Episode 6 is the final episode of the 4 phases of the build process, this last stage is construction. This is where the fun begins, and you get to see your project come to life. If you have done the previous 3 stages correctly this stage will be a breeze. We discuss variations, site meetings and the process throughout the build.
Episode 6 is the final episode of the 4 phases of the build process, this last stage is construction. This is where the fun begins, and you get to see your project come to life. If you have done the previous 3 stages correctly this stage will be a breeze. We discuss variations, site meetings and the process throughout the build.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to building with Bluebird, the design and renovation podcast brought to you by Christian Case and Jeremy Thomason directors of Bluebird design and build highlighting the dos and Don's of renovating or building your dream home. This podcast will give you the insider's guide to the home building journey, as well as interviewing other industry specialists, Christian and Jeremy bring their knowledge and expertise to the table for you. The people now let's get into this episode and if you enjoy, please like share and subscribe.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome back to building with Bluebird episode six. Today we're finalizing the four phases of the build process, which is stage four, which is if you've done the previous steps correctly, this should be a walk in the park.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, that's right. So this is when you are gonna see all that hard work that you've put in, in the previous stages or sort of come to fruition, you've signed contracts and your builder's gonna get on site start setting up. Hopefully it should all be smooth sailing. As you said, if everything's been set up correctly, proper ation, good detailed quote. You're not gonna have any problems and you'll read through it this next stage, that's
Speaker 2 (01:07):
It? It should be, um, an enjoyable experience. And this is when it actually starts to get fun.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
It is. Yeah. We do hear a lot of stories about people never wanting to build or renovate again. When you talk to people, I don't think we've had many or, or
Speaker 2 (01:21):
If they have said
Speaker 3 (01:22):
It said that we've generally had really good experience with our clients, which are super grateful for.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah. And I think it's because we set it up correctly so that if the steps are followed, that this construction phase is the, the enjoyable phase. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
And it, I mean, it is construction, so there's always gonna be things that pop up.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah. It's how you handle it,
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I guess. Yeah. Especially with custom them homes, because it's not like it's been built before, so it doesn't always go to plan. There probably will be something that needs to be dealt with, whether it be big or small throughout the job. And I think it just comes down to, as you said, how you handle it and communication.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah. And having those correct processes in place the, so that they do pop up, you know, exactly what needs to be done. Yeah. And you just tackle it head on.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
So you've just signed your contract and you're starting to get into the start of the build. So what's first is obviously the deposit. The builder will invoice you for the deposit, depending on the price of the build. Normally it's 5% from there you get, normally, depending on whoever's looking after building approval, they'll get the approval and they'll also pay for the insurances they need. So here in Queensland, we get, um, home warranty insurance through Q B, C, and you pay your Q leave as well. Um,
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Our friends at Q B, C.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah. So shout out, they, um, we'll pay those things straight up and then basically get to work. And that's probably really the only document that you normally need to pay front.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Yeah. So we'll set once we've paid those, we'll get the receipts and send those over to the certifier. Yep. We'll give them to you the client and you can send them to your certifier. And then once the certifier's got those, they can pretty much, hopefully they've done most of the building approval documentation and approvals by now, and then they can just basically sign off and give you the, the okay. To start getting on site and building.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So, yeah, just quick with that, the general public can't issue drawings to council. So you need to go to a private certifier. They need to be engaged by either you or the, and they'll give you a list of things that they require that being structurals architecturals or drafting plans. Those insurance is paid as well by and having a license builder pay for them. And then yeah, you give them the certificates and then they'll give you the drawing stamped, depending on where you are in terms around turnaround time building, if you go risk smart, which is basically the council's prerequisites, and you're just sort of designing to the code, you can get it through pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
How quick they're doing those at the moment.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Oh, it used to be 10 business days, but I think it's blown out to 15 business days. Yeah. So yeah. Obviously engaging certifier and then paying for it all. And you get your drawing stamp pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
So that's too bad. A turnaround. No,
Speaker 2 (04:02):
I think working at the, yeah, especially at the moment because of the lead time with materials getting, paying you deposit to your builder and then him issuing the drawings and everything to the certifier, you'd normally got enough time at the moment. Um, whereas back in the day when we could sign a contract and start two weeks later, there's no longer can happen at all due to the material shortages.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yeah. Not really viable at the moment, just with having to sort of work out what your longest lead item is, whether it be trusses or a floor system, and then reverse engineer a start date. Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So at the moment we're in it's April, tomorrow. Oh, 2022, the, yeah, the, the, um, the lead time for us signing contract actor, starting dirt is about three months at the moment based on two to three months based on material delays,
