include them or do it yourself. Ask them for their base inclusions of joinery and sanitaryware. This will give you an idea of how crap the base level of finishes are of most builders (deviating from these is costly).

Find people who have built recently with these builders to get their experience.

Doing your diligence now will save you in the long run when you've put down money and feel locked in to a crap builder.

Ashington Homes · Sep 02, 2023 10:39 am

Hajra28

You just have to be careful with their financial status. We got taken advantage of with a builder who is going bust but thank god we found the best Design and Build company now. Saving grace.

They showed us all their projects and we contacted all their past owners and they gave raving reviews so that’s such a confidence boost!

That is really good advice.

We do the same thing with most of our new clients. We are more than happy for them to speak to our other clients and have a look at our builds so they can see the good, the bad and the ugly.

Not every job goes perfectly well, there are ups and downs on every build, but it is how the builder communicates and helps deal with the issues.

We have had a few jobs with problems this year, most people know about my steel frame issue on our Turramurra build. The job ended up being on hold for 9 months, which was super stressful for the client and us as we did everything we could to resolve it. We ended up losing close to $120,000 on steel frames, but we always knew that we had a responsibility to deliver a home for our clients.

We finally got started with timber this week and I was having a heart to heart with our clients last night ( absolutely gorgeous people) and they said that they appreciated that we were able to work through the issue together and keep communication open. We were speaking/messaging 3 or 4 times a week, sometimes more.

Side note, we waited 9 months for steel frames, then switched to timber ( cut on site) and have smashed all the lower frames in 4 days. I swear if you have a good crew, cut on site is quicker then prefab.

If anyone wants to come and see how high quality timber frames look like, hit me up for a site inspection.

Back to my main point, it's highly unlikely you will get a perfect reference for any builder, so ask what issues there were and how were they dealt with and would you use that builder again.

All the best with your journey

Cheers

Simeon

alexp79 · Sep 02, 2023 12:10 pm

Agree, in the end of the day, it is all about right attitude and communication. I experienced many times that customers are happy to provide their assistance (e.g. wait for more or pay a bit extra) if they feel that you are sincere with them as they get confidence that you will deliver them a good quality product.

Ardo · Sep 02, 2023 2:24 pm

You must have Larry haun and his brother cutting frames.

Ashington Homes · Sep 02, 2023 2:52 pm

Ardo

You must have Larry haun and his brother cutting frames.

Ardo

That is so funny! I wonder how many people know who Larry Haun is these days.

I have a couple of young guys we call Mo 1 & Mo 2 who run a crew of 6 boys and everyone has a role like a production line, of one guy measuring, a dedicated cut guy, another guy nailing, two guys standing frames etc.

Larry used to do it all by hand though. Imagine how much faster he would have been with power tools.

Turramurra frame day 1I took this photo at 2.44pm on their first day. Look at all the frames on the ground ready to stand. After 3 days the entire ground floor was erectedLike ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