Answers to three top questions every Homeowner MUST know - with some easy to use tips and strategies.
No two Home Makeovers are ever exactly the same. Even when a developer constructs two apparently identical versions of the same layout and design, they're really not the same, even if they look that way.
Appearances can be deceiving. For example, very often, different craftsmen and labour have worked on the properties. This will introduce variations in the way the work is carried out - perhaps from differences in skill levels or attention to detail. The weather is likely to have been different during the works. That can have unpredictable consequences - like concrete poured on very hot days that can dry out too fast. And that's just to point out a couple of invisible ways, identical properties actually differ.
So when it comes to one-off, unique, standalone home projects, even one's that sound similar are, in reality, likely to be significantly different. And that explains why, even though your contractor may have a long track record of delivering - say kitchen replacements - he will never have done one that is exactly like yours. And this can cause unexpected problems. You employ an "expert" who's done this stuff before - they have lots of examples of doing what you need - and even references from happy clients. But ... and there's always a but ...
I know a family who experienced this in an unexpected and disappointing way. Off the back of Covid and discovering that home working is likely to be a feature of their jobs going forwards, they started to investigate constructing a detached garden office on their large plot in a beautiful, rural location at the edge of a village.
They particularly liked an oak framed option, manufactured and constructed as a shell, by a specialist contractor - an expert in all things garden buildings. They visited a show site and fell in love with the exposed oak beams and traditional aesthetic of the show building - it seemed such an appropriate solution for this countryside location.
In short order, quotes were prepared, designs were developed and discussions progressed about the interior which was to include various entertainment spaces for their growing family and, of course, a spacious home office.
Since the specialist contractor limited their input to the external structure, a separate contractor was needed to construct the foundations. And also, once the oak framed shell was completed and the roof installed by the specialists, that contractor would be needed to fit out the interior - including internal walls, electrics, lighting, plumbing for a bar and toilet / shower, finishes and so on.
This led to a suitable contractor visiting the property for a briefing and before long their quote was submitted.
But then something awful happened.
Yes, you've guessed it, the local Council refused Planning Consent for this dream addition in their garden.
How on earth could this have happened ? After all, they had consulted a specialist manufacturer who has only one job - manufacturing and installing oak framed buildings in customers' gardens. As part of their service, this specialist has successfully applied for and received Planning Consent for every building they've ever constructed. So what went wrong this time ?
Well, that 100% success rate is a bit misleading - yes, they have gained consent for every building they've ever installed. But it is equally true that they failed to gain consent for all of the buildings they weren't able to install. And who knows how often that's happened. Only they do. I am not for a moment suggesting they misled the Homeowners, and I suspect they were as disappointed as their prospective clients. It's probably they wouldn't have wasted their own time applying for consent knowing it would be refused.
But this brings me to the first question I want to address today. A question asked often - when is the right time to apply for planning consent ? Is there a strategy that works best ?
And the answer is - yes, there is a best time and yes, there is a strategy that works really effectively.
From the moment you begin to contemplate any Home Makeover project, you should keep in mind the 5 principle laws that affect construction projects. I outlined them in a previous Blog Post.
Planning is one of the first to consider. Now Planning consent is generally only required if your home makeover will change the external appearance of the existing property - making it bigger - when you add an extension, or taller if you go up into a loft and reshape the roof or add another storey ... or like this example, add something in the garden. It is worth noting it can be more subtle - affecting for example the materials you may be allowed to use if you alter the appearance of the property or even just adding or changing windows and doors.
So, as soon as you start to become serious about your project and if you think you will be or even might be changing the external appearance of your property, you need to find out what planning restrictions exist relative to your property - if any. The timing is as soon as reasonably possible.
A simple but effective way to do this is to arrange a consultation with a local architect who specialises in similar work to the project you are considering. Invite them to visit with a view to their submitting a fee proposal to provide you with architectural services for your project.
When you meet, outline the project and ask what their opinion is of the potential planning situation. If they know the area they should be familiar with local planning regulations, and would be able to give good insight into the level of risk which might range from "no problems envisioned at all, seems straightforward" to "highly likely to be refused consent, forget it". You can probably get this insight for free during that initial consultation.
I am not suggesting you mislead them, as there is a strong possibility you may ask them to manage the Planning Application on your behalf if their advice suggests your circumstances may be more risky or complex.
If they do advise caution and, depending on how much latitude they believe may exist, you might then move to a follow-on step and consult a specialist planning consultant. A local expert whose focus is on advising clients on and obtaining planning consent on complex or contentious projects.
Again, an initial, free consultation, will at least give you insight into whether it's at all worth pursuing your dream project or whether you need to go back to the drawing board to find another way to achieve your goals. And of course, both the Planning Specialist and the Architect would be able to give ideas about would be likely to achieve consent if not the original dream idea you were hoping for.
In the case of the home office catastrophe, it's possible there was too much optimism from the specialist contractor who simply didn't realise the complexities of this particular location. And so a family's dreams were cruelly crushed and the garden entertainment centre and home office has been scrapped.
A word of warning, judicial precedent doesn't always apply to Planning law. Explained very simplistically, a particular ruling from court proceedings can establish a principle such that in a similar future case the court would apply the same ruling - in other words, if the court rules in favour of person A, then this may establish a judicial precedent that means that another, unconnected person B in similar circumstances can achieve the same outcome at a different, future time.
