Some of these issues can be addressed with the contractor, mainly through constant communication, and also by you being aware, cautious, direct and applying common sense in any approach.

To help you along, here are some important things consider on your list of things to do for any project. In any building project there are some fundamentals i.e.

1. Building rules and regulation and best practices
2. Cost and quality of building materials
3. Cost and quality of workmanship

Your research must take place in that order. First find out from a certified person, what the local building rules are in your area. There are all sorts of regulations, like maximum build size, permissions, heritage rights, etc., that can have a huge impact on your plan. Find the right person authorised to give you guidance around this. This person should be someone who work with the local councils, NHBRC, etc, on a daily basis, so they should know the frameworks very well. Do not fall foul of these rules. Ever. It is the law of the land and you will find yourself in a world of trouble for any transgressions.

Cost and Quality of building materials can be done through your local building materials and hardware supply company. There are qualified staff who can offer you quotes and guidance here. It is important to build a good relationship with your supplier.

Cost and quality of workmanship is what we are trying to build through Private BuilderTM, but there are other ways to look for the required skills and workmanship and we encourage you to explore these in addition to Private BuilderTM.

Once you have completed step one and step two above, and you are starting to search for good quality workmanship, then first do a proper due diligence on the Private BuilderTM platform as well as many other sources as you can.

Once you have sight of some potential contractors, then first call for references. It is vital to visit these reference clients if they allow it, and get as much insight from them as possible around their experience with the contractor. Push the references to give you the good and bad so you have a balanced view and with that knowledge, play to the contractor’s strengths and shortcomings. Some of the feedback we received was that telephonic references where simply not enough. The refences are hand picked by the contractor, and these are often his friends. and there is no way to know that over the telephone. You need to see the work completed for yourself. The time invested in this due diligence will be worth it in the end. Always remember, that you take nothing for granted. Don’t rely exclusively on the references. Do your own due diligence and do it thoroughly. Selecting to talk to 2-3 contractors at least and getting quotes from each does help to provide insight. Rushing this process can often lead to frustration for you in the long run.

Take note also, that often contractors will take on jobs far from home and it ends up costing them more money for transport. Be very weary of this when choosing a contractor. Have a plan to deal with this. Either the contractor will need more money to cover travel costs, and depending on the skill being offered, it may be well worth it, or you may have to choose a contractor, based on location to avoid this situation becoming a hinderance.

Always, always have a contract in place that details the scope of work, deadlines, materials required, and payment structures, obligations and duties on each side, and once signed, never deviate from it, without making written amendments to it before proceeding. The more specific the better. Many owners have been caught napping when they try and push the scope of work without agreeing compensation with the contractor first. Often times it comes with a rude shock around costing and payment once the work is complete. No matter how much the contractor pushes, never pay before the milestones are met as per the contract.

Once you have engaged and contracted with a specific contractor, and you can see that the contractor is pushing for cash, don’t supply them money to buy the materials, rather order direct, or on-line with a reputable building supply company and let them deliver to site. At least then if you do end up having issues with the contractor, you still have the materials on hand to continue or complete the project. If you hand over cash, you could be out of pocket for cash and materials! Experience unfortunately does show that contractors who ask huge deposits for material, more often than not, end up with cash flow issues. Some of them are sneaky enough to use your deposit to fund other previous incomplete projects and so a domino effect is taking place without your knowledge. Where you absolutely have to provide the deposit for materials that need to be prepared off-site, then make sure you have the paperwork in order to deal with that.
Another challenge that they tend to raise, (usually once work has commenced), is playing the sympathy card and asking for money and advances to support family, family crises, school fees, etc., etc. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into this discussion. Unfortunately, as difficult as this is to say, you will be the only person on the losing end here. You may want to consider offering them to take time off from the project to deal with life issues of course as a show of empathy and for them to deal with the issue, but it is important that the project gets back on track as soon as possible so that neither one of you run into unforeseen losses through this event.

Not negotiable is physical safety and security! Never leave contractors unattended – ever. Have someone you can trust help oversee the project when you are not available. Keep a controlled entry and exit process in place to regulate who is entering and exiting the premises at all times. Their friends and family may pop by when you are not around, so make sure that you are notified of that. Also, passer byers see the activity and walk in at random to enquire about jobs. Make sure that your access is secured during the project execution at all times to avoid such incidents.

It is critical that your current security company or other such suitable surveillance company be informed of your building project, so that they are aware of the individuals moving in and out of your property. Keep the neighbours alerted to your project, so that they can add another layer of surveillance.

Never leave elderly people, children and housekeepers alone at home with contractors in and around the property. If extensive interior work is to be conducted, have people moved to other locations in the interim if need be, until all the work is completed.

