How We Work With You – New Build Process
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Custom Design builders in Christchurch, Southern Lakes, Queenstown, Wanaka, Cromwell, Central Otago, Tekapo, Twizel, Hanmer Springs, Canterbury and Kaikoura. We’ve been trusted by Architects for almost 25 years for our innovative solutions on really difficult projects, so why not call us now on (03) 385 8574 for some free advice.
How We Work With You
New Builds Process
SELECTING MATERIALS, FIXTURES AND FITTINGS
We understand that this process can be quite exciting as well as overwhelming. There are many decisions and selections that need to be made and this is as crucial to us, as it is to you. We’ve discovered that the secret to eliminating cost and time overruns, through variations, is working together to make yourmaterials, fixtures, and fittings selections early. Our people and process will help you do this.
PRICING CONFIDENCE
There is an old saying “every man (or woman) to their trade”. This means “stick to your trade”. Carpenters are not taught as part of their training how to price a job. When transitioning to a builder, there are no laws, business, or fitness requirements for any upskilling or pricing training at all. Our building industry continues to allow the people of NZ to be exposed to unfit building businesses, and the large percentages that eventually go belly-up are simply blamed for ‘bad management’. When comparing pricing, make sure you’re comparing apples with apples. Some building companies operate as ‘variationcompanies’. They operate by deliberately leaving out parts of the building or by putting in many ‘conditional tags’ alongside items in their pricing that skews the ‘start’ price to look low. You wouldn’t expect to buy a new car quoted as ‘battery excluded’ or ‘$50 allowance for battery’. Our pricing is prepared by highly qualified Quantity Surveyors who are properly trained; have decades of experience and are highly proficient at their trade. To our clients this means you can have absolute confidence our quotes are produced by a qualified person and can be relied on. This isn’t to say we just leave the Quantity Surveyor to it. As the pricing is prepared, I work with the Quantity Surveyor so we both understand how the price was reached based on your unique home and how it’s going to be built. This system of experienced quantity surveyor and builder working together ensures you have the most accurate pricing to build your new home.
DO I NEED A BUILDING AGREEMENT?
A recent survey highlights Kiwis have a ‘she’ll be right’ approach to building work [Certified Builders Association press release 21/9/2016] The survey found that 51% of homeowners who had used a builder in the last ten years didn’t have a written contract for work done by their last builder. The survey also found that 46% of homeowners think it’s the builder’s responsibility if something goes wrong with a build or renovation. The reality is if there’s no written contract in place, this makes it difficult to resolve any issues. Through 21 years of building we have found that if items are not properly specified, agreed on, or completely missed, there will always be two sets of expectations. These varying expectations (builder and client) can cause misunderstandings.Paul Reed Homes will always concentrate on the detail so that we can both agree what we’re building, how we’re building it, and what we’re building it with incorporated in our building agreement with you.
FIXED PRICE
We know that a fixed price is probably extremely important to you and understand that we all have a finite budget. Our fixed price agreements ensure you know the end price before you start. However, just because a building agreement is labelled fixed price, it can still drastically alter if PC or Provisional Sums are used. We avoid where possible using PC or Provisional Sums for unspecified items. Using these sums in a fixed price contract means that the price can still substantially increase. If we do have to use PC Sums, we make sure that they are realistic. For example, $30m2 allowance for tiles is not realistic and your final home’s cost will increase substantially. A contract containing an allowance of $100m2 is realistic meaning you won’t have to find extra cash. If we do have to use Provisional Sums, we make sure that they are also realistic.PROCESS
WHICH SERIES OF STEPS WORK BEST?
The best results are achieved when we all (architect, builder, client, geo-tech engineer, structural engineer, cost engineer, interior designer) work together to achieve a win-win outcome for you, the client. Secondly, not only do these parties need to be on board and in agreeance on what the overall outcome/vision is but there is a certain order to which each party completes
their step in the process to achieve the client’s vision. For a win-win outcome you’ll need a win-win game plan. I advise the following initial steps as a general guide, but your ultimate game plan will be unique to you:
1. INTRODUCTION
“The stunning polished concrete floors do more than just look good, they provide passive heating for a warm family home.” – Paul Reed
2. IN PERSON MEETING
Paul Reed Homes are not just builders – I am a career professional builder that can build you nearly anything. Specifically, we can help you with the following kinds of projects that we specialize in.
3. BUDGETS AND PRICING
DO NOT get started without knowing what is involved in the PROCESS. Let us help you with the research first, DOWNLOAD your FREE GUIDE that contains the most IMPORTANT STEPS concerning the renovation process.
4. CONCEPTS AND COMPLETED DESIGN
We will work with you regardless of whether you already have a set of plans, concepts or you’re starting from scratch.
Nick and Helen’s home features handmade trusses and warm timber finishes Our brand partners have been selected over many years, and the options available to us mean that we can formulate a design team that is suited to you and your project. Part of good design is making sure that you completely understand what you’re getting from the roof to the door handles. If we do this ground up and work together at this end, we find that client changes through the build are nearly eliminated. By helping you to avoid variations through the build, we are also helping you avoid adding time and cost to the project.
“We delivered a Supreme-Award winning renovation to Rob & Mel. This was a massive project I’m extremely proud of.” – Paul reed
5. FINALISE THE PAPERWORK
It’s at this stage you and I will know what we’re building together and we’ll put this onto paper so we’re in agreeance. As part of doing this, we’ll sit with you and
explain what everything means, so you’re comfortable. We’ll completely understand if you want this checked by your lawyer, and you are welcome to do so.
“The ultimate entertainers’ kitchen is sure to impress Nick and Helen’s friends and family” – paul reed
6. ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO
“It is much more sustainable than my previous house and more future proof in terms of living, being single level, access to and within the house, ease of heating etc! Anyway, as I said earlier, I’m very happy with it and never hesitate to give you and your staff credit for an extremely well-done build. Thank you”. – Hilary
Case Study
- Having never built before, the client relied on the designer, not knowing some designers don’t work as a team. Some clients adopt the old fashioned approach that the building cost is set by the lowest price tender, and completely miss the value an Architect-Builder Client team approach can add to the project.
- The engineer wasn’t aware of the client’s budget nor the true cost of his foundation engineering solution
- No building contract was awarded
- The client was out of pocket tens of thousands of dollars because the ‘Tender Price’ was above budget.
So how did we help?
We brought the geo-tech and structural engineers together so they could each understand the site specific challenges. We met with the structural engineer and quantity surveyor together to discuss foundation design options vs buildability vs cost.
The best value option was discussed with, and accepted by the owner/client. A new preliminary design was penned by the engineer. This way preliminary pricing could be obtained without the client having to pay for full designs that didn’t work.
Preliminary pricing was then undertaken based on the new foundation design of which the client accepted. Final design and costs saved the client $590,000.00 and reduced the final price from $1,737,000.00 to $1,147,000.00.
