When to start your home build and renovation project. Is now the right time?

You probably can’t wait to start building your new home, or renovating your current home. But, is this the right time? There is much to arrange and sort out before construction can begin. 

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Considerations that may impact your home construction start

• Have you got sufficient finance? You don't want to run out of money part way through the job leaving you with a half finished project. It's often costly to restart the project later. You will run into legal and contractual problems if you can't pay your contractors.
• Will you have time to supervise construction, or visit showrooms to choose fittings and fixtures? If there’s a new baby coming soon, or you’ll be particularly busy at work for a few months you may want to delay the start. Even if you've employed a builder to take care of the complete project, there'll still be many decisions and selections to be made. Anyway, it's important to regularly check progress on the project to ensure that the work is of good quality and everything is as you expected it to be.
• What activities could impact the project? These could include planned holidays away, visitors who will stay over, and even big events, such as weddings or major birthdays. You might not want to be in the middle of renovations when friends and family visit!
• Are builders in your area busy? When there's lots of building work happening in your area then building suppliers and contractors are busy. Not only could there be a shortage of materials, equipment and skills, which could slow your project down, but suppliers and contractors will add more profit to your project when they price it - so you'll pay more. The best contractors may even be too busy to take on your project. But, when work is scarce suppliers and contractors often become desperate for work. There's a surplus of people. Building companies and suppliers will drop their prices, offer discounts, so that they can get your business. Delaying your project to a time when there's less construction in your area could mean that your new home or home renovation costs 10 to 15% less.
• When are the holidays? Many contractors close for a couple of weeks over Christmas which means your project will stand for several weeks. If you in the middle of a home renovation it could mean that your home is open to the elements for longer.
• What will the weather be? You possibly don’t want to be starting construction in the middle of the rainy season, or when it could be snowing. Ideally you’ll want to get the roof on before the onset of poor weather. Bad weather slows construction and the project will take longer.
• When can you get time off work? If you’re planning to do some of the work yourself you may want these activities to happen when you have time off work.
• Will all the materials and items for your house be available when required? If you've incorporated items and materials which have to be specially manufactured, or which come from other countries, then it could take several months for the items to arrive. You don't want to start construction, only for work to come to a halt when items aren't available.
• Is the design complete? You don't want to be waiting for information part way through construction. Contractors will charge standing time. The construction will take longer - adding to the costs.
• Are you happy with the design? Changing things during construction is expensive. Often work has to be redone to accommodate the changes and the project will take longer.
• Is everything in place for construction? Building on a new property will require a water and power connection - sometimes this can take weeks and months to arrange. If the builder has to organise a generator and water tanks there'll be additional costs for you. If you're doing a home renovation then usually furniture and other items have to be removed from work areas and things that could be damaged must be protected.
• Is access to the property available? Sometimes the local authorities are working in the area, digging up the roads, or possibly there's lots of other building work on neighbouring properties. This could make accessing your property difficult and slow down construction. On the other hand, starting work ahead of when your neighbours will start their building may make your construction easier.
• Are the planning approvals in place?

​Planning permissions – is the red tape sorted?

Most construction work requires planning permissions from the local authorities. Usually there’s a fee payable to get your building plans assessed. Unfortunately some authorities work slower than you expect. Verbal promises of when you can expect to receive the permissions are often broken. Then, when you finally get feedback it’s to say that there’s a problem which you have to fix before the permission can be granted. Invariably this delays the start of the project.

Starting the project before permissions are received could result in work being stopped, even work having to be torn down, or monetary fines to pay.

If you’re responsible for obtaining all the permissions ensure that these are submitted timeously, in the correct format and with all the required supporting documentation. Employing an expert could speed up the process and prevent mistakes which cause delays. Talk to the authorities and ensure that you thoroughly understand their requirements. Give them exactly what they want – even more. Continually stay in touch with them to see that the process stays on track, and that paperwork hasn’t been lost.
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Don’t give your contractor a start date, only to find that you haven’t received permissions by this date. Your contractor may charge you standing time waiting for the permits and permissions.

Conclusion - ensuring everything is ready for home build project

We all want to get our project started as soon as possible, but, it's important to check that everything is ready for construction so that the project isn't held up.
Sometimes delaying the start of your building project may even make it cheaper.
​Carefully consider the best time to start your project.

​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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