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Depending on the type of job as well. Yeah. Like for a new build that's, that's accurate, but maybe if it's a, just a refit or a smaller renovation, then we could start quicker.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah. It's just making sure we can get those materials in time. Yeah, that's
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Right.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Your builder should be alert you to that prior to signing contracts. So always have your agreed start date in place prior to signing contracts. I guess obviously if banks are involved, you wanna have those sorted first. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah. So once that's all sorted, the next step really is the builder turning up on site and starting to establish themselves there. Yep. So heading up the toilets and work areas, um, getting the surveyor out to pin out the construction areas, the new footprints, and just getting basically set up and established so that they can sort of then start to roll out the next stages of the build.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yep. So how often do you communicate with the clients on site? I guess, cause this is where you, you come into play,
Speaker 3 (05:43):
So we'll do a, normally do a pre-start meeting. So just as we're starting, we'll meet with the clients on site. If it's a renovation, we'll normally walk through the existing house with them sort of mark out any things, items that they're trying to keep or retain, or what
Speaker 2 (06:00):
About existing services on site?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
So we'll have always have our dial before you dig. Yep. We'll have those just downloaded right at the start of the process. And then we'll get the services locator out as well to mark out stuff so that we don't, depending on the job, of course, like if we're not doing excavation or digging peers or whatever, we might not need to do that. But if we're excavating and putting in new foundations in footings, we'll get the services locator out, mark out where gas and power and phone line and stuff like that is so that hopefully we don't hit it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah. You don't wanna hit a sewer.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
No. I mean, it's not always where the dog, before you dig plan, say it is, and we've definitely found services a few times. Yes. It's something we try to avoid. Cause it does become expensive.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah. So basically capping those services at your boundary is ideal. Yeah. Especially for RA and build or a new home.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
Yeah. A hundred percent like new build RA and build something like that. We're doing a lot of foundation work and excavation. We we'll cut it all off at the boundary and then normally in install on new services from the house out to the boundary. So everything's brand new.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
And one question we always get asked is about keeping power on always keep power on because you need it throughout the build. So if it is a full knock down and rebuild or a renovation, we will get the local provider out to sling it to either a temporary power pole or a permanent power pole. If we need to move the house.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Yeah. I mean, depending on the job, if it's the power's gonna be rec disconnected from the structure of the house, we normally like to put in a permanent power pole in the front corner. Yeah. It just means energetics can come out once, take the power off the house, put it on the new power pole and then it's hooked up forever. And we don't have to get jacks back out at the tail end of the build.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah. And you're not double paying for it, I guess, because if you're paying for a power, a temporary power pole and then having to get it that's track
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Back on. And the problem is energetics generally, never on time when they come out to rehook the power up. So when you're trying to, you know, get towards a handover and they're misbehaving it difficult.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
And also if you're trying to raise the house and they haven't disconnected it in time yeah. That can hold up the whole process as well. So that's why we sort of advise a power pole out the front. If you can hide it in one of your front corner boundaries, it's also great for your meters as well. So if you've got them built into your, to your boundary front, front fence. Yeah. Yeah. You can have meter readers.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I think it looks better who not having the power slung to the front face of the Gable or, um, building, just having it sort of to a power pole in the front. You get a nicer front elevation.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah. And also even if you've got issues with posums, I guess we've got a lot of, we work in inner city houses and it's a lot of issues with posums running on roofs and at 3:00 AM and having a party up there. So having that, that, well, they get access to the, um, the house by the power line. So if you've got that slung to the power pole front, those little guys can't get up there anymore.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Yeah. Posum highway.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah. So obviously the next step is how do you communicate with your builder throughout the build and what is probably ideal and how do you keep those lines open, I guess.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah. So depending on the size of the job, you're gonna be dealing with your builder for yeah. For, if it's a brand new home for at least six to eight months, if it's a renovation who knows, but yeah. Minimum, we probably deal with clients now with the jobs we do would be six months. So yep. You're gonna be together for a while. So it's best to make it like open lines of communication and, or just like get along, be really upfront with each other. If you're feeling something's not going well, or there's something you're getting upset about it's best just to,
