choosing-a-good-building-contractor

The Importance of a Good Building Contractor.

If you are building a new home, there is a vast amount of things to think about and costs to prepare for, but the biggest of these is a building contractor. You can’t just look at any building contractor, you need to invest in a well-established, highly recommended building contractor that is going to do the job effectively and efficiently. The ramifications of using a bad contractor are endless, that’s why choosing a good building contractor upfront is so important. Here are a few pointers on how to go about choosing the right contractor.

Choosing the right building contractor.

  1. Get referrals: Ask friends, family and colleagues for referrals on builders that they have used in the past that were reliable and did a good job. You are more likely to trust the recommendations of people you know than strangers, so this a good place to start.
  2. Speak to your architect: People in the building industry usually have good contacts in the industry and generally like to recommend people that they know will do a good job, so they don’t give themselves a bad name.
  3. Shortlist contractors: Make a list of three builders that have been recommended to you or you have seen the work of first-hand. From this list you can then request quotes to compare, do background checks on the builders and ask for reviews from satisfied clients or people you know.
  4. Ensure they are registered: Choosing a builder that is a registered professional is absolutely critical in this day and age. For South Africa,  there are two primary building associations where builders can be registered, namely, the Master Builders Association South Africa (MBSA) and National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). Request certifications from your builder for either of these organisations, or alternatively you can contact the organisation yourself to check if your builder is registered.
  5. Get it on paper: Before you attempt building with a contractor, make sure that there is a contract in place to protect both you and the builder against non-payment or the contractor taking your money and not completing the job. All payment methods regarding deposits and final payment, duration of the project, materials used and anything else that has to do with the project, should all be stipulated in writing BEFORE the building commences.

As painting contractors, we have found that the following problems arise when building has not been done according to code:

a)   If the damp course has not been installed correctly, you will have issues with rising or penetrating damp.

b)   If no expansion joints have been used in areas where they are necessary, expansion cracks develop. An expansion crack will not be resolved by normal filling of cracks. If you try to fill it like you would other cracks, they just reappear after a hot day. One would then need to get the builder in again to do the expansion joints.

c)   If foundations are poorly constructed they will not hold the load of the structure and you will end up with structural cracks. These cracks will continuously open again until the foundations are repaired.

If it becomes apparent that something hasn’t been done properly and you are still within your five year period, call your builder back to sort it out.

Read more great suggestions on choosing a good building contractor from Property24 over here.

Please get in touch with us for your next painting project.