Be Your Own Builder

What it involves

The self-builder would be responsible for the day-to-day running of the building project. This would involve finding, scheduling and directly paying tradesmen, from groundworkers to plumbers; interpreting the building drawings on site; organising and running the site, from hiring toilet facilities and security fencing to keeping the site tidy; dealing with the grey areas between trades; taking deliveries and working out where to store materials safely; ordering and paying upfront for materials and ensuring they get delivered when needed; and liaising with warranty and building inspectors. Effectively, the smooth running of the project is entirely down to the self-builder.

Your Input

You’ll need to be able to visit the site before work starts (8am is the traditional start of a tradesman’s day) and once work has finished, every day until the end of the project. In addition, you’ll need to be able to get to the site at a moment’s notice to deal with deliveries, meet building inspectors, service providers and so on. As a result you’ll be better suited to being your own project manager if you are living locally. You’ll need to fill in between the trades, cleaning up on site.

Getting the best out of subcontractors

Builders have a terrible reputation in the media but 99% of self-builders will agree with the maxim ‘What you put in, you get out’. Treat your builder well and you are much more likely to not only get on, but also get a better quality of commitment from them. Here is how to treat them well (and get the best out of them):

Pay on Time: Agree how and when payments will be made and structured. Don’t hold back money unnecessarily — most builders have large overdrafts and this puts them in a vulnerable position financially. They are relying on you for a regular income and you’ll need to provide it. Otherwise, they will be out of pocket and will look elsewhere. If you’re having cash-flow problems you’ll have to be open with the builder. In most cases they will understand.

Communicate: Regularly ask how things are going, when certain targets are likely to be met and, of course, discuss changes openly (and the implications for prices). That way, any issues are headed off before they become a major problem.

Be Nice: Builders take pride in their work and you should view your builder as a partner rather than just an employee. Where possible, ask for their advice and avoid confrontational approaches: a calm “When do you think this might be done?” is so much better than a high-pitched “Why hasn’t this been done yet?” You might not ever be best friends, but for the duration of the project you’ll need to encourage rather than always be on the lookout for problems.

Be Flexible: Things are not always going to go to plan on a building project: the design might have to change; subcontractors might notturn up; work might need redoing; or materials might be unavailable for months. A flexible approach is critical. Don’t be a stickler for detail and always appreciate the big picture. Builders tend to take on other jobs at the same time as yours to enable a smooth work-flow, so be laid back (at least initially) rather than dictatorial. Treat them as you would expect to be treated yourself.

Finding suitable tradesmen

Experienced main contractors bring a bulging contacts book of reliable local tradesmen to the party. If you’re intending to dispense with the services of a project manager and take over the role yourself, you’ll need to be able to replace that contacts book with one of your own.

Cost and cash flow implications

Being your own builder requires early contact with trades and materials suppliers in order to be able to come up with a realistic budget — critical if you need to arrange finance, and important to manage properly to keep a tight reign on cash-flow during the build. It might well be worth investing in one of the leading costestimating and project-scheduling software programs — the best of which are available from HBXL (www.hbxl.co.uk) and Easy Price Pro (www.easypricepro.com). They will cost a few hundred pounds but can save you thousands.

You’ll obviously be able to save the builder’s profit but bear in mind that experienced local builders are more likely to be able to negotiate better discounts/trade prices on materials and, to an extent, on labour.

Ordering Materials

You’ll need to establish a relationship with a local builders’ merchant. You will be able to negotiate a discount as a trade customer and organise payment terms (usually either 30 or 60 days) which can help with cash-flow. You’ll also need to contact the suppliers of your specificproducts as early as possible — the worst case scenario for a self-builderproject manager is to have labour on site ready to work and nomaterials to install. Lead-in times can vary enormously so contact yourcompanies as early as possible. Invest in a lockable storage container(they cost around £1,000) to enable you to order things in early.

Further Reading:

• The Trades Explained
• Buying Building Materials
• H&R's Build Cost Calculator