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Time Is Money

I cannot stress this enough to know the builder's schedule of when and what will be starting to make sure you are aware of what decisions will either need to be made or that you weren't made aware of before it's too late.

Decisions could be simply minor positioning or simply selecting a different material. Ultimately all these decisions should have already been cleared up on your contract but if you are like me this is your first house extension so there are always going to be things that popup that you weren't even aware of.

Because always remember the builder has to pay all their tradesmen to be onsite so if you are not there or haven't made the time or asked the right questions before hand then the show must go on, the tradesmen will be onsite one minute then the next day they have moved on and you missed your window of opportunity.

Just a few important decisions that had to be made during the build for me included:

  • Concrete aggregate and colour : thankfully I asked the question and managed to it before the concrete slab was laid choosing a lighter colour concrete with a different type of aggregate (stone).
  • Plumbing : changing the gas line all the way back to the meter instead of stopping at the side of the house.
  • Internal storage : once the dimensions of the extension was in place it soon made it easier to see how and where the internal would need to be changed to make it more practical.
  • Skylights : changing the positioning and number of skylights to better suit the lighting aspect.
  • Brickwork : type of brick and patterns to match the existing house.
  • Carpentry : internal sliding doors on the plans they were very hard to see therefore they were overlooked until I intervened.
  • Windows : minor changes to the positioning / size of the windows due to privacy for neighbours.

Just to reiterate about the importance of time given one second the building site is a ghost town next its a hive of activity. Make sure you stay ahead of the game and chat with your builder about their schedule and know what decisions need to be made making sure you are onsite. No one wants to undo work that has already been done.