SURPRISE !

The worst word to hear on a building site is “surprise”. You have done the costing, the deposit is paid, the client is happy, you are happy and at last you start digging the foundation, the project is on.

 Then, “surprise”, the soil is rubbish, not at all what the Geo technical report states and there are gigantic hidden rocks. No problem, it can be fixed with sound engineering and some steel. 

Oops, “surprise” again, the engineer finds subterranean water coming down the hill in the winter. No problem, it can be managed with an agricultural drain and good waterproofing.

From here on the project is plain sailing. Damn, another “surprise”, the area is plagued by criminals targeting building sites and building material. OK, will handle this with better locks on the site hut and a night watchman.

Yes, I have made my point, there are always surprises and a lot more than I have listed as examples, on a site. Be sure to note, these nasty unexpected surprises cost money and is not covered in your initial costing and contract, so be prepared and make sure your contractor can handle these professionally and not through a quick on site contractor “fix”. “Cheap fixes” will come back in the long term and bite you and can be very expensive to address later.

* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.

Who is the man...

When you get involved in a building project, there is one person that is really important. No, it is not the one that draws the pretty pictures and charge the big money. It is also not the one in the short pants with the Toyota ‘bakkie’. Well, he is also important, but he is not the MAN.

It is strange how many people building houses and financing houses under estimate the roll of this professional and yes he is the one true professional when it comes to building. He or she (I have never come across a she) is required by law to be appointed for all building projects. OK, by now you should have guessed. It is the bank manager. NO, no just kidding. The MAN is the engineer.

He is the guy signing off on your foundations, slabs and roof, the stuff that really matters. It is amazing how many contractors and clients do not understand the importance of your engineers’ actually going to the site and actually doing the inspections. You will not believe how many engineers actually sign off on projects without ever being on the site. Scary, is it not? 

The actual cost of the engineers compared to the total project cost is negligent. So make sure you know who the engineer on your project is and that he actually does what he is paid for. Actually go to the site before he issues certificates.

When I started my business I was lucky enough to come across the brashest, obnoxious, arrogant and wise ass that ever qualified as an engineer and he was an old bastard as well. He would nitpick and find fault with everything and swore at anyone, but I can tell you I learned more from this guy about this industry than anyone else. If anything went wrong or there was a problem, he would be the guy I would go to and he would have a solution. Through him I got an education and learned a quite a few new four letter words. On my site he was the MAN.

“A contractor, an engineer, and an architect were standing inside their recently completed building, looking out at the street. A VERY attractive woman walks by.
The contractor whistles.
The engineer says, “Did you see the legs on that woman?”
The architect says, “Did I miss something, I was admiring my reflection.”

* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.

A Fool and his money is easily parted

Not trying to offend anybody, especially any fools following the blog, but this seems to be very applicable when undertaking a building project.

The first question I get asked when somebody enquires about building is:  “What is your cost per square meter”.  Would you walk into a Mercedes dealership and ask  the salesman how much is the blue ML per square meter? I don’t think so, because prices vary from model to model, extras, engine size etc. You get my drift, so in short, the same applies when building a house. I just cannot believe that people still see this as the basis to determine whether you can or should built and then contract based on it.

Man, this cost per square thing just freaks me out, as you have probably noticed if you read the other entries in the blog.  You enter a period of darkness, where you have no idea where your money goes. Do you pay the actual cost of the items you receive? Are the items, e.g. bricks, cement, concrete, of the quality that you agreed upon and paid for. There is no chance of you knowing unless you have access to the actual invoices and delivery notes, which very few contractors makes available. It thus becomes an exercise in trust and in the building industry that is dangerous.

Did you know the Patron Saint of builders is ...” St Greed”

You really want to pursue other alternatives to gather realistic and accurate information regarding the actual cost of your building project. If you want to save yourself money and get good value for money, you want to know what the actual cost is of the bricks that goes into your house, how much the electrical contractor actually charges per point and so on and soon.

What I am getting to, is that using a contractor that gives you detailed access to the information and use a transparent system will definitely save you money and lots of it. So use a contractor that can do that. Good luck finding one.

WOW, something different

This is slightly on a different topic. Being involved in the building industry for  quite awhile one when gets jaded and overwhelmed with everything that is the same, especially when it comes to estate living.  So what a pleasant surprise when during my “builders break”, and by God did  I need a break, I came across a residential development that was just awesome. I always thought  “The builders break” is what they do on site, while building a house, sorry I am being sidetracked again. I need to get something for this 'ADD'. Back to the thread topic.

