Kick-off meeting with your building contractors

Before building starts set the ground rules with your contractor

Before your contractor starts work on your home building or home renovation project it's good practice to ensure everything is in place for your project.

Important questions to ask were discussed in our article Questions to ask before starting a home renovation, or building a new house. Then we said to check your insurance Before starting your home building project check your insurance. Another important topic was locating and protecting utility lines Locating and protecting utility lines while building or renovating your house. Of course always make sure this is the right time to start construction When to start your home build and renovation project. Is now the right time? We also noted how important it was to ensure all planning permissions were in place Why you shouldn't start work without all the planning permissions in place.

Right so you've done all that. You've ​Checking Your Contractor's Price (Quotation). Finally you've awarded the contract to a contractor. Can you let them simply start work?

Well it's good practice to have kick-off or start-up meeting with the contractor and their supervisors and project manager before they start working on your new home or renovation project.

Building project start-up or kick-off meetings

​This meeting is useful to:

• Know who the responsible people for the project are.
• Exchange contact details.
• Discuss the planned construction methods and what the first tasks will be.
• Understand if there’re any problems or potential problems.
• Set up communication channels and protocols.
• Ensure that the required access to work areas will be provided on time.
• Check that the contractor has sufficient construction information to start work on the project.
• Ensure that all construction permits and permissions have been received.
• Ensure that everyone knows what has to be done.
• Understand the contractor’s requirements for laydown areas (place for materials and equipment).
• Ensure that everything is in place from all parties so that building work can proceed unhindered.
• Check that the contractor is aware of any hazards on the project site.
• Confirm that the contractor is aware of project specific rules - like working hours, parking, protecting certain areas, areas off-limits, security, etc.
• Check that the contractor has a safety plan and has procedures in place in case of an accident.
• Check that the contractor will provide toilets for their workers and that the project site will be suitably barricaded.
• Confirm the process for instituting changes and submitting variations and invoices.

To make this meeting go smoother and ensure you cover everything prepare a checklist of everything that needs to be discussed. You can even print out a copy of this list to handout at the meeting.

Don't forget to take down the details of attendees, and importantly their contact details.

Make notes of things you committed to attend to at the meeting, then ensure you follow through.

You may even want to keep notes of the things discussed at the meeting for future reference. Even consider circulating a record of the discussion to all attendees.

Good communication is essential on your building project

It's important to set the right tone for the building project, ensuring that everyone knows what to do, understands project rules and hazards, and knows what is expected from them. You certainly don't want things going wrong with your home building project - especially problems which should have been avoided with good communication.

Of course now that you've had your kick-off meeting and the contractor is good to go that does not mean that you can sit back and relax, returning only when the contractor has finished your new home. In our article When inspecting your new home build and renovation project you should check we examined that you should regularly check your contractors.

​This is an extract from the author's book 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses: Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home'.
​© 2021 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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Want to learn more about designing, renovating and building houses?

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.

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