When to engage a builder? This a is a question we hear a lot and one that we believe is not done early enough. The Traditional model is generally going and finding an architect/ building designer whose style you like and then start the design phase before chatting to a builder generally. This commonly leads to designs not aligning with budget as the builder hasn’t been involved to provide feedback on costing or buildability.
When to engage a builder? This a is a question we hear a lot and one that we believe is not done early enough. The Traditional model is generally going and finding an architect/ building designer whose style you like and then start the design phase before chatting to a builder generally. This commonly leads to designs not aligning with budget as the builder hasn’t been involved to provide feedback on costing or buildability.
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: 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'ts 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
[00:00:32] Speaker 2: subscribe. Hi, welcome back to building with Bluebird. You're here with Christian and Jeremy and today, you know, on episode eight, we're gonna be discussing when to engage your builder and what to
[00:00:43] Speaker 1: expect and what to expect.
So today's episode, I thinks probably probably really asked about question and what the correct process is, and it's all we've touched on it a few other times, but today we'll delve into it a little bit more. Sort of explain why we think that a builder should be engaged at the same time as an architect or designer or very early on in the piece.
[00:01:05] Speaker 2: Yeah. So I guess the traditional model or the way that most people think they should do things at the moment is if they've got their land or their sort of house they wanna build or do a renovation on. Traditional model is generally go and find an architect whose style you like or a building designer, and then start the design phase before chatting to a builder generally.
[00:01:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think people get excited and they think that. The correct process is to go out, get a set of drawings or meet with your designer, building designer, harassment architect, and get a set of plans together early on, because obviously it's normally the most exciting part because it's a visual representation of what you want to achieve, but it can sort of lead to a lot of issues down the track.
And obviously waste a lot of time if not done correctly. I think getting everybody, your team together engaged at the same time is the best way to start the job. So engaging that builder either first or alongside when you engage your designer is the best approach to start the project. Yeah. And
[00:02:10] Speaker 2: I don't know if definitely in my time in construction I've seen that architects and building designers do really struggle to.
Designs on a client's budget. So, you know, the last sort of like 10, 15 years, I don't know if that has always been a problem or if it's just because pricing is so hard to keep track of now, or the house designs are starting to get pretty crazy. We see around the place unless standardized. So maybe that has something to do with it.
I don't know, going back before my time, but it's definitely a huge problem. It's rife in the industry now, and
[00:02:44] Speaker 1: it's not their fault. Their job is to design and create yeah. A home for you or project for you. Whereas the builders are there to build it and quote it for you. So
[00:02:53] Speaker 2: where, yeah, that's right. Like you wouldn't employ an architect or a building designer to build your house.
So why would you employ them to essentially quote it and cost it? No, they're there to design it and come up with awesome ideas, which most of them do a really good job of.
[00:03:09] Speaker 1: Same way as builders can't design a house. Like they probably could, but it'd be a box unless you're design and build. Yeah. Yeah. So engaging a builder from the get go, I think getting a collaborative approach between the builder and the designer and getting the teams to work together.
So that just sort of like
[00:03:26] Speaker 2: starting off when you design a house for one of our clients. So how do you, you know, they come to you and they say we've got half a million or a million or a million and a half to spend whatever it is. What's your starting point. Like how do you make sure that you are gonna design something that can be sort of close to their budget?
[00:03:45] Speaker 1: I think obviously for us in house, it's a little bit easier because I see how much our projects cost yeah.
[00:03:51] Speaker 2: On the inside. So you start with the size of the
[00:03:53] Speaker 1: house. Yeah. So the traditional model is. Where a designer architect's engaged, or this is how we've seen it happen since we've been operating the, a design bid build.
Yeah. So they've designed everything they've come out with. Normally a lot of times people will finalize drawings to construction and then come to us. Yeah.
[00:04:12] Speaker 2: Full engineering, full architect. Yeah. Specifications and finishes. Yeah.
[00:04:16] Speaker 1: They're spent up six months designing and getting everything together and then they come to us to cost it and we're like, oh, that's way off.
So,
[00:04:23] Speaker 2: and that could have cost them between like 15. A hundred thousand dollars to get all those documents finalized. And then, as you said to find out at that stage after you've spent maybe six or 12 months of your life and between 20 and a hundred thousand dollars, oh, it's crushing to find out that you now can't build it for the budget that you ha allocated for the project.
So, yeah. So
[00:04:45] Speaker 1: the way we look at it from our in house is sort of I'm across our costings as well. So I know that the size of the building first up square meterage site carriers of the site, sloping like carriers. Um, I've just had a coffee, so it's a bit pasty. And then, and then I'll have a chat to you.
