If you’re thinking of building your own home, creating a development, or extending your existing property, managing a building project can seem like a daunting prospect. However, there are some key ways to help make sure your project runs smoothly. Below we’ve listed our top tips to help you through the process of a building project and to help you avoid costly mistakes. Keep reading to find out more.
Planning Is Key
When it comes to running a building project, planning is essential to ensure that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities and that tasks are completed according to the schedule. To help with effective planning, make sure you and your team have great communication. It’s important to make sure that the whole team is on the same page when it comes to planning so that different elements of the build are able to line up properly. For example, the wrong orders could be made for building materials leading to wasted time and money.
Getting A Building Warranty
A building warranty is a type of insurance that helps to cover the cost of any defects that might occur during the building of your property. There are two different types of building warranty depending on what you will need the warranty to cover. Building warranty providers offer self-build warranties that cover projects where you’re building the home for yourself. You can also get new-build warranties if you’re investing in the development of new houses. These types of warranties offer a range of benefits for you and your building project. For example, they can not only help with the costs of any problems that can crop up during the building process but also make it easier to sell a property further down the line. They also add value to your property as it provides a safety net for future owners of the home. Building warranties usually last between 2 to 10 years depending on the project you’re undertaking, so be sure to check the term of your warranty before taking out the policy.
Create A Timeline
Having a detailed timeline in place helps to make sure your project stays on track and the process remains organised. Breaking the timeline of your project down into smaller timescales for different aspects of the build can help to make the project more manageable and easier to plan. Having smaller, more achievable targets can also help with aspects of the build such as budgeting too. Make sure to track your progress as you go along and make adjustments when necessary to help keep things running smoothly.
Applying For Planning Permission
One of the most important aspects of a building project is applying for the necessary planning permission. The first step is to check what kind of planning permission you need to apply for to ensure you’re following regulations so that it will be less likely that your application will be refused. If you’re hiring an architect, you can work with them to come up with plans that will follow the necessary planning regulations. Submitting an application can sometimes be a long-winded process, and it can take weeks or months to receive a decision on whether or not you will be permitted planning permission. If your plan does get refused, then you can try adjusting the plans according to the feedback given and then resubmitting your application.
Choosing Contractors
When choosing contractors for your building project, it’s best to use a team that has been recommended by someone you know and trust. This way you’ll be able to get a first-hand account of how much work ethic contractors have, whether they can follow deadlines, and how well they communicate with their clients. If you don’t know anyone that can recommend a contractor, then try using online review sites to help find honest reviews about contractors you’re considering hiring. Once you’ve found contractors with good reviews, you can then start comparing their prices and getting quotes from them. You need to balance the cost of work and potential savings with making sure you’re also choosing the contractors that will be the best suited for your project. It can sometimes be worth paying a little extra if it means you can use a specialist contractor with experience in the type of project you’re hiring them for. This way, you can help to make sure the quality of workmanship is to a high standard and the project can run smoothly with professionals that know what they’re doing.
Adapting To Change
Elements of a building project can sometimes go wrong, or certain plans might not be able to be carried through, so it’s good to try and be flexible and open to the possibility to change your building plan. Try to plan ahead for potential blocks in the road that could crop up and have measures in place for backup plans should your plans not be able to go ahead as you’d originally envisioned. Being open to change and being able to adapt quickly will stand you in good stead should you face problems during your project and will reduce the time it takes for the process to continue, saving precious time and money. If you’re working with a good architect, they will be able to help you adapt your plans in circumstances such as changing layout to suite planning applications, whilst also helping you to achieve as much of your original plans as possible.
Keeping Records
When managing your building project, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re keeping records of all the aspects of your build. For example, this can be important when sending planning applications to prove you’ve had things such as surveys carried out or for sending architectural plans. You should also make sure you’re keeping a record of the receipts and bills for materials and payments for contractors. This will help you with keeping track of your spending and adjusting your budget plan accordingly. You need to make sure you’re keeping track of both paper copies of records as well as any digital copies you have of documents and important information.
