Project Builders
Plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the construction, alteration and renovation of dwellings and other buildings, and the physical and human resources involved in the building process.
A Monday on a renovation
You are a licensed builder running a home extension, with five tradespeople booked this week and a client who visits every morning. It is 7am. The slab for the new room was due to be inspected today, rain is forecast for the afternoon and your carpenter has just rung to say he is running late.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I have been thinking. Could we make the new window bigger, and move the door to the other side? It would look so much better. I know the frames are already ordered, but I am sure it is a small change.
Say yes and sort out the paperwork later, since it is a small change and the frames can be reordered
The change turns out to need approval, and work has already started. You are now stuck between the council, the client and a frame supplier, and the job stops while you sort it out.
Tell her you cannot change anything once the order is in, because the frames are already ordered
It protects your schedule, but Kerry feels brushed off and the relationship cools. Changes are normal in building, and there is usually a way to handle them properly.
Say it may be possible, check the approval and cost, and give her a written answer first
Kerry knows what she is asking for before she commits. Building changes need to be priced, approved and agreed in writing, so no one gets a nasty surprise.
I can come today, but only until noon. The concrete crew are not finished, and I will be working around them. Or I can come Thursday when it is clear. If I come today, the plasterer will be held up. Your call.
Ask Baz to come Thursday and rearrange the plasterer around him
The site stays safe and orderly, but you lose two days on the schedule, and the plasterer has to rebook. A bit more checking could have found a better order.
Ask Baz to start now in the area the concrete crew have finished, and keep the two crews apart
You save time on paper, but the two crews need the same corner and get in each other's way. Tools are moved, someone trips on a cable, and you spend the morning sorting it out.
Walk the site with Baz and the concrete lead, then agree which areas each crew can use and when
In ten minutes the three of you agree on the order. Baz works safely until noon, the plasterer is held up by only half a day and everyone knows the plan. Coordinating trades is mostly this.
I am here for the inspection. I can see the reinforcement is not quite where it should be at the corner. If I pass it, you can pour today. If I do not, you wait for a re-inspection. What would you like to say?
Ask her to show you the problem, fix it, and book the re-inspection and rain cover at once
The fix is done by midday, the re-inspection is booked for the afternoon and the slab is protected from the rain. Inspectors help builders get things right, and working with them keeps the job moving.
Argue that it is close enough and that the rain is coming, so a re-inspection would cost the day
Ms Nolan is unmoved, and your argument makes her look harder at everything else. A builder who pushes the inspector is not a builder she trusts.
Ask her to show you exactly what is wrong, thank her, and fix it before anyone pours
The fix is done by early afternoon, and you hold the pour until the re-inspection. You lose some time but protect the work and your standing. The rain arrives before the slab is covered, because that part was left to chance.
How it went
The slab passes late in the afternoon, the window question is waiting for a written answer, and the trades have a plan for tomorrow. A project builder holds together people, rules, money and weather, and takes responsibility for the result. Would you enjoy standing in a finished home and knowing you ran it?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: What was behind the bathroom wall
A fictional case set in a small licensed building company that builds extensions and renovations on family homes.
The situation
Builder Hamid Rahimi was renovating a bathroom in an older house for a young couple, the Kellys, on a tight budget. When his plumber opened the old wall, he found the timber behind it soft and damaged by years of slow leaking. Fixing it properly would cost more, take longer and mean extending the job into the week the couple were expecting visitors. Mrs Kelly asked him quietly if they could just cover it over and carry on. The tiles would hide everything.
What they did
Hamid showed the couple the damage with photos and explained in plain language what would happen if it were covered: the problem would continue to grow and possibly cost them much more later. He gave them two clear options with costs and times, including a staged plan that spread the work over two weekends. He also wrote down the change, had them sign it before work began, and kept in touch while they decided.
How it turned out
The Kellys chose the staged plan and paid more than they had hoped to. They were not happy about the cost, but they trusted what they had been shown. The bathroom was finished a week late. A few months later they recommended Hamid to their neighbours.
What would you do?
- Why do you think Hamid took photos before talking to the couple?
- How would you respond to a client asking you to hide a problem because of money?
- Why might a builder need to be good with people as well as good with tools?