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Or something you don't under.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Yeah. Something you don't understand. It's best just to bring it up straight away and just talk it through because you don't wanna sort of just keep putting things to the side and then start to get worried about how the build's going. So yeah, just having a really good open communication, both ways client and builder is really important, uh,
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Saying that don't call your builder at eight o'clock at night. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Unless it's like an emergency
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Don't call your builders or your builder or your trades after work hours, unless the house is
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Flooding or on
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Fire or flooding. Yeah. It can wait till the next day. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
There's never
Speaker 3 (10:07):
An issue. It might seem like an emergency to you at the time, but the chances are, we've dealt with it before and it's probably not as big a deal as you think. So unless it's an emergency don't, don't call after hours. It's probably one of the best ways to get a builder or your sub's offside. Yeah. Disrupting their home and family life for something that isn't critical to talk about.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah. Well that's it, most, most people have families or they need their downtime. So the best way to do that is if you, if something's really bothering you, just shoot. 'em an email. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah. For sure.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
And then obviously like the way we op there's software out there, we use a software where our clients get a log on and that's a great way to communicate so they can see where the builds are at at all time. But also it's a great way to keep all communication in there.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yeah. So I know a few builders that use, we use builder trend, but there's a few around and it's just, I know a few other guys that use, it's a really helpful tool. We upload photos and files and we have the schedule and we update the schedule once a week yep. In our construction meeting. So it's updated weekly. So the clients can log in and see how the job's tracking and how your handover date's looking. It's tough to sort of at the moment, it's really hard to sort of stick bang on those handover dates, just with delays and things like that. None for seeing ins,
Speaker 2 (11:17):
But yeah. In the large amount of rain we've had.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah. I, I think that's why good software is really important because it, the clients can log in and see exactly where everything's at.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah. You can definitely communicate that as well,
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Weekly. So as well as that, we'll have a one generally a once a month site meeting with the clients where they're allowed to come out to site and have a look through and we'll talk to the 'em about the job and anything, we need to gain more information on maybe the way something's finished or something that's not a hundred percent clear on the plans. So that's a really good way to get them on site and involved as well once a month.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah. And that sort of aligns with like your slab being poured or your frame being finished.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yeah. That's right. You don't wanna do it too often because you just, you get back to site and while things have been happening, it's, they're not big changes. So yeah. That's why we do it sort of once a month. And the rest of the time we communicate through the, um, builder trend software and through email. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Um, and then definitely like a walkthrough when you've got all to rough in for electrical and plumbing.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
That's right. So we will always do that with the client. We'll do a pre aligning meeting with them on site, just make sure all the electricals switches and GPOs and everything are in the right spot where they need them and make sure the plumbing taps and mixes and shower heads are all bang on where they were envisaging, much cheaper to make a move now than after it's sheeted and possibly waterproof and tile. So that's the step we always get them on site for. Yep. So yeah, generally that's when we allow access to site outside of those hours, we can arrange meetings with clients and most builders will be the same, happy to organize a meeting. If there's something you really need to discuss. But I guess, yeah, it's really important that clients don't go onto site after hours.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah. That's sort of big one. It's quite dangerous.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
It is dangerous. Cuz there could be, you know, we could have trenches open with reinforcing steel in them for footings and scaffolding. It's just not a, if you're not sort of trained and licensed, it's not a safe spot to be. I know with renovations, you know, where clients have lived somewhere for years and it's actually their home. They always tend to want to come around after work, after the builders have left and have a bit of a sticky beak. Yeah. But it's really not safe. And just, I think it's important that clients sort of don't do that.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah. And you'll find most times on the contracts, it says that the, a builder needs to be contacted and advised that you're going on site because it's actually a bit of a safety issue. But also it's an insurance issue because you're not licensed or don't have the correct construction cards. You probably shouldn't be on site without your builder or Lee carpenter or an organized arranged time with them. So in terms of accessing on a Sunday or something like that, which is what most people do, it's sort of frowned upon. So that's why we try to have as many meetings as possible and make you make client feel as much involved. Just talk, Just talk to your builder.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Yeah. Yeah. Good communication. I think the other thing is too, if people are walking around on a site without their builder or one of the subies and they see things, they think might be a problem, they can get really worried about things, but it's, it could it's most likely just a normal thing that needs to be finished or yeah. Whatever. And I think that's where a lot of, um, especially in the Reno game, that's where a lot of people start to freak out and contact their builders after hours worried about things. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Like worrying, oh, this hasn't been done that hasn't
