When you're working in the construction business, you're
going to have to get used to dealing with a few setbacks. CustomSmart Homes uses modular construction to build our homes, and we even still
experience some issues with this highly efficient construction method. Construction is the kind of business that
relies on a variety of people in order to complete a job, and when you factor
in other things like weather, material
management, site development, and client financing, a lot of things could cause
delays. If you find yourself having some
of these common construction problems, follow our advice to ensure that you
handle them the best way possible.
Weather Delays
Weather plays a major factor in site building a home. It has less of an impact on modular
construction. With modular construction
the main sections of the home are built in a factory that is unaffected by
rain, snow, or temperature extremes. So
even when site work and foundation work
cannot proceed because of inclement weather,
the construction schedule still moves forward, which saves time. When it is time to set the home, a weather window of one - two days is needed to
get the house set on the foundation and protected from the weather. But if there are long periods of rain there
will be delays because excavation, grading, and foundation work cannot
proceed. The possibility of weather
delays should always be factored into the timeline especially during the
rainiest winter months in Tennessee.
CustomSmart will always have a discussion with our clients about
realistic expectations on a completion date for their home and how the weather can cause delays.
Unexpected Materials Shortage
There isn't much you can do for your construction project if
you don't have materials to build with.
The best way to deal with a shortage of materials is to plan ahead to
try to decrease the chances of not having the building materials you need. This is especially true of special order
materials. CustomSmart Homes builds
completely custom homes and out clients come to us with many special requests
for specific materials and finishes. Because we us modular construction, we build the entire house "on
paper" before it goes into production.
Everything must be preplanned and thought through before construction
even begins. This eliminates a lot of
the delays caused by requests for special materials. But, even with good preplanning there are
times our material suppliers cause delays.
since the great recession, many manufacturers have cut back on
production capacity and many distributors have cut back on inventory, so
unexpected materials shortages and long lead times can affect the construction
time line. Once again, CustomSmart Homes
will discuss this possibility with our clients on the front end of the project
and factor this in to our timeline.
Unexpected Site Development Costs
Most
clients don't like hearing that their project is going to cost more than they
expected, so it's important to try to help them plan for the unexpected and
reserve some money for contingencies. An
area that this is most likely to occur is in area of site development
costs. Site development costs include
excavation, driveways, power, water, septic systems, and wells. While construction budgets are always created
with realistic expectations, unexpected conditions do arise. There could be rock which is costly to
remove, the power company may chose to
run power to the property the long way because neighbors will not allow
easements, the health department may require a more expensive septic system
then usual due to poor soil conditions, or the well may have to be drilled
deeper to obtain quality water. The best
way to handle unexpected conditions is to reserve monies for the
unexpected. There is a tendency for
families to allocate all their funds for the things they want in their home, leaving
no reserves. At CustomSmart Homes we
talk with our clients about the unexpected and ask that they reserve funds to
easily handle additional work that may arise because of unexpected conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment