Questions to ask before starting a home renovation, or building a new house

Before construction starts ask these important questions

Before construction of your new house begins, or you start renovating your home, ask these important questions:

• Is there a signed contract between you and the contractor?
• Are adequate insurance policies in place? If the work entails renovating an existing building has your insurer been advised that construction will be occurring. The contractor should have suitable employees’ insurance in place to cover medical costs in case of accidents involving their workers.
• Have you received the contractor’s surety or insurance bond to cover for their non-performance? Have you checked that these are correct and offer you adequate protection?
• Have the necessary building and planning approvals, permits and permissions been received from the various authorities?
• Are all your finances in place to pay for the work?
• Do you own the land?
• Are the site boundaries clearly demarcated?
• Have you reviewed and approved the latest construction drawings?
• If you or your designers are providing construction drawings to the contractor have these been issued to the contractor?
• Is everything ready for the contractor? Will they have the required access to the work site?
• Have you removed, or arranged suitable protection for items that mustn’t be damaged during construction?
• Have you procured materials that you must supply and will they be delivered before the contractor requires them?
• Does everyone know where the existing utility lines (power, communication, water, gas) are and are these clearly marked? Cutting them could be expensive, even dangerous, and undoubtedly it will cause inconvenience and even delay the construction work.
• Will the required utility connections (water and power) be available for construction?
• Is everyone clear what their scope of works is?
• Have you recorded the status of existing structures, the sidewalk and the road, and other structures which could be damaged by the contractor? It's difficult to prove structures were damaged by the contractor if there's no record of their condition and what they looked like before construction started.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne

Avoid delays and additional costs on your home build project

Failure to ask these questions could result in the contractor being delayed when permits or drawings aren't available. In this case the contractor will claim a delay and additional costs. 
Mistakes are often caused when property boundaries aren't marked or utility lines aren't protected.
Failure to put adequate insurance in place could be costly if things go wrong.
Never start a construction project unless there's a clear signed contract in place with the contractor. A contract is there to protect you and the contractor.
Please like and share this article.

Want to learn more about renovating and building houses?

Click on this picture to read more on Amazon

Click on this picture to read more on Amazon

​​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.
​For under $20 you could save thousands of dollars and avoid time consuming and frustrating mistakes!
© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.