Construction delays: How to avoid time blowouts and other project issues

Just imagine: You expect your home to be finished by a certain date, so you calculate your finances based on that date. You pack up your current house and organise removalists, telephone, gas and electricity. You even take time off work so you can move. And then you discover… your new home is not ready.

It’s a common story. Project delays, budget blowouts, building defects and other issues can affect how your building journey goes and when your finished home will be ready. Building or renovating a home should be one of the most exciting times of a person’s life. But oftentimes, the excitement of a new or improved home is overshadowed by fear, doubt and stress.

For some homeowners, the dream of a new home can quickly turn into a nightmare — a nightmare that can be easily avoided. How? By following these simple steps.

1. Choose the right builder

Choosing your builder involves so much more than just selecting them on their price. You need to work alongside this person and their business for months on end, so it’s important that you get to know them. Get to know their mannerisms, their working style, the way they communicate, how they handle themselves professionally and particularly how organised or disorganised they are.

A disorganised or poor-quality builder can make or break your building journey. Remember, building or renovating at home is a massive logistical exercise. There are so many people involved, so many products used and so many components that make up the process. Your builder is responsible for coordinating concreters, brickies, tilers, roofers, plumbers, plasterers, electricians… and so many more tradespeople. Your builder is also responsible for ordering materials, checking the materials are right and making sure they are onsite and ready to go so there are no hold-ups.

A good builder will have your full build schedule planned out well before construction even starts. And the most organised builders use scheduling software — usually a cloud-based system that handles everything including the communication between all parties. If your builder is not using a schedule and management program like this, you run the risk of suffering mistakes, confusion… and a major time blowout.

2. Play your part as the homeowner

Time for a little tough love here. Sometimes home builds and renovations go wrong, not due to the fault of the builder but due to the actions — or inactions — of the homeowner.

If you are not playing your part as the homeowner and the client, it can be almost impossible for the builder to play their part and deliver your home on time and on budget to a high standard. So, what do you need to do?

Make sure you are completing all the elements required of you and completing them as fast and as efficiently as you can. This means selecting all your products and materials well in advance. If the tiler is booked to arrive in two days, the tiles must be onsite. Pick out all your tiles, tapware, appliances and finishes and clearly convey what these selections are to your builder so they can confirm availability and make sure they are ready to go when needed.

It also means dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s. Pay your instalments on time. Sign off on any variations as soon as practicable. Manage any necessary services from external suppliers so they are working in conjunction with your builder. Any delays on your end can result in delays with the build and could add extra to your build timeline and your budget.

3. Effectively manage communication

A good builder will have effective communication skills and will generally be taking the reins when it comes to communication throughout your project. Using online software that incorporates a way for all parties to communicate can make all the difference — all messages are sent in real-time, everyone has access to the information and all the information is in one place.

If you cannot communicate effectively with your builder from day one, it might be a sign that they are not a good fit for your project. If communication is bad from the start, it is unlikely to improve over time.

4. Take the good with the bad

While your builder will be the main instigator of how well your project runs, there are a few factors that are simply out of their control. Weather delays are a good example — rain delays can be unavoidable and can hold up a project significantly. Supply shortages can be another reason why your project is delayed.

It’s important to remember that a bad situation doesn’t always mean a bad experience. Building a home can have its ups and downs. If you go in with a flexible mindset, however, the chances are you are going to have a much better experience overall.

If your builder is organised and manages the build as best they can, communication is good between all parties and you are ticking everything off your to-do list to keep things moving, then remember — everything else can be figured out. And don’t forget to refer back to our B4U Build builders checklists to help you choose the right builder to give you a head start on avoiding any construction delays and other project issues.