Why Paying Your Builder to Consult and Quote Will Save you Money

Ask someone 20 years ago if they would have paid a builder to provide a written quote or paid as a consultant, and they would laugh and say that you are dreaming, right?
 
Today, what seemed madness 20 years ago is now almost becoming standard practice for all custom home builders and renovators.  The volume builders will undoubtedly continue their own game and have set prices for each of their designs.

However, from here on, paying a custom home builder or renovator for a quote to help out with the design and buildability of the home will be the norm from where I can see the industry heading.
 
Gone are the days where you could send your custom home plans out to tender and receive ten different quotes back.  In my opinion, this was never a good idea, and people are coming around to why that is.
 
When you build a home, especially a custom home, price should not be the only thing to consider. There are many reasons you should pay your builder upfront, and it is not just to get a quote; your builder can be your ally from the get-go and help you save cost across several areas across your build.
 
The reasons below will help to explain why you should pay your builder upfront before construction even starts:

Stick to Your Build Budget
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The builder is ultimately the person who will cost your job and advise what the price is to build your home. Therefore, engaging a builder before the design starts and discussing your budget is the best way to ensure you stick to your budget.

Your builder needs to work alongside your designer who you choose or who they refer you to. The preference is that the designer is a third party and not related or tied to the builder in any incentivised way.  This ensures that each party has the homeowners best interest at heart and not theirs.

Your builder needs to keep reining you and the designer in on cost throughout the design phase and ensure that the price is not blowing out.

 If the cost is going over budget, then the homeowner needs to be made aware of this, and the design either needs to be pulled back or progresses, and the budget needs to increase.

Too many times, we have homeowners coming to us with their designs and an unrealistic budget. If the last builder said they couldn't do it for $200,000 less, the next builder will probably not be able to either. So, get your designer and builder as your allies from the start and paying your builder for this service ensures that he is not working for free, and this will ultimately benefit you.
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If your builder is working for free, will they have your best interest, and will he be motivated to work hard on your project and align your budget to the design of your home renovation or new build?
 
Think about it…. 

Save Cost on You Custom Build or Renovation   
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A builder is the best person to talk to when it comes to saving costs as they are the ones that cost your job, right? When designing your custom home or renovation, there are several different ways to build certain things. For example, take a roof, a skillion roof, vs a pitched roof. In some cases, a skillion is the cheaper option, whereas it will be the pitched roof in other cases.

Knowing when to do which one will come down to each individual house. Also, particular doors and windows cost different from the next. The list goes on.

If you have a builder overlooking your plans at each design stage, they can help you save on cost.

Engineering is a big one where builders can help reduce costs. Many engineers tend to over-engineer things or detail things differently.  A builder could step in and would find a more straightforward and cheaper way to construct the works in question.
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On one particular job, we managed to save $4,000 in timber and labour costs. The house looked exactly the same, but the price to build was less! Wow – right! But who knows this information….? It is in the builder's head, and you need to engage your builder early on to have them on the side as a consultant to get this information into your design to help you Save Money.
 
I have heard of some builders saving tens of thousands on bigger jobs just by altering the engineering! 

Save Time in Construction 

Builders know the best and most efficient way to build homes and renovations and with what materials to save time. If time is of the essence or you would prefer your build to move slightly quicker, again, get your builder on side earlier so they can help when making design decisions.
 
 For example, timber frame homes generally go up around two months quicker than a double brick home as there is no need for the slab to cure as long as when building with brick.  Also, the white set plaster on the internal brick walls of a double brick home must be set before you can progress with the build.
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Talk to your builder throughout the design phase. If the time on the construction phase is a concern, they can suggest ways to get the build down quickly so you can get into your home sooner. 

Build a Relationship with Your Builder

This benefit often gets overlooked but should be very important. If you start talking to your builder months before construction starts, you have time to build a relationship n rapport and see if you want this person to build your home. You will see how they communicate with you and other professionals, what their timing on communication is like, and how they deal with adversity.
 
 You may find that the builder you have selected is not the right choice for you as you do not get along.
 
This is fine, and wouldn't you rather find this out earlier in on the piece before you sign a contract for possibly half a million dollars or more? 

Conclusion ​

Paying a builder to price your job and consult with you around the buildability of your renovation or home is super important and benefits you in many ways, from cost savings through to time savings.

Also, while you deal with the selected builder throughout these initial stages, you start to form a relationship. You can decide whether you like this builder and want to move forward on construction with that builder.

You will be the one that benefits as the builder is getting paid to do this work, rather than working for free and therefore will put in more effort to your project and ultimately save you cost and heartache!

Here at Distinct Renovations, we follow this process where we act as a consultant to you as the homeowner and the third party designers and drafters to price your job and get your design the way you want and suited to your budget. If you are in Perth, Western Australia and interested in speaking to someone regarding your next project, please reach out to us.