Builder/Project Managers

Technophobe

Hey all,

Need some guidance and factual help…

So here’s the story….



Green field site with full PP now ready to go for my new dormer type house build…(2.400 sq feet ground & 1,500 upstairs)

Don’t want to go direct labour route as:
1. I work miles away from the site.
2. I haven’t got a clue about the building industry.
3. I want to be in it asap as am currently renting. etc etc

Have specs ready to go out to builders for Pricing and am also meeting a Project Management company this week to discuss.

Does anyone have a rough guide as to what builders are charging (am in east of country)?

So, it just so happened I was talking to a good friend recently who asked what way was I going and I said Builder…They then asked had I considered someone to Project Manage it and I said yes, I would be open to that too…They then said (to keep long story short) that Mr X (blocklayer) (who I also know to a fair degree and who is very good and would be the blocklayer I would use if going direct labour!) had said to them that things were fairly quiet for him….

My friend wondered whether I and/or Mr X would be interested in a Project Management role for him…
I said I certainly would as I know Mr X fairly well, he is well regarded as an excellent Blocklayer and obviously knows the Building Industry and would be someone I could trust to leave at it…

Anyway in the heel of the reel I told him to tell Mr X to ring me. He rang and said he would be interested in chatting with me but that it would be a new route for him too in terms of his role…So I said to him that he needed to do his research to find out how he would cost it etc etc…

So what I am asking is does anyone have some ideas as to various methodologies that could be used as to how we would cost it out??For example, I know he could just ask for a weekly wage but that doesn’t give me much certainty as to how much the house cost will eventually be! After all, I have a mortgage that I have X amount left of to spend so I need to be able to budget...So there must be ways to cost these types of approaches??

All ideas appreciated, as if I could use him it would be great for me I would think in terms of knowing/trusting him, getting ideas off him etc etc..

Thanks,

Technophobe

Bumping this back up in hope of a reply!

RKQ

There are a few recent threads on Project Managers, giving approx. fees.

A Block Layer would have a good knowledge and afew connections in the trade, so He may be able to do a good job at organising all the trades and all the materials, on site on time. That would be your judgement call.

It could work well depending on trust, knowledge, organisation skills and allowing that this will be his first project - His fee may reflect this. He will need to be on site for most of the build.

It would be wise to have a signed Contract, outlining payments, fees and each persons responcibilities.
Good luck.

B-Links

Technophobe wrote: »

Hey all,

Need some guidance and factual help…

So here’s the story….



Green field site with full PP now ready to go for my new dormer type house build…(2.400 sq feet ground & 1,500 upstairs)

Don’t want to go direct labour route as:
1. I work miles away from the site.
2. I haven’t got a clue about the building industry.
3. I want to be in it asap as am currently renting. etc etc

Have specs ready to go out to builders for Pricing and am also meeting a Project Management company this week to discuss.

Does anyone have a rough guide as to what builders are charging (am in east of country)?

So, it just so happened I was talking to a good friend recently who asked what way was I going and I said Builder…They then asked had I considered someone to Project Manage it and I said yes, I would be open to that too…They then said (to keep long story short) that Mr X (blocklayer) (who I also know to a fair degree and who is very good and would be the blocklayer I would use if going direct labour!) had said to them that things were fairly quiet for him….

My friend wondered whether I and/or Mr X would be interested in a Project Management role for him…
I said I certainly would as I know Mr X fairly well, he is well regarded as an excellent Blocklayer and obviously knows the Building Industry and would be someone I could trust to leave at it…

Anyway in the heel of the reel I told him to tell Mr X to ring me. He rang and said he would be interested in chatting with me but that it would be a new route for him too in terms of his role…So I said to him that he needed to do his research to find out how he would cost it etc etc…

So what I am asking is does anyone have some ideas as to various methodologies that could be used as to how we would cost it out??For example, I know he could just ask for a weekly wage but that doesn’t give me much certainty as to how much the house cost will eventually be! After all, I have a mortgage that I have X amount left of to spend so I need to be able to budget...So there must be ways to cost these types of approaches??

All ideas appreciated, as if I could use him it would be great for me I would think in terms of knowing/trusting him, getting ideas off him etc etc..

Thanks,


Hi Technophobe,

My first thoughts on this:

• If you were going direct labour you would need a hands on project manager, more like a foreman who would coordinate the progress of the works and organise logistics, but also manage quality and cost for you. It would be wise to use someone who has experience in this. (Mr. X might be the man for this role and he could do the blockwork aswell...)
• If you are using a (general) builder then you might be better off with a good builder than any builder and a project manager. A good builder will take on this role anyway. You might still want a project manager to tender for you, negotiate with and select the builder, get contracts in place and to keep an objective eye on the project for you (quality, cost and time) if you really intend to have zero involvement.
• What exactly do you want the project manager to manage, i.e. what is his/her scope?
  • Will the PM handle the tender process and selection of the builder or will you?
• You say that specs are ready to go out to builders. Does this mean that the design is 100% complete and specified? Was the specification drawn up by an architect/engineer? The reason I ask if they are complete is that the builder will come back with less issues, queries and extras if this is the case. If they are incomplete then the build will need more management.
• With regards to builders prices you are tendering at a good time. I think indicative sq.ft prices have been discussed here on other threads.
• Re. PM prices:
  • First the scope needs to be clear
  • You should not need a full time PM if you have a builder. Better to agree on a number of visits per week as well as time for whatever else is in scope.
  • Get estimates from a few builders for both build time and construction budget
  • PM rates will vary depending on volume of hours worked - this is back to scopeYou could agree a fixed price lump sum based on an estimation of the build budget

This probaby hasn't cleared up anything for you but I hope it helps a little...