Normally I'll be like, oh, I've just got this in. I'm thinking this range for a price. And then we sort of have a little discussion and then go from there and see if it's feasible. Based on previous jobs or square meterage is a good way to do it because the last thing you wanna do is design something and then bring the house size down because I you've actually pull the finishes out instead of bringing the house size down.
So you wanna bring the house size down from the get go so that you've got the correct size house. So then you can actually spend some money on the finishes. Yeah. So
[00:05:33] Speaker 2: I guess that's our process and the way that we think it should be. Whether you're designing with a builder, like someone like us, or if you are going to an architect and trying to find a builder to work with as well, it's trying to do it in steps.
So that as you just said, start off with the right size house. And then we get to a point where we get some preliminary engineering and some basic architectural plans that have sort of size of house elevations with materials and stuff. And then we do a first costing and that's like stage one to make sure that we are on track because.
With a custom home. There's no sort of exact science to it saying no, every, every home's different cost that, so it's, it's sort of about hitting these stages on the way through doing that first preliminary costing with those documents and then checking in and seeing how the budget is going. So if we're 20% over budget and we need to pull some things back that can be done before you get to the sort of, as you're progressing to the next steps, rather than getting to the end and then having to rip.
The nice tiles and the nice tapware and things like that to pull the
[00:06:35] Speaker 1: budget back. Yeah. So that's why you go speak to your builder or your designer and get the team together and sit down for an initial meeting consult. So yeah, a bit of a, a brainstorming session and say, this is what we're thinking. This is what we want.
We as a builder will give feedback in terms of where we're seeing pricing sit and what we think this house will sort of cost a square meter and then the architect or designer goes off and does their initial concept design, ideally throughout that you want find the architect and designer going back and forth with the builder.
Just having a chat, what they think about things and obviously structure as well. If there's anything candle levering or some crazy voids or anything like that, you sort of just want everybody working together. So that's why you get the builder in at the beginning, just to help out. I
[00:07:24] Speaker 2: think it is about.
As well as just saying, you're gonna get the builder in early, it's about having a designer that will sort of listen as well, because if you probably remember, we used to do this. When we were first trying this process back in the day, many years ago, there was an architect we were working with and we would do these preliminary costings with the architect and say, we think we're sitting about here.
But that was off maybe four or five pages of drawings, like yeah. A site plan, a floor plan, maybe some elevations, but very limited detail. Then we found that that architect would go off and document just without any holes, BARR just. Go hard, like putting in huge concrete structures and crazy tile set outs and tiles, and just things like that.
Just thinking that that first figure was gonna cover it, no matter what they did with the drawings.
[00:08:16] Speaker 1: So, yeah. Which is fine. As long as you've got the budget to cover it.
[00:08:18] Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's just about sort of checking in all the time and making sure that as you are then moving through the process that, you know, blowing the budget by what you're doing from this first stage through to the second and third.
[00:08:30] Speaker 1: Yeah. And that comes with experience, I guess. Yeah. And just really getting that team to work
[00:08:34] Speaker 2: together. Yeah. Getting the team who actually really cares about the process because they know it's gonna. Provide a really good result at the end. Yeah. So at
[00:08:42] Speaker 1: the end of the day, you want to get your builder that's work and the designer that's striving together to get your project off the ground.
Yeah. Because the last thing builders wanna do is price a job that doesn't go ahead and same with designers. And so that sort of leads us to where we get engaged as a consultant from the get go. We're engaged, basically like a, an architect or a building designer or certifier or certifier cert engineer.
Yeah. So it's essentially, you're engaging a builder to work in this and actually spend some time on it because it happens quite a bit in our industry where the builder, the, a client will call up, send through some drawings and just expect the builder to quote it. And then a lot of guys do, they just do it for free.
but then the client will get three, four pages and there's not much detail in it. You don't know how accurate the prices are if they're actually fixed price contracts or anything like that. Yeah. And then they just send it back to the client and they might not have ever met the client and it happens a lot.
[00:09:36] Speaker 2: Um, so yeah, I think that's the other reason to get the builder on as a, like a trusted, I guess, consultant, make sure you find someone that you can work with as a consultant and someone you trust. If you are sort of going through the traditional method of sending your job out to 3, 4, 5 builders in some cases oh, we've had, we've heard of.
