Before The Build

Any home renovation, conversion or extension starts with giving your builder, ideally us, the right information so that we have the best chance of meeting your expectations and creating your new home with your vision and dreams, whilst ensuring we maintain build timeframes, budgets and hopefully plan for any unforeseen issues that may arise.

A clear brief for any builder should include:

1. Your vision for your new home
Make a list of what your new home needs to have to work for you. Include things like:
• number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• having the master separated from the other bedrooms or all close together, with or without en-suite
• how many living areas you need
• open plan vs. separate living areas
• garaging, workshop or outdoor storage requirements
• single storey living, split level or two (or three) storeys
• whether future additions will be required as your family grows
• how you would like your family to interact in the house
• entertainment and leisure spaces – indoors and out

2. Your budget for new home
Your budget is essential for any builder to ensure your plans are able to be built within the budget and timeframe you have for your project. As you start looking at designs, fixtures and fittings, it is easy to get carried away so it may be useful to decide what are your must-haves and what is on your wish-list, so that as your project managers we can help you achieve your priorities whilst finding the right combination of extras to create your ideal home without blowing out the budget before construction even starts.

3. Build specifications
The specifications for the build can make a huge impact on the overall look and feel, but these can also impact on the cost. It pays to make decisions early on as much as possible so that our design team and your dedicated project manager can advise you on ways to save money but still achieve the desired results. Specifications may include:
• medium or high spec interior finish
• full tiled showers
• scullery adjoining kitchen
• hardwood floors or laminate
• cedar cladding or plaster and Linea
• second fix electric and plumbing finishes
• doors and windows – aluminium or uPvc
• decks, patios and paving

4. Your timeframe
Knowing when you need to move in is a crucial part of how we will plan and manage your building project, from setting a start date to lining up the various stages of build, so that each task is completed in readiness for the next phase

A platform for a strong client-builder relationship
By covering all four of these areas, you create a clear brief for us to use when working out the costs and schedule for designing/building your house, as well as getting to know you and what you envisage for your new home.
It is also a platform for a strong client-builder relationship and sets us up for having clear and transparent communication throughout all stages of the build process.

Whether you are still putting together your builder’s brief or are ready to get started on your new house build, we can help.