JUST BEFORE YOU LAY THAT BUILDING
FOUNDATION
May be out of ignorance or carefree
attitude people embark on a building project without proper planning and due
considerations of necessary factors that will affect the success of such Endeavour.
Most of such improperly planned projects is what cumulates into abandoned
projects, contractual dispute, poor workmanship and building collapse
experienced in Various cities across the world.
Here are a few tips on what to
consider before you embark on any building project:
1. BUILDING LAWS AND REGULATIONS: Find out
what building law that must be obeyed on the piece of land that you plan to
erect your building. Ensure you are not breaking any law that can render your
ownership right invalid and lead to the demolition of your building when under
construction or even years after it has been completed.
2. ENGAGE PROFESSIONALS: Clients tend not
to value intellectual work, many trivialize the knowledge and skills various professionals
in the construction industry brings to bare and most time end up with quacks. This
has been identified as the leading cause of Building Collapse in many cities
across the globe. My advise is don’t be penny wise Pounds foolish, ensure you
consult all professionals required to work on various aspects of your project
and pay them adequately.
3. COUNT
THE COST: This is no doubt one of the greatest mistakes people make. They wake
up one morning, look at their bank account balance; lets say N5m (Five Million
Naira) and they conclude, this is should be enough to erect a 3 Bedroom Flat.
The next thing is to get a Draftsman or at Best an undergraduate Architect to give
them a plan so that they can begin the process of construction.
Sadly, many
educated people do not know about the set of professionals called: Quantity
Surveyors or Cost Engineers trained in Universities and Polytechnics on
construction cost estimating and management. These persons have the required
expertise to advice you on the realistic potential cost of that propose project
and also help you manage expenses to keep expenditure within projected cost range.
They give you value for your money
4. ENGAGE
COMPETENT CONTRACTORS: Contractors come in three different classification;
Small, Medium and Large scale Contractors. Different arrangement can be made
with all Cadres with the most flexible arrangement possible with the small
scale contractors which allow you to pay for supervision only whilst supplying
the site with all required materials. This way you don’t get charged profit and
overheads on every cost Item in the project as in other types of arrangement,
thereby resulting to overall cost reduction of the project cost.
5. HAVE
A PLAN: Even if you don’t have the financial power of executing the project
from start to finish due to cash flow challenges, its best you have an overall
plan from start to finish, duration and cost properly broken down. Here the
services of the Quantity Surveyor come in handy once more. Ask the Quantity
Surveyor to produce a bill of Quantities ( a contract document that breaks down
a construction project into work items, classifying them into Elements of the
building, work sections of trade sections).
The implication
is that when you look at this document, you see how much you need to finish
foundation, Block-work, Roof, Tile, Plaster etc. This will easily enlighten you on when your
bank account is buoyant enough to undertake any of this work stages.
6. LISTEN
TO ADVICE: With my experience as a Construction professional, I have discovered
that most Clients do not listen to professional advice given to them by
Consultants they are paying for such purpose. At best, some take partial advice
and add their own intuition to act even though they know they are not professionally
equipped to make decisions in construction activities. This can be disastrous
for your project. My advice is if you don’t have confidence in the competence
of your consultant, fire and rehire the one you can confide in.
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