Yeah. And you're just looking for the cheapest price, you know, you get what you pay for, and you're probably gonna end up with rubbish, but. There's always someone
[00:10:02] Speaker 1: out there that'll do it for
[00:10:03] Speaker 2: cheaper. Yeah. But from the builder's point of view as well, if they're not getting paid to quote your job for their time and they know they're quoting against five other builders, they're probably not that incentivized to do a very good job of quoting to make sure that all the numbers are accurate.
And a lot of the time they'll put in a lot of PC and PS, which are provisional cost and provisional sum allowances for things that they haven't adequately costed or. And that most often leads to problems when you get into the build phase on site.
[00:10:34] Speaker 1: And it's not because they don't care or they're, um, just not really into it.
It's more the fact that normally on site, most of the days, and then they're quoting at night and they're just trying to knock it out real quick. Yeah. And sort of, yeah, just win the job, but also trying to just manage their day to day processes. So engaging someone early or engaging a builder to work for you.
It makes them actually want to, I guess, show that you're invested for one in the project. Yeah. And you value their time, but also you are wanting to, they can actually spend some time on it because they're not actually doing something for free, like a hundred hours. Easy goes into these quotes that we provide.
Clients. So it's not an easy service. No.
[00:11:16] Speaker 2: And to do it properly, as you said, there's hours like hundreds of hours that go to a quote to do it
[00:11:21] Speaker 1: properly, especially if you're gonna do a full scope of work. So full breakdown of prices. Talk to all your subies about what's been included also going through drawings, reviewing them a lot of the times, like we're finding, unless you've engaged someone to fully detail the job.
A lot of people skim on drawings, which, yeah, it's, that's a whole nother episode we can go into. Yeah. But normally if we don't have enough information, we'll go through with the client. We've got checklists and I know a lot of other builders around the place do as well. And just try to tick off a lot of these items that are missed on drawings.
So they've sort of gotta be compensated for their time. Because they're investing a lot of time into it. It's not as simple. Let's slap some numbers together or just throw an estimate, especially like at the moment, what do we may, 2022, like prices are shifting very quickly. Like you could be able to sit on a price for six months.
I know, two years ago. And yeah, you'd get a, maybe a slight variation. Like now you can have 35% increases. That's right. Getting someone engaged, that's getting paid. And so they should the same way you're paying for drawings yet you are some people skimp or think it's odd for a builder to be charging, to give a quote, but yet they're giving you a breakdown of your
[00:12:34] Speaker 2: house.
Like, yeah. And they're the one that's gonna be building it. Like it's on their
[00:12:37] Speaker 1: license. It's like, there's so much to it. People think just because other builders don't charge for it or they, um, they do this thing. Yeah. Just charging for a quote and it's like, well, no, it's not just a quote. It's a full it's whole, it's a whole service to, yeah.
It's a full proposal. Like yeah. We're reviewing all your drawings, making
[00:12:54] Speaker 2: sure. And to make sure that. From the start that your project will end up at a budget that you're expecting to spend. Not that you'll get to the end and then have to spend more money on redrawing. So it's sort of, it is an investment in the process.
So I think clients should, I know a lot of the ones that we've spoken to value it and that they, they end up having a really good time because it all sort of works out in the end rather than getting to the end and not being able. Build the design. So yeah, at
[00:13:24] Speaker 1: first I think we had a lot of pushback from it.
Yeah. But I think if you explain what's involved and it's not a simple, Hey, give us your drawings and we'll go quote on it. Yeah. It's, let's sit down, go through it. Can we substitute a few things here and there? Yeah. Can we bring your price back into where you need it to be? And then we can sit down with you the designer as well.
Like it's all about working for you. So. Spending this little, little bit of money up front can save you a lot of issues down the track.
Yeah.
[00:13:52] Speaker 2: I think clients should think of it as an investment rather than feel like it's another fee that they're being charged in the consultancy period, a small investment of between like depending on the builder and how much time they're gonna put in the size of the job.
It could be anywhere from a thousand dollars to maybe four or $5,000, if it's a big job. Mm. But. To think if you got all of your documentation finished architecturals engineering, as we said before, that could cost you between 20,000, a hundred thousand dollars. If you get to the end, it's well over budget and you need to do serious re documenting how much money is that gonna cost to have your plans completely changed and reviewed?
[00:14:29] Speaker 1: Yeah. Or either that, or your project managing, you have to be on site and say, I need this to be here and that to be there, like, yeah, you're
[00:14:35] Speaker 2: the, it'll be well in excess of the sort of consultancy of the cost of the builder to help through the design phase. So yes, it is definitely worthwhile and not only the money, there's a huge time component as well.
