Blog 8 - Avoid Building Surprises

You just got home from a getaway with the family. Eagerly you head off to your recently built home office suite - and own private haven. Shoes left at the door, you sink your feet into the fitted shaggy and take in the last of the paint fumes. Looking around you suddenly freeze in front of a scary thing just above the sliding door. ‘’Please let that be a rain spider, I’ll never complain again.’’  It’s a crack!

Going back into the house is not an option. Rather, you go sit with kitty in back garden where there are no ‘’I told you so’s’’.  The thing is, you decided to manage the builder yourself in order to save money. Your wife’s friend, the architect and know-it-all, was going to charge extra to supervise. The assured you the engineer overdesigned the foundations as the addition next door did not require steel reinforcing.

‘’Baby! I was looking for you in the man cave! Did you see the massive crack? And what’s that smell in there?’’  ‘’No, what crack!’’ You sniff your feet.

Next day, you are sitting at your desk. ‘’Hey there! I was asked to come check in here!’’.   It’s Know-it-all at your door.  She walks in and peers around. ‘’Phew you can slip your credit card in that crack. But wait, you gonna need it!’’ She walks around inspecting top and bottom of the walls.   ‘’What’s that mouldy smell?’’ She finally stops, leaning over the back of your chair.  ‘’Black mould! No waterproofing to retaining wall as per my plans.’’

You thinking ‘’My haven is crumbling and I’m going to die from black fungal lung infection….but not before I kill the builder!’’

Later, you find out the architect refuses to issue her completion certificate for the purpose of occupation, as required by insurance. You only have a COC from the electrician. She asks for: plumber’s certificate, engineer’s certificate, waterproofing guarantee, roof agrement certificate and all the items for the regulatory energy efficiency certification: low e glazing, roof insulation, hot water pipe insulation, max allowed lights’wattage and eco geyser installation.

You call your builder to fix everything at his cost. He responds that those items were never included in his bill of quantities. Also, he can’t guarantee the zen garden held by the new retaining wall; the fitted carpet; the shower tiles and the copper pipes will survive the corrective works.

You move your office to the guest bedroom, next to the playstation room, for 2 whole months! Groundworks, wall chopping, angle grinding, dust, new tiles, new gas geyser, damaged rug, pipes corrected, roof strengthened, plumbing altered, and all works repainted.  The engineer requires underpinning foundations with reinforced ones, otherwise he said you can add expansion joints top of sliding doors to hide the ever-moving cracks – but no certificate for that option. Geyser and sliding doors are also replaced with correct ones. You give away the old ones.

All corrections are finally completed. Bare feet in shaggy again. The only smell is the new paint. You have all your certificates including the occupation from the council.  Life is great, until your wife walks in and places a piece of paper on your desk. The final cost analysis.

Actual cost of works:
Additions	R400 000
Architect 2 months supervise and certify	R30 000
Engineer to inspect, spec. and certify	R15 000
Contractor to open, replace, amend, close, new carpet, geyser and sliding door, repaint	R165 000
Total Actual Cost	R610 000

Correct cost of works:
Additions cost with correct fittings from start	R430 000
Architect’s supervision over 4 months	R60 000
Engineers inspections spec and certificate	R15 000
Contractor to open, replace, amend, close, new carpet, geyser and sliding door, repaint	R165 000
Total Correct Cost	R505 000

‘’That’s a 21% difference!  2 extra months of noise, mess and no office! You lucky we weren’t building a whole new house!’’