Some other ways to bolster your current security is:

• Install IP based cameras if possible, to allow 24/7 access to all activities taking place on the property while the work is being carried out.
• Ask for proof of identity and banking details – add biometric access control if you can.
• Take note of number plates on vehicles coming and out of the property.
• Never leave valuables lying around.
• Try not to keep any cash on the premises.
• Try and make payments electronically, rather than in cash.
• Have a guard appointed to keep a check on the site, full time or during the evenings especially

Another “Not negotiable” is work safety. Contractors must wear safety gear at all times. Hard hats, boots and gloves may become essential and it may end up being costs that you will need to incur. Remember also that Covid19 is a reality and so take all precautions when interacting on site. Masks and Sanitisers should form part of the essentials kits at ALL times.

Always keep a first aid kit on hand. One reference we received, said he always stocked headache tablets and flu meds, amongst other things like bandages, plasters and cleaning meds like Dettol, the Dutch medicine staalsdruppels, mercury-chrome, Gentian violet, etc. and very, very importantly surgical gloves to work with at a time of injury. Never try and clean wounds etc., if you are not certified to do so and definitely not without the surgical gloves. It’s a good practice to keep two or three shoe boxes handy to serve as storage for these items if you do have a medical aid box. Mark each one clearly and keep them stored in a cool, clean space that it is easy to access.

Some other ways to keep the site safe are:

• Never leave flammable materials, flammable liquids and fluids laying around the site. These need to be stored safely as per the safety storage instructions on the container.
• Designate a smoking area. No one must be allowed to loiter around with a burning cigarette in hand.
• Always keep a ready stock of dust masks available. These can be purchased as a box stock.
• At the end of the work day:
  • Contractors are to ensure that temporary or other structures are secure before leaving
  • All open holes are to be covered securely
  • All sharp objects are clearly out of the way
  • All tools are placed in a central area
  • Scaffolding should be erected and secured by a certified company
  • All trestles, step ladders and other such supporting structures must be secure first before use
  • All power tools to be used as recommended and extra care taken when using those at a height or above walk ways, etc.

We hope that these considerations have provided some insight into using private contractors and in summary, we would like to share with you, some winning recipes that we got from a collection of experiences:

• Always obey the building rules and regulations. There are no short cuts in this process. Building approval must be received first before anything else can commence.
• Always, always have a binding, signed contract that clearly outlines the scope of work to be done and the compensation related to that scope. Accountability and deadlines must be clearly defined. Allowances made for unforeseen circumstance of course that are beyond the control of either party. The more detailed the contract, the better for both parties. If you can have an attorney review it and endorse it first before signing will be an advantage.
• If the scope changes, amend the contract immediately and re-sign it – don’t be tempted to scramble the lines of the scope. There always is a price to pay for trying to “fix things up at the end of the contract” approach and normally, it’s not a pleasant one for both parties.
• Never comprise on payment milestones outlined in that contract. Empathy for the situation as it arises, but cash in lieu of anything has not worked well.
• Never give contractors cash to buy materials, unless some of the work has to take place off-site. You insist to pay at the counter, or via a bank account directly to the supplier for delivery to the site. Where suppliers offer rebates and discounts to the contractor, then this can still happen through the contractors existing account, even if you make the payment directly. If the contractor pushes for anything different, then you may end up suffering losses, especially if he uses the money intended for your materials end up being used for something else unrelated to your project.
• Have a trained project manager oversee the project. Yes, it costs extra, but then at least someone is accountable when you cannot be there to oversee the project yourself
• Make sure you monitor quantities and qualities. Do not leave this task solely with the contractor. After all it is your project and after all is said and done, you need to feel secure that the scope was carried out correctly with the right quality of materials
• Never comprise on obtaining identification documents
• Don’t choose contractors who are based too far away from your project. Travelling expenses, transportation strike action, etc. will leave you stranded
• Always think safety first.

A winning formula seems to be when communication between contractor and owner never fails. Things will go wrong, but keep the channel of communication open and find a quick amicable way to deal things when they do, so that all parties can feel that they have won.

Where a dispute occurs, call a time out and talk to one another. Often times these projects become a major burden to manage and frustration can slip in on both sides. Handle the issue swiftly, amicably and always think win-win. The last thing you need is for someone to abandon you during the project and you have to start all over again with someone new.

We hope that this information helps you along your journey. While the spirit of creating the platform is to encourage employment for deserving, skilled individuals, we may often get “pirates” entering the arena. We will take every step to ensure that these pirates do not make their way into our database. We do rely on “promoters” to be accurate and more importantly we rely on your feedback from using their services. Without that feedback we may very well likely keep these pirates on line where they do not deserve to be showcased, so please keep that feedback going.

Thank you for visiting our platform.