So. If you get to the end of your design phase and then realize it all has to be redesigned, you could be looking down the barrel of another three to four to five or six months.
[00:14:57] Speaker 1: Yeah. Especially like, say an example of that is say you don't engage a builder. They go through and they quote what's on your drawings and then you get to site.
Then it's not on the plans and you want something and you thought it was in there. And they've just given you a five page quote. How are you to know that that item wasn't included or not included because they haven't spent the time to go through it with you and, or talk to you about it. So that could be a variation which would chew up that consultants fee, like straight away.
It could be doubled easily. Yeah. Yeah. And that's just on one item. So you're better off engaging someone from the get go. Who's gonna be invested in it. They wanna succeed as a project and they're, they're willing to spend that time on it.
[00:15:34] Speaker 2: Yeah. And I think that ties us nicely into our next point of just another reason that you should find someone to work with from the start.
And it's not, it's not only about those financial reasons, but it's also about if you've worked through, with a builder from the beginning, they know your job. Inside out. Yeah. But the time they start on site, they've got the job in their head. They know everything about it. So it's not like they're then getting the finalized documentation being told they've won the tender and Hey, let's get building approval finalized.
Let's turn dirt in a few weeks. So. Yeah. They actually know this job inside out by the time they're ready to get on site. So, and they know you as a person as well. Yeah. So that's gonna cut down a huge amount of mistakes and, and lag time on trying to work out the job because they already know it inside out.
[00:16:22] Speaker 1: But also, yeah, the relationship side, like if you are just going out and getting a HEPA builders to tender and use go the cheapest one and you've never met the bloke. Yeah. Or person. How do you know you're gonna gel with them? Yeah. You get on site and you're spending say you're doing a Reno and you're spending even $500,000.
Like that's $500,000. You're trusting with a stranger. Yeah.
[00:16:40] Speaker 2: Yeah. You wouldn't marry a stranger. So yeah,
[00:16:43] Speaker 1: like some people do, but some people, but, um, a few shows out there, shout out to maths, but. You've gotta invest in finding the right people for your project and getting the team together so that they can work because there's always hiccups on site.
So you wanna be able to have the builder to call the architect or designer and go, Hey, what's your vision for here? Or calling the client
[00:17:04] Speaker 2: bit of a drama here? What, how do we sort of navigate this? Yeah. Or working in that same
[00:17:08] Speaker 1: direction. Yeah. And we've sort of found. If you can get to know the client a bit better, it just makes the process a lot smoother as well.
You can give 'em a call here and there and say, Hey, we've got this, or what's your thoughts on that?
[00:17:19] Speaker 2: Yeah. And you've sort of hopefully built up that trust both between the client and the builder. Yeah. On the way through this whole phase. So when they do ring you about something that may be a legitimate variation, you sort of built up that trust.
So you don't automatically think that they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes and, you know, just stitch you up out of money.
[00:17:38] Speaker 1: Yeah. And also the fact that you spent time with 'em, you know, how their business operates, you've seen how they operate. You've met their team. Yeah. The last thing you're gonna go do is invest all this money and you don't have a clue about their business.
You've just seen a number on a paper. Yeah. So going through that whole process, engaging it from the beginning is just the ideal setup. And you're setting yourself up for success then. Yeah, that's
[00:17:59] Speaker 2: right. And just coming back to that as well. Like the process, as we said, the design phase can take anywhere from six to 12 to 18 months, depending on the project and the size of it.
But then you take into account construction could be anywhere from six months to two years. Yeah. And then after that, you've got 12 months of defect liability, plus six and a half years of structural liability. Yeah. So you and the builder are tied together. Could be from anywhere six and a half years, six to eight years.
By the time you take into the design phase. So you wanna make sure that if you get five years down the road and there's for instance, a structural problem with the house that the builder is still in business and can come and chat to you about it and sort of look at a solution to fixing it. If it is a defect well,
[00:18:43] Speaker 1: that's it.
Yeah, just getting that relationship together and getting everybody on board from the beginning is just so paramount and success, I guess. And communication, like going back to that point where if you've never met him before, how are you gonna communicate with him? You just, you don't know. So getting on board and they work together with your designer and sort of, we learn from each other as.
Because architects and designers don't know costings, they'll say they do, but I've yet to see it. And that's not their fault.
[00:19:11] Speaker 2: No, that's
[00:19:12] Speaker 1: not what they're, they're great at doing what they do. Yeah. And so the same as a lot of architects out there starting to get QSS involved with quantity surveyors. And with this changing market, I just think it's too dangerous.
Like you're engaging someone, who's probably got a commercial background or that's their training for that. And they're using standard industry rates.
[00:19:31] Speaker 2: Yeah. Which are old because those rates are sort of documented once they have all the, by the time the catalog of rates comes out, it could be, you know, three, six months old.
So yeah. You're already well behind the eight ball in terms of what things cost.
[00:19:43] Speaker 1: Yeah. And like I've seen, I saw one recently where a building designer was like, oh, I'll get a QS involved in your concept stage. And I sort of questioned, why are you doing that? And they're like, well, they can sort of quote it.
And I'm like, well, why wouldn't you get a builder? Yeah. And he's like, oh, well, it's just a great way to get a costing to see where it's at. And it's like, Well, yeah, but the builder can actually provide you an accurate
[00:20:02] Speaker 2: cost. Yeah. What's the point. If what's the difference accurate, if it's not accurate, it's completely pointless.
[00:20:07] Speaker 1: And the thing is they, can't a QS. Can't actually build a house. Like I understand QSS have their place. I just don't feel that it works in the residential space. Yeah. And that's probably probably get a few emails about that, but anyway, I think they're definitely great in co. Or multi tendencies or anything like that, but in a residential house, I think it's a waste of money.
Why not put that towards engaging a builder from the get go? So they're actually providing that same report that a QS can provide. Yeah. But they can actually sign a contract and you can build based on that. Yeah. And then, you know, it's accurate, they're putting their business behind that. Yeah.
[00:20:41] Speaker 2: I think the QSS in residential terms on more simple homes, like project style builders, where, where labor can be quantified in terms of lineal or square meterage rates.
Like, you know, it's this much to stamp premium. Oh yeah. Wall frames or it's this much to install a floor system, et cetera. I think the qrsss can be semi. In the residential space in those areas. But when you then start to talk about a RA and build, or a, a high level architectural spec house where labor components cannot be quantified by a meterage rate.
Yeah. It's really about knowing
[00:21:17] Speaker 1: or without even seeing the existing house.
[00:21:19] Speaker 2: Yeah. It's really about. When you get into that. So stuff, it, it is more accurate with the builder because the builder knows how they're gonna build that house. Have a good stab at how long it's gonna take them. Generally, labor always costs more than what we allow.
Yeah. But it is a lot more accurate. So
[00:21:35] Speaker 1: yeah. So you just engage the right person for the right job and someone who can actually, I guess, back that up in a way that if you are getting a builder to quota, they can actually build it. So it just makes sense to get them on board early. Pay them to do the job instead of paying somebody else.
That's just gonna give you a piece of paper with some line items on it. Yeah. And there's no, like how do you know that's accurate? Yeah. And it's made us come unstuck a few times where QS has given a figure to the architect and the client and all, and they've progressed from the concept to documentation.
And then we get it and we're like, what is going on here? Like we're three, 400 K off. And they're like, well, the QS said this and I'm like, well, the QS is not building it. Yeah. So they haven't taken into a. Anything that's changed in the market. They're just working on industry rates or especially in custom homes.
There's no, I guess set formula for it. Like you said, that's all square meterage on a brand new home or those sort of items, something that's repetitive, but in the residential renovation game, there is no two homes at the same, unless they're exact same home. There is no,
[00:22:39] Speaker 2: which comes, yeah. I guess comes back to the project model where yeah.
Uh replicatable so those costs are sort of same, same, same apart from many changes in the market of materials and whatnot.
[00:22:50] Speaker 1: Yeah. So that's why getting a builder on board at the beginning to help guide that process will keep the design in, in line. And also help and I hopefully help you keep you on track to get the project going ahead.
Yeah. So
[00:23:02] Speaker 2: I guess, how do people work out? So they've decided they wanna start a project, a renovation or a new build. Yeah. They need to find a designer and a builder that in a work together,
[00:23:12] Speaker 1: I guess find a builder. That's got an architect. They work with that they like, or a building designer. Yeah. See, it all depends on what style you want.
Some people are attracted to a certain style, so that's why they've normally gone to that architect or building designer, cuz they follow them on social media or they've seen one of their houses floating around, but other way around if you've seen a builder that you like or you know, a builder and then they've got a team that they work with, then.
They sort of trust, then normally that's another way to find it, but either way you engage both of them at the same time to then work together and catch up and sit down and go
[00:23:42] Speaker 2: through it. Yeah. I know we've mentioned this previously in other episodes, but probably one of the first things to ask you design is how they know their design rates per square meter.
