Ground floor extension: I'm confused

waveyjane

Doozergirl wrote: »

Try to find someone that has been happy with their extension or maybe look for an actual project manager?

And buy a copy of homebuilding and renovating magazine as it's full of information that is easy to divulge. Maybe you'll even find a builder that one of the featured people has used.

Thanks for the ideas, but the reason I'm posting here is pretty much because I've been immersed in all the books and "best practice" guidelines for over TWO YEARS now. The trouble is, when I try to APPLY that knowledge, with real life builders on a real life project, they just ignore me. Specs? Pah - who needs specs - trust us, we've done a million extensions. Contract? You're avin' a laugh! References - oh, well, I suppose we can get a couple, grumble, grumble.

As to talking to people who've had extensions done and were happy with them, I've talked to several, but frankly it seemed to me like blind luck they didn't have a total disaster. Some of them described simply calling in a builder and asking them to start building as if they were baking a cake or something. The concept of risk seemed irrelevant and it's almost as if the defining criteria for a success was that their house didn't fall down.

I think I'll just have to keep plugging away until I find a builder I can trust. The good news is that doing so isn't very subjective, and it's childishly simple: provide an itemised quotation against the spec, provide good references, proof of indemnity insurance, and be willing to sign at least some form of written contract that protects them from being jerked about and me from disaster. That's really, really, not much to ask in the year 2009.

Somebody here has PM-ed me so I'll give them a try once I've got my breath back.

Doozergirl

That's why I suggested a Project Manager rather than a builder. I assume that someone like that will have builder contacts that he uses a lot etc and will be more used to contracts?

It's not something that I've done but I know they exist!

waveyjane

I see - maybe I'll try finding somebody like that then.