North Shore Plumbing Group is passionate about delivering quality and support to builders and their high-end construction projects around Sydney. The team on the ground enjoy unpacking the site plans to learn about what new developments the designer has come up with to push the boundaries of high-end residential design.
With many years of experience dealing with large residential projects we are always looking to improve the experience of the build for our team and our clients. We have noticed that a big concern on some projects is the rapid increase of variations. Variations are unfortunately difficult to avoid but there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce them.
Here are our 4 simple ways to avoid variations.
1. Understand your design
There are so many external influences when it comes to picking the style and design of your new home. With such a vast range of options and themes to choose from it is often difficult to make concrete decisions.
One of the struggles we experience when working on projects is when a design hasn’t been considered in its entirety and requires constant changes to meet the client’s expectations. These variations slow down production and costs the trades and clients time and money. The best way to prevent the extra cost is to invest the time and money during the design phase to fully understand your dream and to find a designer/architect that you can trust.
2. Make sure you focus on the detail
One common issue is when measurements are left off the plan. This results in plenty of grey areas and problems on-site. We notice that some homeowners and architects don’t want to commit to a measurement because they need to see it in person. However, it is important to understand that this has a huge impact on the project timeline. With constant meetings and changes, the variations again add time and money to a project. Fully understanding your designs and ideas at the start of the project will help to mitigate and reduce these variations and costs.
3. Look at inclusions and exclusions
North Shore Plumbing Group prices their projects so that the builder/owner understands what they are accepting. While of course cost matters, it is not a good move just to settle on the lowest dollar value at the start. If you aren’t sure what the contractor has included in their price then you could end up in a fight by the end of the project when variations start coming in for work that wasn’t allowed for in the original quote.
4. Follow your plan
When the design is approved and the construction begins be confident to follow your plan. All the contractors have priced on the drawings that have been submitted for construction. If you go in and tinker with the design or add or remove any details then you are risking adding to the scope of work which will inevitably end up adding to your costs.
There are certainly more ways to avoid variations but our advice is to do the extra work at the start and hire people you trust to deliver a home that you’ll love for the rest of your life.