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Been done, but it's like,
Speaker 2 (14:36):
But that's meanwhile that's already been programmed into the schedule. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
That's gonna be finished off tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah. Or something like that. So that's why it's great to just open the line of communication with your builder and just have a chat to them.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
So that goes next to how long does a build take and at the moment and material shortages, I guess is probably a big one we should touch on.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah. I think like brand new homes, I used to be a two level home used to be able to smash out in sort of six months. I think just with material shortages and lead times extending that's probably pushed out to about eight for a sort of a custom build two level.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yep. We don't take on liquidated damages at the moment for this reason. It's because it's not because we're disorganized or most builders aren't disorganized. It's the fact that there is fluctuations happening that we just can't control. Yeah. It's just really dangerous and volatile at the moment in terms of shortages on random things like insulation, cabinetry.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah. Everything, doors and windows. Like we're really struggling with our, one of our door and window supplies at the moment telling us that windows are gonna be turning up four week lead time or six week lead time. And we program that into our schedule so that we've got everything ready and then the day you need them, they're not there. And you ring up to find out where they are and they can't tell you. So it's, it is difficult at the moment dealing with some of those type of suppliers. And it's just sort of, it's making those schedules hard to stick to. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah. We sort of allow buffer. Yeah. Um, and I know most builders do, but it's just sort of crazy at the moment. I know there's gonna be another shortage coming up and longer lead times coming up in the two months time. So
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yes. So some of that international turbulence is gonna affect some of the timber supply again. Yep. Which is gonna be good. Fun to try and navigate.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Yes. So that also like yeah, taking into account builders are copying cost increases across the board in most areas. And also just, I guess, being patient with these sort of delays and just talking to him, he all comes back to communication as long as you've got great communication with him. And everybody's just being honest and upfront, the process is quite easy.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah. That's right. As you said, there's a lot of factors outside of builders control at the moment. And if your job is taking a bit longer or things aren't turning up when they're needed
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And you, and you're not getting a good enough reason. Yeah. Like if it's just the, the builders taking
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Ordered something. Yeah. I forgot to order the frames.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah. So don't, I'm I'm guarantee it's happened before, but yeah. In terms of like random delays, like I know cabinetry hinges, there was a worldwide shortage at one point and yeah. Like we order a lot of stuff in advance, which is great. But I know getting tiles from Italy at the moment is getting between 30, 20 to 30 weeks.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
You just wouldn't, you just,
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Would you just like
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Buy stuff that's in stock in Australia?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Well, that's the thing nothing's in stock as well. So I think it just comes back to give and take, just having a chat to builder and just talk and through it.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Yeah. If you're trying to achieve like a really good build with nice finishes, just try not to stress each other out client and builder and just all work together and just make sure that you sort of all work together in that same direction and just get a build that's really sort of finished. Well, you've had time to do it all properly and without stress on each other.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Yeah. And so with obviously stages two and three with design and then costings, hopefully you don't come across too many variations or changes to documentation, but it does happen. People can get in on site and bell visualize the space and be like, oh, I wanna move this and move that, which is fine. Um, as long as you tackle it pretty early on when obviously you said like you do your, your walkthroughs when frames on frames are up and you've roughed in. So making those changes then
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah. I think variations and changes inevitable just because as you said, a lot of people can't visualize what lands are exactly gonna look like. And that's completely fair enough. So as you're sort of walking through the new build and you're seeing the frames go up and you start to being able to actually visualize what the space will be like and sort of the view out from certain windows and over different aspects of the block, that's when you're gonna start to probably think, oh, I could change this or yeah, my Different or change it window or stuff like that. So it's, there will definitely happen throughout a build.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Don't hesitate. Ask early.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Yeah. The sooner the better, because don't
