Building, the right way , the wrong way

[stevewool]

Right for all the folk out there, you have the lot and you are about to knock down or improve the place that is already there, what do you have to do,
I have been told there has to be drawings done and then signed off and then you can start building the place or knocking it down,
But i can get this chap who will do it for a lot less and he will then get someone to build it,
CAN THIS BE DONE, IS IT RIGHT, OR IS IT WRONG

I am asking to see the plans before i send any money over and we also want to have a input in what is being done if we are putting in the most of the money too, am i being unreasonable about this,

So what i am really asking is there short cuts to get this done but could come back to bit you later or is there only the right way of doing this too, but remember we are here and they are there and what is being spent on what and when too

[tiger31]

ok steve, the best advice i,m going to give you and others will back me up here. Do not build anything unless you are present you will thank me for this advice in the future trust me. As for building, well I had plans drawn up by the builders friend he showed me the plans and the costings stage by stage and i,m watching everything they do, because if you do not watch things on the ground a lot can happen. Shortcuts will be taken, sub-standard materials will be used, materials will go missing, labour hours will be stretched because you,re not there. When the contractor is about, the workers are busy, but if he goes away for a while I catch them sitting about, they suddenly jump up and start working again, all these little things mount up in time and money.

[tiger31]

As far as i,m aware they won,t make you knock something down if it,s not built right lol unlike in the u.k. The less city hall are involved the less money you need to fork out lol.

[fred]

I agree totally with Tiger.. The odds of everything going pear shaped will be much reduced by being there to supervise.. That said, you really need to know how to read a plan or pay an engineer to check things at least twice a week otherwise, whats the point?..Important to check things like the batter board layout, foundations, Posts and beams integrity, etc etc etc etc..

Don't rush into anything if I were you..You could lose a bucket load of cash and end up with a substandard structure..

From memory I gave quite a bit of info in my first post here..

http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....ruction+thread

[Michael Parnham]

Get a family member you can trust to oversee everything, it will pay to reward him accordingly!

[raynaputi]

I can only agree with Tiger and Fred. When our house was rebuilt last year, my uncle & brother made the plans/drawings and did all the things regarding building a house from scratch (my uncle is an architect and my bro is an engineer so we save lots of money from that). My parents did all the supervising when it comes to materials to be used, labours, etc. and they were there in the place everyday. Like what Tiger said, things won't be done properly if it's unsupervised.

[stevewool]

thanks for the great advice, but we cannot be there, sister in law is taking over everything - but not my purse i may add,