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If you have decided to be the
project manager of the self-build, you will need to
organise sub contractors or one main
contractor to undertake the
physical building of the house (unless you are building
the house yourself as well).
Your first job regarding sub
contractors will be to define exactly what you want from
each contractor and getting quotes
from them.
Define Your Requirements
 Review each job and provide each subcontractor with an exact specification of what
you need. For
example when
you are
drawing up the painting contractors package, specify how
many rooms you
want painted; the measurements of the
room; how
many coats of paint each room should receive;
what type
of paint you will be using; any extras that need to be
painted such
as skirting boards,
doors ceilings; indicate who is
responsible for providing the materials and so on.
You will get more
accurate quotations with the more detail you provide.
Allocate a Portion of the Budget to Each Sub Contractor
 You should do some estimating before you draw up any
final plans. Having an approximate of how
much the project will
cost will help you modify your plans to meet your
budget. For this
reason, review each sub
contractor package and
allocate as best you can a portion of the budget to
each
package.
Get Quotations for All Sub Contractor Packages
Select about four reputable sub contractors per package
(i.e. four carpenters, four electricians, four builders
etc) and
send the package to them for quotations. Make sure each
contractor receives the same package so you are getting
quoted
for
the same job by each one. That way you can
directly compare quotes.
At the start of the project ensure that you get
quotations and agree to a sub contractor for every
tender. There are two
reasons for this - firstly, as time goes on, prices tend
to go up. By getting a quote at the start of the
project you are being
quoted for current building costs and are not subject to
inflation. Secondly, you have a better idea of
costs by getting
quotations at the start.
Follow up on Quotations
Make sure you set a deadline on each package/tender that
you send out so that sub contractors
respond reasonably
quickly. Allow 2/3 weeks depending on the sub
contractor package for your
quotations to be returned.
Contact subcontractors about four days after sending out
the tenders/packages to ensure that they
have all been
received.
Make a follow up call about a week later to make sure
they have adequate information and that they haven't
forgotten about
your quotation.
Just before the deadline, chase up any tenders that
haven't yet been returned.
For More Information
Post your questions to our
forum. We have our very own project manager
specialist who will be happy to answer your
questions.
Project Management - Other Articles in the Series
Project Management Part
One - Planning and Setting a Budget
Project Management Part
Three - Getting Quotations from Sub Contractors
Project
Management Part Four - Labour Only Sub Contractors
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