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Sit on it for a couple weeks because in that couple weeks, something could move ahead. So if you want to do a variation, think about it straight away. Yeah. Just know that it's gonna be an additional charge and it will add time to the build no matter what.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Yeah. So even if you don't end up proceeding on a variation, the time that the builder has to then go and research what the variation is, what materials, price it up that will generally stop guys on site doing what they had planned. Yeah. And it will impact the timeline. Even if it's only a few you days it will have an impact. So even if the variation doesn't proceed, you're still generally sort of slowing down the pace of the build.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
And unless you're doing like a hu with a big spec builder, you're normally dealing with mom and dad company. So they work during the day out on site and then they go home and quote. So
Speaker 3 (19:48):
After dinner. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Well once yeah, they've got a family they've family time and then sitting there watching TV or whatever and they they've gotta put these quotes together. So just keep that in mind that you're not obviously chopping and changing constantly. So because that will affect your build time, your costings. But also if you keep changing things constantly, the trade will get frustrated over time and they won't be as willing to, to help you out, I guess.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah. Like variations is gonna be at least one. Yeah. We all know it's always builds. So just don't make a hundred. Yeah. If you can, or 200 yeah. Or 200. So in one of those,
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It happens. So don't feel bad and just get onto it early and communicate it once again and just go through that process and just understand, it will add time to your build. And every little change means it's a contract change. So whether contractually, you are supposed to issue a depending on what the contract you use, but a contract saying that the builder has seen the drawings and he is accepted it. And if he's, if there's no cost, at least he's told you that he's accepted it. And this is part of forming party contract, or they'll give you a variation charge with an extension of time and some costings.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yeah. So the other thing is builders should be putting QBCC home warranty on the variations as well. Yep. A lot of people forget to do it just because they don't think about it. But I think if Q BCC catch you for,
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Yeah, you gotta fine
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Doing variations and not then because your build contract price has gone up. They like to get paid. They do,
Speaker 2 (21:19):
They like to their
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Handout to get paid. So yeah, there'll be a slight charge on the variation as well for QBCC home warranty for that increase in cost of the whole contract. Yep.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So the next thing's obviously payments throughout the build.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
And just before that, so variations, some builders do charge variation fees, some don't yep. We do charge a variation fee. Yep. And it's just to help cover the time of us then having to stop work, do another quote for the very talk to the subby, put it all together. I know some builders say they don't, but generally they'll be,
Speaker 2 (21:54):
There'll be yes for
Speaker 3 (21:55):
Margination in it just to cover their time. So it's not about panelizing the client for making a variation or it's not for us anyway. Yeah. It's just about being paid for the time for that extra work that we have in all out for within the original quote.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yes. So yeah, essentially we're stopping everything we've organized in the previous stage where we're trying to be super organized to make it efficient across the build. We've gotta sort of stop and get into it and cost it again, which is fine. It's just, there's give and take with all of this.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So next one's payment throughout the build. How many payments should you expect throughout the build and invoiced? So depending if you are using what contract you're using, there's multiple different ways. You can have periodic payments, which is you've got your deposit and then it can be monthly charges.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
So that's just based on the, the work that you've done on site.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Oh, it's not, yeah. It's a percentage of the work. Yeah. But it's broken out into either a month or fortnightly payments, depending on the size of the job. You've got your, if you do a cost plus contract, it'll normally be associated cost with that and they give you a breakdown and their margin on top of it. You've also got your stage payments, which is most common when banks are involved, which is like your, so you
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Have cost deposit.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah. Slab stage frame, stage lock up stage, fix out stage. And the reason they do that is because it's such a visual barrier or basically a visual item that you can sort, you know, that the frames are finished and you can see that on site,
Speaker 3 (23:24):
The bank can send someone out and quantify it easily. And then
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Banks like as well. Yeah. So banks like that as well, because they're paying up to a certain amount and if the builder or something happens, they can start from that point onwards. Yeah. Without paying out too much money. Yeah. Just a thing that a heads up that no one, if you're doing, was it over 50 or in terms of the fee, you cannot be charging more than 5% for a deposit. Can't remember what
Speaker 3 (23:52):
The, yeah. That's right. So if the job's over $20,000, that's one, the maximum deposit allowable is 5%. So that's for builders and subcontractors,
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Unless the more than,
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Unless more than 50% of work off site work has been fabricated offsite.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah. So that's like say you're engaging a cabinet maker and they're doing most of their work offsite construction
Speaker 3 (24:13):
That's right. Yep. And then bringing it to site sort of pretty well finished.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah. I've heard some wild stories of people trying to get deposits for 20% up front, which is just a big Nono for me. That's red, is it? Yeah. Hundred percent. But yeah. Going through those payments, you should be able to, when you get a, an invoice, there should be an associated meeting with that as well. It's normally after one of our meetings that we're at practical, like that stage is finished. So like a frame stage is when we're on site with the client, they can see that the frames are completed. So then normally that afternoon they'll get a, um, an voice for frame completion, same with the roofs on. So they can see the roofs actually on you wanna be seeing what you're paying for. So don't just blindly be paying invoices. And if you're getting some random invoices around the place, I'd be asking why and another one with that subby should not be invoicing you directly. If you've engaged a builder to do the job, the builder should be sending you a single invoice for that stage. And his subies should be invoicing the builder.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I've heard of a few jobs where the subies have tried it on cuz he's having a falling out with the builder or the builder's not paying him. So then they send their invoice straight to the client, do not pay it unless you've engaged them directly and got a contract with them. Yeah. You only pay voices that you've got a contract with.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
And then so with just it, with payment terms like builders will have different terms of how quickly they'll want that invoice paid after it's been issued anywhere from seven to 28 days. If you are actioning things and need to send them off to the bank, get, get them off to whoever they need to go to quick. Especially if the bank needs to approve an invoice. Yeah. The day you get it from the builder, just send it straight onto the bank because they can take some time.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yeah. I haven't seen anybody process under, in under two weeks at the moment. Yeah. So yeah, if your builder's not getting paid, he's not gonna be happy.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Yeah. So if you do let an invoice drag on the build, depending on how long, like the builder will probably keep working for a little bit, but generally they'll, they'll get a bit shirty after a while. If an invoice is, is late, because that really starts to affect their cashflow and they've got big ins and big outs and they need to keep paying everyone to keep it all moving in the right direction. So they'll get to that point eventually where they'll just stop, work on site and then you've gotta a site sitting there with nothing happening and you're probably paying interest on all that money, but nothing's happening so important to action those invoices quickly. And just that also keeps the relationship flowing smoothly.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Yeah. So that like time at the, um, to like, to probably, I think demonstrate the backend, we can, as a builder can, uh, being used as a bank. Really. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
We are. We really are.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
So at some points we can be, I dunno, depending on the size of the job, we can be carrying a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of bills getting to a certain stage. So paying those like it flow. And so if we're not getting paid, then the subies obviously aren't getting paid as well because obviously
Speaker 3 (27:09):
We're the conduit for
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah. We're the bank basically
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Whole yeah. For the whole job and everyone that works on the job.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah. So if, if money stops flowing in, because stage payments aren't getting made, then a lot of building companies don't have half a million dollars of money to float and sort of sit there and just pay everybody else off while they wait for the money to come in. Yeah. So if you want your bill to continue on just pay on time, pay
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Those bills.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah. So obviously if you've got through your build, you're paying on time, you've got all your variations sorted what's
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Everyone's happy. That's yeah. That's it. That's a happy build.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Ah, everyone's happy except for, I guess the homeowner and we've got this new mortgage, but um, at least you've got a beautiful home.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
Yeah, that's
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Right. So now you obviously you've gone through all that. You get to your handover.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Yeah. Handover. There's a few steps and stages to that. It'll be sort of a pre defect or a pre handover walkthrough, just doing an initial defects list. And just trying to capture a lot of those little niggles and whatnot that need to be attended to, or fixed like little bits of pain or whatever. It might be. Maybe some cabinetry doors not working properly.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
There's no builds that ever in the history. I can never say that I've never had a defect, so don't stress
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Out out. I had one the other day. Oh,
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Right. Yeah. Um, so there's always something
Speaker 3 (28:25):
