Any building project requires your input and time. Set aside time for it and be mindful that tradesmen and professional people generally keep regular working hours, so respect their time when they accommodate you outside of this.

This building or renovation project is your new home project so it is going to require your time and energy. You may not the one doing the work, but you need to make decisions so that others can carry on with the work to complete your home for you. Decisions can be a challenging and tiring process and in my experience, it’s the little decisions, the ones that haven’t had time or resources allocated to, that potentially stress my clients out the most.

Aside from the decisions that you have to make on your project, there are also directions that you need to give to your builder to keep the build on track financially and time-wise. Not all decisions are made before you start on site, things like a specific wall or floor tile selection, door handles, joinery colours and wall colours. The reason for this is that clients are often in such a hurry to get the builder started and have also been spending time making other decisions like mortgage setups, rental accommodation, and kitchen design.  Door hardware, for example, is one item often left to the last minute and often not considered prior to hanging doors. Your builder is going to have to organize the supply of all the hardware, and the installation of it when hanging the interior doors. Hardware often has lead times, supplies or stock is not always kept in what you have chosen, so waiting for 8 weeks for a particular handle to arrive may seem ludicrous, but it’s a reality that often happens. In order to be ahead of the project including lead times, you need to invest some time to get those decisions about products made so that your builder and his team don’t have costly delays to accommodate on your project.

Most professionals and tradesmen keep regular working hours, like you do if you have a full time job. Often your input is required when they are working and on site, so being available for consultation and direction is important. This can challenge you if you work full time, so find some flexibility to accommodate the build during your working hours is best. Set aside time to meet with your designer and builder and plan for future decisions and actions. Not every designer or builder is going to want to talk to you about your project at 9 or 10 pm at night when they are spending time with their own families or catching up on their own life, so respect their time when they accommodate you and your project outside regular working hours.

This process is going to challenge you and is going to require more time and energy that you expected. It is going to happen on top of your existing commitments. For some tips on how to free up your time read my blog on making time for your project, click HERE


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Offsite NZ Member    Licenced Building Practitioner    New Zealand Green Building Council Passive Designer Homestar Designer Homestar Assessor
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