Rarely do you find a new residential development that you look at and think, ”Jeez I would like to live here”. Ok with the proviso that I can I afford to live here?

 This is right up there with the best of the best in exclusive coastal living and no it is unfortunately not for most mere mortals or the sweaty masses. But all being said, if you want the lifestyle and can afford it, it does not get better than this.

Imagine this is the view from your house...and during the whale season a view whales are playing in the sea, can it get any better than in De Kelders?

This is not a paid for advertisement, just really nice to experience something so different and work with a sales executive that is hmm... professional and likeable.

 * Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.

“Count Bricks” (Know a bit about Construction, part 2)

No, this is not about some obscure British royalty or the big dogs among developing countries. It is about the importance to be able to equate quantity to time and cost on your building project. That sounded really impressive even if I have to admit that myself and I actually understand what it means.

If you know how many bricks goes into a m2  of wall and how many bricks must an average bricklayer lay in a single day, it becomes very difficult for the builder to b-shit you. BTW the answer is 120 for a double course wall and 1000 per day. You can then check how long the bricklaying should take and how many bricklayers and labour is required on site to achieve the time frame you want. OK, you should do a little bit of math, but it is an easier math solution than most  Sudocu puzzles, especially if you know to put on formula's on EXCEL. You would also be very surprised to find out how few builders know this and can put it in practise. That is why building houses in South Africa takes forever.

Another little secret. This will help you to know how many bricks, cement, etc should go into you house and not end up in the three other houses and his own lapa, your  builder is busy with. An added bonus is when you know how to determine whether your walls are square, It is called "Pythagoras' Theorem" and can be written in one short equation:
                                                            a2 + b2 = c2

Note:
    •c is the longest side of the triangle
    •a and b are the other two sides

For simple people like me:
Example: A "3,4,5" triangle has a right angle in it.

You will also scare the hell out of your builder and impress the living daylight out the “brickies“  working on your site. I guarantee the quality of work will skyrocket, the time wasting nosedive, I can go on...
“I've been a bricklayer for 15 years now.
Surely there must be mortar life. “

(To be continued...)

* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.

“Have A Solid Foundation” (Know a bit about construction, part 1)

It really helps you as homeowner if you understand some of the basics of construction.

Even in Bible times the importance of a good foundation was recognized, you remember the story about building "on rocks and sand". Well it still applies today as the structure has to stand on something solid.So it is not a bad idea that before you start building you know what is under the ground of your stand and hopefully for you and your wallet, it is not “air blown drift sand from West Africa” (Yep happened to me), old sand dune, underground river (also happened to me) or solid rocks the size of caravans.

It is good to know this before you get a costing from your builder. They normally don’t find out before they quote and it is an exclusion in the contract and costing. Also if there is something funny under there, most builders don’t know how to deal with it and they start compromising and get innovative. That is when you have to start getting VERY scared, unless you know the basics and this is the time to consult your engineer and get the real Professionals involved.

By this time you should have formally appointed a formally qualified and registered engineer for your project, one that actually does the site visits you pay him for.  It is not good to brag that your engineer does not give you hassles on site and never visits and do the required inspections before signing off on stuff.  It is going to bite you on the backside later.

One thing you have, that was not available in the Bible time is GOOGLE, use it, it is quick and cheap. All the basics is there, that is if you can read. But then if you cannot read you should not be building  your own house or anyone else for that matter. A good rule of thumb for foundations is that the bottom is solid, the sides square and the excavated area deep enough and clean. A real professional should by law sign off on it.

This is a good foundation but there are other issues!

It will help you if you know what to look for on your site visit and ask informed clever questions, not many questions. If you ask really uninformed, dumb, lets just  call it “stupid” questions to try and look clever, (things which you heard about around the dinner table or from your DAD or colleagues), you will just annoy the builder.

To be continued...

* Note - If you find the Blog interesting, it makes more sense to read the Blog entries chronologically from the start.

Home building, construction plans in the Western Cape, Hermanus, Stellenbosch and Somerset West

I just learned that if you want to build houses and find people on the net, I think they call it internet based marketing, you have to post nonsensical blog entries like this. So please excuse me, I am doing this in the interest of technological advance and blatant self promotion. I have no idea if the search engine will pick it up. Don’t you think search engine is the dumbest term? All the engines I knew, especially on the farm made a noise and used some sort of fuel?