And that's why a defect period goes for 12 months because as you move into the home and start to use it, things will happen. Things will uncover things that aren't sort of working properly. And that just might be cuz you've got a faulty mixer tap or something like that. But as you start to use the house, things will pop up. And that's why defect direct rectify last for 12 months. So that those little things can arise and the builder or sub can come back and, and knock them on the head and, and fix them and get them working as they should. So yeah, they'll just beforehand over, it'll be sort of do that, that pre handover defect list and, and try and just knock over as many as you can beforehand over. So you're not in their too much after handover, I'll have all the Silicon sealing being done to all the sort of junctions of the wet areas and skirtings meeting floorboards and all that sort of stuff. And then we'll have the builders clean come through and do a full professional clean in the house, all the cabinets, all the seals and windows and just basically everything getting the house ready for occupation.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
And just note that, even though you get a builder's clean, which normally is pretty good, the house is still settling. So there's always a dust.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Yeah. There's like, there's just dust coming out of everything. Yeah. So
Speaker 2 (29:38):
It's in air vents and like, even if you clean out the ducting, normally we've got the air con running for a few days prior to handover to get all that dust out before the cleaner comes. But there's always dust. Like it just, especially if you haven't got landscaping done or are they in the process of
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Landscaping? Yeah. So it can just sort of come in under the doors and yeah, that is one thing. So you'll have the builders clean done, and then the next day there's a bit more dust showing up, which is
Speaker 2 (30:01):
It's just
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Pain. So you're normally in there with your cleaning gear in a bit of a one, so right.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
It does my head in,
Speaker 3 (30:07):
But yeah. So once all that's done, essentially, then whoever's engaged the certifier, the builder, or the client will arrange the certifier to come and do their final inspection. And they'll basically just go through the home and make sure that everything's built to Australian standards and the construction code. Yep. Just checking everything's sort of up to scratch really.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yeah. And throughout the build also the build of receiving certificates from their trades, so,
Speaker 3 (30:32):
And yeah. Trades and engineers and things
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Like that. Yeah. So like you have your frame sign off to make sure it's, everything's been built as per the engineering drawings. You'll have your waterproof certificates. You'll have your glazing certificates. You'll have your slip rating for your stairs. What else is there? There's electrical. There's
Speaker 3 (30:48):
Plumbing. There's there's so many now like, yeah. I used to be able to remember them off the top of my head, but every certifi is different. Like you get two pages of certificates that they want now. And a lot of it's just them passing off liability.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Yeah. So it'll, it comes back to us a
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Builder or a tradesman.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Yeah. It ends up being like 20 certificates. Um, yeah. The certifier will give you that list at the beginning of the job
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Does feel like they're
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Ah, just,
Speaker 3 (31:13):
It's just a bit ridiculous now how many certificates they want, but anyway, that's the way it is. So that's what we have to do. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
So the builder will hand over those certificates to the, and then you'll get your form 21. I think it still is that basically the house is being built to code
Speaker 3 (31:30):
And ready for occupation ready for you to move into your new home.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah. So you'll get that normally in the, the handover pack, which for us, we've we hand over all your, your warranty packs, a little booklet, I guess, with the folders and it has all your instruction manuals for all your appliances. What else is
Speaker 3 (31:47):
That? Yeah. Aircons all that
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Sort of all your remotes. Yeah. Remotes is a big one. They always go walk about
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Walking on the wall.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yeah. And the keys and everything like that. So that should all be handed over at that handover meeting. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
So, um, probably one to talk about is the final payment, because I know a lot of, well, most builders won't release certification and handover keys. Yep. Until they've received the final payment, I know clients often like to try and retain a little bit of money, which is called retention. Yep. To make sure that, you know, everything's fine and working, but generally contractually, unless you've agreed to retention yeah. In your contract, that's not in line with the contract terms. So holding back money from the final payment, just to make sure that any defects that may arise get fixed is not the way to do it.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Yeah. It's normally actually a breach of contract if that clause is not in the, the contract. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
So it's normally, yeah. You'll pay all your fees and your final invoice and then you can get
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Everything. Yep. So in our case, generally, we'll invoice you prior to that final inspection. Yep. And then once that payment is cleared, we'll then sort of trigger us, giving you the, all those certificates to the, the certifier, all the final certification, if we're managing the certifier and handing over the keys.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Yes. So that's probably a good episode to get into, I guess, is like a full in depth of each contract. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Yeah. That's right. Yeah. That'd be a good one
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Because yeah. It's a bit of a minefield in terms of who's doing what, and obviously your rights as a client and a rights as a builder. Yeah. Um, so then obviously everything's gone smoothly, which it always does and
Speaker 3 (33:22):
Then smooth sailing
Speaker 2 (33:23):
