What does a builder actually do?
A lot of people don't understand the sheer complexity of the builder's job and the systems required to build a house or conduct an extensive remodel from scratch.
The builder is the one who must plan out and coordinate the innumerable players and products needed to transform a set of two-dimensional drawings into a finished home. The builder has to make sure that everything happens just when it's supposed to, and that the end result is exactly what the clients envisioned.
Ideally, this responsibility begins well before the first shovel breaks ground. One advantage to choosing a builder early in the design process is that the builder can make sure the home can be built in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Bringing on a builder at this early stage can yield significant cost savings.
Professional builders also have close relationships with quality subcontractors. And because the builder is a source of ongoing work for those contractors, prices offered to the builder will likely be less than prices offered to anyone else.
Once the project is under way, the builder's management skills really make a difference. These skills include:
Planning & preparations to keep the project on schedule by ensuring that all trades and materials show up at exactly the right time. Construction timetables can change quite often, with causes that range from bad weather to late deliveries. The time and organization required for the builder to constantly adjust everyone's schedules is something homeowners seldom see.
Overseeing the job to guarantee that all trades deliver proper and top notch applications. The builder knows enough about each specific trade, and has a good enough relationship with each subcontractor, to make sure things get done right.
Solving and preventing problems. A new custom home is an extremely complex undertaking with a million things that can go wrong. Having a solid builder in charge of solving problems takes a lot of stress off the homeowners.
Completing the punch list at the end of the project. Everyone has heard stories of unprofessional contractors who left a job with a list of things undone. The professional builder has the resources to make sure that everything is complete before the key is turned over.
Finally, from start to finish the builder protects the homeowner by carrying the needed licenses and insurance policies and confirming that everyone else on the job is similarly covered.
Building a home is not a seat-of-the pants endeavor. Good builders have well-honed management systems for making it all happen. These systems are an important part of the professional builder's value.
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