Advice

Builders Dilemma:

It can help you in understanding what builders do when they undertake work, and the dilemmas they face within any given project. Most companies wont sacrifice quality under any circumstances so their work will take longer. Others may have a large team working for them, and can put a lot of resources into one job, which although may mean their work is completed quicker, it will cost more to pay the extra labour. On the other side of the scale are the companies who are only interested in completing fast and cheap jobs, the downside however being that the quality of the finished product will be very poor.

Quotations

When you are getting quotations from different builders and trades, and they vary in price, just think about why they differ in price? Is builder ‘A’ using cheaper materials and is planning to be in and out within a day, thereby sacrificing quality, whist builder ‘B’ has priced in for good quality materials that are going to last, and is going take pride in their work?

The building triangle is all about striking a balance, talking to your builder, and discussing your expectations beforehand.

The Building Triangle

Ah the building triangle…..never has something simple meant so much   So what is the building triangle, and how can it help you? Lets start by looking at the building triangle sketch on the right:

The building triangle is basically made up of three points;

  1. Fast (time)
  2. Quality
  3. Cheap (cost)

It illustrates that within the confines of any project you plan to undertake, whether it be a new kitchen, a full housing refurbishment, or even something small like putting up some shelving, you can only ever fulfil two of the points within the triangle. For example:

  • You can have a fast and cheap job, but your going to sacrifice the quality
  • You can have a cheap and quality job, but it isn’t going to be fast
  • You can have a quality job done in a fast time, but it’s not going to be cheap
  • So how can the building triangle help you?

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