You've handed over and then you get into defects and warranty periods. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Yeah. It might sound a bit stressful, but handover is, is an exciting time because both for you, the client and the builder, because, you know,
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Except you've gotta move house
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Except for the moving house part. But you know, you're really excited to get into your new home. You've spent so much time on the design and, and it's finally nearly finished. And again, for the builder, like they've spent a lot of time with you as well. So they're excited to see this product come to life and to be able to sort of hand it over to you so that you can move in and start enjoying it with your family.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Yeah. And feel free to message the builder after to come back for a beer. Cause I know we've had it a few times and I know it goes from like being a relationship where you're hanging out with and speaking all the time to then you've sort of, you're breaking up sort of because
Speaker 3 (34:10):
It's a break
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Up. Yeah. Because the build's finish and then we've gotta as a job, we've gotta move on the next build. Yeah. So then the homeowner is sort of like, oh, this sort of hanging out yeah. With the
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Crew. Yeah. Cuz they do, they form relationships with the carpenters on site and the, all the other subies like,
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah. We've always had that as well. It's always been nice to get an invite back. Um yeah. For a few beers or Christmas party.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Yeah. Where I think we're in pretty good terms with most of our,
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Yeah. It's good. Ask
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Clients.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
It, it actually is. Feels
Speaker 3 (34:38):
Like
Speaker 2 (34:38):
I can think of, there's always a, it feels like a breakup, like yeah, because yeah, I know that obviously one of the jobs, he was just like, oh, I sort of miss you guys. Who
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Do I talk to?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Yeah. They used to come down with sandwiches and stuff like that. So it was, um, it was pretty great. But
Speaker 3 (34:52):
You're gonna have to talk to your family again.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Yeah. That's it. But at least you got a new house, I guess. Uh, so in terms of defects and warranty periods and how long do they go for
Speaker 3 (35:01):
So 12 months for just standard defects. Like as you go through a season change, the house will move around a bit. Doors will, timber doors will start sticking and things will move around a little bit. You might see some cracking around architraves or internal corners of plaster. So all those sort of nonstructural defects are covered for 12 months by the builder. Yep. I, and this is state dependent as well. Every state has different rules. So we're in Queensland. Obviously the structural defects that cover will last for six and a half years. Yep. We haven't had any structural defects. No. That I can think of yet, which is great. There's
Speaker 2 (35:37):
No wood round here to
Speaker 3 (35:37):
Knock on. No, but I mean normal defects, every build will have, it's just the way it is. Um,
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Yeah. Especially I think the shifting is probably yeah. Of the house and the way timber moves. It's a natural product that they're not the end of the world.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
And if clients do, if you're in a build right now and you're sort of wondering what is and what isn't a defect Q's DC actually have a good sort of standard and tolerances guide document,
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Which is the Queensland,
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Which is the Queensland one on their website. And you can sort of see what is considered a defect and what isn't. I know sometimes people like walk right up to a painted wall and put their face against it and say, I can see a little paint spot here. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
And unless you've got like a, a level five issue,
Speaker 3 (36:18):
It just sort of, it makes it really clear for
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Yeah. It's a guideline.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
Yeah, exactly. Makes it clear for the homeowner and also the contractor to say whether it is or isn't a defect. Yeah. So that's sort of the way they work. And that's also just the reason to going right back to the start of the process. This is why go into this with someone that you trust and you think you can work with cuz while your build might only be 6, 12, 18 months or even
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Yeah. Couple months like even,
Speaker 3 (36:46):
Yeah. You're sort of tied to your builder for six and a half years for structural warranty. Yes. So you wanna make sure that you're on a good relationship with them so that they'll come back and look at any problems that you might have and also be around to fix defects. Like
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Yes,
Speaker 3 (37:02):
The structural defect, they've gotta be there in business till six and a half years later. So making sure that you haven't gone for the cheapest
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Builder,
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Absolute cheapest quote, you could find yeah. Where that builder may not be in business in four years when you've got some structural concrete cracking. Yeah. Something that actually needs to be looked at. So yeah. That's sort of the way I think of that as well.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Yeah. Great. Anything else you wanna touch on with that?
Speaker 3 (37:26):
No, I think that's okay. Covered some good points there. Well
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Good. Well, if you've got any questions about any of this, shoot us an email@infoatbluebirddc.com that AU or check out any of our other episodes. If you've liked it, subscribe, follow us and share
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Us up on the gram.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Yeah. And share it to your friends. Thanks. Thanks.