Yesterday we finally signed our building contract after seven weeks of almost daily phone calls or e-mails between us and the building group. It has been a long and frustrating couple of months why we waited for questions to be answered and new quotes to be done. Everything seemed to take so much longer then I thought it would and we haven't even started the build yet.
However I am glad we were thorough, so hopefully there won't be too many surprises during the build.
Now I thought I would give a few examples of things we questioned to give you an idea of what to consider if you are negotiating a building contract.
We asked to see what internal doors, external sliding glass doors and windows they were going to put in - so glad we did as they weren't what we wanted even though we had specified high quality in the beginning. Fittings such as these are worth checking as builders often use cheaper models so they can pass on a lower overall quote.
This was also the case with flooring, cornices and picture rails which weren't what we expected in all rooms.
Timeline - we were given a number of days but make sure you are clear what is considered a builders day and what contingencies have been included. It is also good to have a clear commencement and end date.
Anyway we may have sorted the contract but I am told that now the real fun and games begin especially as we are living in the house for the whole build.
All great points to raise before signing on the dotted line Georgy! Remember on the more 'challenging' days, that a reno. is only a short time out of your life (unless of course you're married to my MOTH!) & the end result will be worth every gritted teeth moment.
ReplyDeleteMillie ^_^
CONGRATS on signing the paper work =-)
ReplyDeleteWow some very good points here. I have never built or did a big enough reno to have to have done any of that so thanks for sharing.