Things to consider when renovating your home.

Over the lifetime of a home, renovations become a necessity. Whether it’s a major design upgrade for style or comfort, or perhaps it is to accommodate new family members, selecting the right builder to work with your family is the hardest but most important decision you’ll have to make. Choosing the wrong builder can result in serious issues with quality, budget, timeliness and safety.

Selecting your builder starts with understanding that a successful project isn’t possible without a team who can deliver the standards you expect, and can guarantee an on-time on-budget completion. It all starts with the first meeting on-site, where your builder should be asking you questions about the home, your family & your life - this shows he is trying to build a foundation for how to approach your project. Eye for Detail believes attention to your family interests is the most important aspect to a project - we must align with your expectations and needs before we even consider discussing pricing or schedules. EFD understands that every project is a big deal to every client, and respecting each clients privacy and requirements is our number 1 priority.

After your first meeting, you need to consider what the builder was like to deal with. How were they with communication? Remember you’re essentially building a relationship with your builder, if there are issues now, there will potentially be issues throughout the project.

Make sure the scope of work is very clear, ensuring you explain precisely what you require and how you require it to be done. Don't hesitate to ask questions, it is the builders' responsibility to be upfront and transparent about the work being carried out. Find out who is doing what; for example, is your builder managing the subcontractors, and who is communicating with the council (it is actually the responsibility of the principal/client, but builders should be happy to handle this).

Clients often make their mind up based on a builder’s quote - the more affordable the service, the more attractive it is. However, this is sometimes an oversight, where a prospecting builder will not provide a realistic estimate, failing to alert a client of potential hidden costs. Don’t just look at the figure at the bottom of the page being quoted, if an estimate is far lower than a benchmark, it may indicate a lesser skilled builder or inferior service, or the quote is not realistic. Generally, builders of the same competence and quality should be in the same price range with around 10% difference.

Consult your builder to find out how they actually intend to approach the project, this will help bring to light some potential issues they see, and at the very least will help clarify the scope of work giving you reassurance the builder knows what they’re doing. The process should be completely transparent - EFD likes to work closely with the client to make sure everyone is on the same page, we see renovations as a team effort.

It may seem tedious, but Eye for Detail recommends reviewing your builders' testimonials and even contacting some of their more recent clients. This will help give you the confidence you’ve gone with a professional, trustworthy team. EFD is always proud of the work we do and have a long list of clients who glad to recommend our work to others. If you have any questions about a project coming up or perhaps one you've been putting off, by all means, get in touch - EFD would love to help.