The gap between a renovation timeline as laid out in a quote and the same timeline three months into the build is one of the most consistent bugbears in residential building. Homeowners tend to see it as the builder running behind schedule, while builders like M Build & Co point to scope changes and site conditions, and usually both sides have a valid point but don’t quite hit the nail on the head.
Most renovation timeline overruns start to take shape long before demolition even begins
The Pre-Build Phase Is Where Trouble So Often Begins
You can’t get a building permit till you’ve got all the necessary documentation in order and approved. In Victoria, that means having drawings that accurately reflect what you’re proposing, and for renovations that involve structural changes you’ll also need to have some fancy engineering calculations done. So if the paperwork is wrong or the building surveyor comes back with some suggestions for changes or you’re still dithering over the design, that’s all going to delay getting the permit, and as a result the start date of the build too.
Consumer Affairs Victoria reckons that major domestic building contracts in Victoria fall under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, and that understanding the contract terms, including the bit about what to do if work gets held up, is a good idea before you sign anything. If you just sign a contract without having a clue what the extension of time provisions mean, or without having a look to see what’s allowed to cause a builder to push back the completion date, you might find yourself getting a surprise when a permit delay or a bit of bad weather becomes a formal extension notice.
It’s not the contract that’s the cause of those delays, it’s not understanding what you’ve signed up to that gets you into trouble. Taking the time to read the contract before construction starts gives you the chance to manage your own planning around some kind of realistic timeline rather than the optimistic one you might have been hoping for.
Provisional Sums Bring the Build to A Halt
A provisional sum is just a placeholder in the contract for work that can’t be priced up till later, and that’s usually work where the design hasn’t been finalised. It’s things like custom joinery when you still haven’t decided on the design, the tiles or fixtures you still haven’t chosen, and earthworks on the site where you haven’t yet confirmed the extent of the job.
When the homeowner hasn’t made a decision on one of those items by the time the builder gets to that stage of the project, work just stops. The tradespeople scheduled for that bit of work can’t proceed till you’ve got the details sorted. They can’t lay the tiles till you’ve chosen the tile, for instance. And they can’t start on the cabinetry till the dimensions are all sorted out.
Getting all the material selections, fixtures and fittings sorted out before the build starts, rather than leaving it as a decision to be made during the build, tends to remove the most common cause of delays. A thorough pre-build consultation, where you spend some time working through all the decisions that need to be made before you get to a certain stage of the build, is probably the most useful thing you can do before you even start ripping out the old kitchen.
Variations Take Time as Well as Money
A variation is any alteration to the scope of the work that has been agreed after signing the building contract. According to the rules of building works in the Victorian domestic environment, variations need to be written down with the cost and time impacts agreed by both parties before the actual work starts. The rules of building contracts of Consumer Affairs Victoria outline this and explain how to deal with variations in the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995.
Consequence of A Variation
It can almost never be anything else but additional time besides additional costs. A structural assessment will be needed if you are adding a wall opening, new lead time if you change your tiles, and rescheduling for a plumber if you are going to add bathroom fixtures. These examples are minor additions by themselves, but in the course of the renovation with several variations they add up to weeks.
How Does a Proper Conversation About the Timeline Go Before Signing the Contract?
It is not an unreasonable request to ask a renovation builder about the scheduled building programme in a written form. A good builder who prepares his projects should have a phase-wise plan with a schedule of trades, dependencies between phases and critical path elements that cannot be postponed without postponing the whole project.
Questions that should be asked before signing a contract are: which subcontractors are already confirmed for this project and their availability; how much lead time is required for the specialist materials and fittings that are supposed to be used; what is the procedure for issuing and approving variations if something changes.
A good builder in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges manages the project through a process from consultation to handover. Regular communication with the client, proper documentation of variations and regular meetings on-site should be included in the project plan instead of being an additional service on request. Renovation takes the time that it takes. Proper pre-build decisions ensure that time can be predicted.
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