We start with an informal chat about what you need and work towards a budget for the project. As formal fixed price, schedule of works, payment plan and a start date follows. We go through each phase of the work together and there’s a formal snagging list and handover at the end. We undertake this process for small single room refurbishments as much as we do full house builds
We honestly believe that mismanaging expectations with regards to cost and timescales are the primary reasons that building projects at home go sour. That’s why we make sure all the paper work is in order from beginning to end.
Things naturally change throughout the course of the project. That may be due to site conditions or customer design, or even budget. The key is to keep a clear and up to date log of all these changes. Every project at DFD has a Cost Summary, a Payment Schedule and an Order of Work. These are updated throughout with Variations as necessary. You can see examples of our paper work here. There is also a constant line of communication to Dan, the owner and manager of the business.
We take a lot of pride in the fact that we prepare for and manage the cost of a project properly. There’s nothing worse than an unexpected cost. Although sometimes they are unavoidable, we need to make sure we’ve taken precautions to make sure that does spoil the project. Deeper footings shouldn’t mean you don’t get the kitchen you’ve dreamt of for the last 6 months.
We aim for the relationship to be very candid. Not informal, but honest. Building projects of a certain size are difficult in their nature. They’re intrusive and expensive and at some stage rely entirely on other people. The hope is that we have seen most of the mistakes before, meaning that we can steer you around those same pot holes.
If you’re considering a project then get in touch early. Starting with the builder is always the best way to go. It allows the design to be done with due considerations given to the cost implications of the potential build. It’s not irregular for us to receive a set of drawings showing a £100,000 extension from a customer with a £60,000 budget.
If you’d like a design and build service, we can help. See our DESIGN page for more info!