And just a few initial questions like. Well, how do they cost their projects? If they say we've got no idea, fine, you need to find a builder to bring along. And at least they're being honest. Yeah. At least they're being honest and then ask them, are they happy to work with alongside a builder so that you can all sort of work together?
[00:24:09] Speaker 1: That'd actually be pretty refreshing for a building designer architect to turn around and go, yeah. Say I've got no idea. I have zero idea. Let's get a builder on board from the beginning. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah. That'd be like that architectural designer would be just killing it because every project would go ahead.
Yeah. Let's try and find one. Yeah. or you could
[00:24:25] Speaker 2: work with us and yeah. Or find yeah. A company like us that have in-house designs. Yeah. So that, you know, that they have that actual knowledge of construction methods and costing. And, but there is
[00:24:36] Speaker 1: actually a lot of the architects coming through now I've found more designers that are actually wanting.
People to get builders engaged very early on. Yeah. Which is great to see. And that's why those sort of firms and studios are excelling. Yeah. And you see so many of their projects around the place. Yes. Because they're not just
[00:24:52] Speaker 2: concepts, they just, they make them to construction. So yeah. Be very wary of an architect.
If you look on their website and they only have concepts on there, not a lot of magic to construction, cuz that would probably lead me to believe that there's always budgetary
[00:25:06] Speaker 1: issues. Yeah. Or either that, or they just not listening to what the client wants. Yeah. Normally, yeah. Anyone that's doing in this field, the architects or designers that are doing well are the ones that are working with builders from the get, go and got relationships and be very aware of.
And I guess an architect or, um, designer who isn't aligned with any builders, that's normally a pretty bad sign.
[00:25:27] Speaker 2: Yeah. If builders don't wanna work with a, a
[00:25:30] Speaker 1: designer now. Yeah. There's, there's a reason unless they've just started out the new practice. Yeah. There's a reason if someone's been around for a while and they don't have a builder that they've been working with over and over, that's sort of a red
[00:25:39] Speaker 2: flag.
And then again, if they do have a builder that they work with over and over, you can be pretty happy that you're gonna get a good result because they're going back to that builder. They know they have good experiences and they have a track record together and you'll be able to see what they have actually built.
And
[00:25:54] Speaker 1: yeah, well, they've got a successful sort of collaboration going, so they're actually achieving what they set out to do. So the projects are getting off the ground. Yeah. Because so many times we see the projects not actually going ahead because of this issue. The correct process hasn't been followed.
It's just, design's being completed. DAS have been lodged, lodged and accepted and building approval's been accepted started. Yeah. And all interiors have been elevated and designed and they haven't got a single costing. Yeah. And then they're like, oh, I dunno why we're 400 K over. And it's like, well, what was the basis for the design and the costing and aligning it.
So that's why. Trying to get your team together and the right team to do that are doing their job working together. So we could ramble on for hours, could ramble
[00:26:39] Speaker 2: for hours. There's so many, but, uh, I think this will lead us into a few other good episodes too, of sort of how to go through these, these steps and make it all worthwhile.
Yeah. And we'll
[00:26:48] Speaker 1: try and get a few architects on that. We know, take this approach and we've already had James on and he's really a big one on. And it's great to see that there's guys out there or there's studios out there that are wanting to work together because at the end of the day, we're trying to just make sure that projects go ahead and that clients get what they're hoping and their dreams sort of fulfilled.
So what do you reckon? A few more episodes of this? I think.
[00:27:13] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the next stage you'll be talking about sort of once you've gotten into the quote and just the details of the quote, what should be in quote, what should be in it, how clear it should be, scope of works, et cetera. So that, you know, that once you've actually started down the road on the costing path, just how to make sure that you've got everything included that you thought you were gonna have and things like that.
So,
[00:27:34] Speaker 1: yeah, so probably the biggest bit of the takeaway today is engage a builder from the get go. And get your team in place at the very beginning. Yeah, that's right. And get the conversation happening. Give us a call Bluebird. Awesome. Well, thanks for tuning in. If you like what you've heard hit subscribe. I think we'll be on YouTube soon as well.
So yeah, if you've got any topics you want covered, shoot us in email@infoatbluebirddc.com
[00:28:01] Speaker 2: AU or head us up on the Facebook group building with Bluebird. Yeah, well,
[00:28:05] Speaker 1: um, Instagram and then, yeah, we'll see you next week. Thanks. Bye.