Technophobe

Cheers for the reply guys...

B Links..in answer to your questions:

"If you were going direct labour you would need a hands on project manager, more like a foreman who would coordinate the progress of the works and organise logistics, but also manage quality and cost for you. It would be wise to use someone who has experience in this. (Mr. X might be the man for this role and he could do the blockwork aswell...)
If you are using a (general) builder then you might be better off with a good builder than any builder and a project manager. A good builder will take on this role anyway. You might still want a project manager to tender for you, negotiate with and select the builder, get contracts in place and to keep an objective eye on the project for you (quality, cost and time) if you really intend to have zero involvement.
What exactly do you want the project manager to manage, i.e. what is his/her scope?
Will the PM handle the tender process and selection of the builder or will you?"

I don't envisage having both a Builder and Project Manager as I probably could not afford it anyway...!!

As it now looks, my option will be one of the following if I can afford..

1. Get a builder to build it to an agreed point from detailed specs etc and meet them weekly etc to discuss stuff as the build progresses..
2. Have a Project management company do it and meet them weekly etc to discuss stuff as the build progresses....I have met one company and am awaiting a price....
3. I have since met Mr X and we agreed an approach that may work. He is to revert with costs but basically he would do blockwork etc and Project manage all other elements...so he would use his industry contacts and get prices say for plumbers, carpenters etc and sit down with me and make choices etc...

Of the above, option 3 sounds good to me but I have a budget of X amount and so need a rough idea of what the build will cost and then to add what he will charge so that before I agree anything I know I will have enough left for say a kitchen etc.....!!
I know people will say use (say) 80 ??? euro per square foot for a self build but I presume that is just the ground floor measurments and then what do you add for upstairs area......??

Any thoughts on costing to use here are welcome including a realistic base figure per square foot...


Wrt specs, I have got an example of an engineer and they are quite detailed so I am just editing for my requirements so should be plenty of details for prospective builders...!!

thanks again,

sydthebeat

Technophobe wrote: »

Cheers for the reply guys...

B Links..in answer to your questions:

"If you were going direct labour you would need a hands on project manager, more like a foreman who would coordinate the progress of the works and organise logistics, but also manage quality and cost for you. It would be wise to use someone who has experience in this. (Mr. X might be the man for this role and he could do the blockwork aswell...)
If you are using a (general) builder then you might be better off with a good builder than any builder and a project manager. A good builder will take on this role anyway. You might still want a project manager to tender for you, negotiate with and select the builder, get contracts in place and to keep an objective eye on the project for you (quality, cost and time) if you really intend to have zero involvement.
What exactly do you want the project manager to manage, i.e. what is his/her scope?
Will the PM handle the tender process and selection of the builder or will you?"

I don't envisage having both a Builder and Project Manager as I probably could not afford it anyway...!!

As it now looks, my option will be one of the following if I can afford..

1. Get a builder to build it to an agreed point from detailed specs etc and meet them weekly etc to discuss stuff as the build progresses..
2. Have a Project management company do it and meet them weekly etc to discuss stuff as the build progresses....I have met one company and am awaiting a price....
3. I have since met Mr X and we agreed an approach that may work. He is to revert with costs but basically he would do blockwork etc and Project manage all other elements...so he would use his industry contacts and get prices say for plumbers, carpenters etc and sit down with me and make choices etc...

Of the above, option 3 sounds good to me but I have a budget of X amount and so need a rough idea of what the build will cost and then to add what he will charge so that before I agree anything I know I will have enough left for say a kitchen etc.....!!
I know people will say use (say) 80 ??? euro per square foot for a self build but I presume that is just the ground floor measurments and then what do you add for upstairs area......??

Any thoughts on costing to use here are welcome including a realistic base figure per square foot...


Wrt specs, I have got an example of an engineer and they are quite detailed so I am just editing for my requirements so should be plenty of details for prospective builders...!!

thanks again,

What professional involvement are you going to have....??

A good reputable builder who is overseen (supervised) by a good reputable architect is the best set up.
The architect is your representative on site, he can manage the contract between you and the builder, he can release stage payments, he can certify the work....
You will need to engage an architect / engineer to do most of this anyway, so i think a conglomeration of builder / project manager / architect is overkill for a domestic build....