But, in Planning Law, obviously varying in different countries around the world, just because your neighbour gained planning consent to extend their property, doesn’t mean you can expect to automatically be granted consent to extend your property in the same way.
An example could be two neighbouring properties back to back facing onto parallel streets - one is in a conservation area where development is restricted but the boundary line runs at the back of that property so the neighbour just a few yards away is unaffected by those restrictions.
I love watching the Property Brothers TV shows. I am often astounded at how successful their remodelling projects are. They regularly take a dysfunctional, outdated, claustrophobic layout and by demolishing a few walls and repositioning a few bits, and some new furniture and decorations, they totally transform homes for obviously delighted families.
And after all, that's why most of us embark on home makeover adventures in the first place - we are looking for that transformational solution for our own homes.
I don't know if you've noticed but there is often a moment when, typically during the initial strip out or opening-up phase of the remodelling project, the Property Brothers have to take their clients to one side and present some frustrating and almost always costly discovery. Usually something they didn't know they didn't know - to quote Donald Rumsfeld (US Secretary of Defence).
This brings me to a question I have often been asked ... what should homeowners do before they start their home makeover projects to keep those nasty surprises to a minimum ?
Here are a couple of tips and then I'll share a strategy for getting experts to spot potential problems for you, for free.
Here's a common fact - pipes - like drains and water supplies, electric cables and wires, air conditioning or heating ductwork - these are very often buried inside walls to hide them from view. That's fairly obvious. So if any project you are planning will require any walls to be removed then you can expect there may be stuff concealed inside. That's a red flag. However, you can check for yourself very easily. If there are any light switches or plug sockets on the wall then electric cabling runs through it somewhere. If the wall is next to a bathroom or kitchen, there may be water or drain or even gas pipes hidden in the walls.
And if you have a multi-storey property and the wall you plan to remove is below a bathroom or utility room on the floor above that has water supplies, toilets, baths and showers, those types of things, then there is a risk the pipes travel through the wall below. So you need to try to find out where those pipes actually run.
It doesn't definitely mean you can't remove the wall because there are things inside it, but it does mean there will probably be extra costs to move or replace the cables, re-route the pipes and so on. It becomes very expensive and sometimes impossible when those pipes are part of a larger or more complex installation - like air conditioning or heating ducts which may be linked to machinery, for example, in the roof space or in the basement below. A new route will need to be found which might cost more than removing the wall is worth.
Another problem that often emerges when demolishing walls is whether they are structural or not. This means they might be supporting part of the house above like the roof or an upper floor. This can be more technical to work out so, if you’re not confident of your own expertise, you can either ask your architect during their very first visit to the property - along the lines I suggested for getting that free planning advice. Or use this next, two-step strategy ...
Step One : When you start to consider who will be your general contractor or main contractor or even specialist sub-contractors - like plumbers or electricians - invite them round to view the job site, describe what you are planning, ask them if they would be interested in being considered for the project and then ask if they foresee any issues.
Specifically, draw their attention to work scope involving demolitions and removals, point out the position of upper floors, roofs and services. Specialists, like contractors and sub-contractors, are usually quite willing to demonstrate their expertise and will happily do so in the hope it will build trust with you so that you might consider having them work for you. Using this part of the strategy, you may get the benefit of informal expert guidance. It won't be conclusive but it will give you a better idea of possible or probable issues when you commence the work.
But not everyone will be helpful and nor can you be certain they are right - whatever they may indicate - so you also need Step Two : It's impossible to always accurately forecast hidden dangers. So this step relates to how you build up your budget.
If you are demolishing anything - old stairs, walls, rooms, removing bathrooms, fireplaces - and particularly when you are working in older properties - always increase your budget to add a Contingency specifically related to the demolition works. This means asking your contractor or professional advisers like the architect or engineer - to suggest an appropriate reserve in case you do find something you didn't know you didn't know. This reserve is called a Contingency.
If, as a consequence, you have to make compromises on the budget somewhere else then it's worth doing at an early stage. It's always a huge problem when you have a tight budget, no spare funds and then you hit an unavoidable but costly problem.
The third question today is one lots of Homeowners ask : "Should I buy the materials and products for my contractor and then employ him on a labour-only basis ?" Great question.
In case you're wondering why this question is being asked, this happens a lot on major construction projects. Construction experts, particularly on larger projects and where they are buying significant quantities of materials, regularly do this.
For Home Makeovers, it's a bit more tricky. When a contractor buys materials and products to install into your project, they typically add Overheads and Profit onto the cost of every single item.
By purchasing products and materials themselves, a Homeowner can avoid the contractor's overhead and profit mark-up. That gets a big tick because it's a way to save money. It may also help smaller contractors with cash flow. Instead of the contractor having to pay for things and then wait for their client to pay them back, the client pays direct to the suppliers. And the Client, the Homeowner, also benefits because those products they have purchased belong to them, they can control quality checking, manage delivery to the jobsite and so on. So, those are a few more ticks.
But there are also some risks to take into account. Here are a few to consider ...
When a contractor provides a cost to do something where they supply the materials and the labour then any risk around how they use those materials is on them. Most contractors will buy a bit extra - maybe 5% to 10% to allow for damage, waste, off-cuts. That extra is included in their price. But if you buy the materials then they have no reason to work carefully and not to waste the product. If they run out, they'll just ask you to buy more.
Now, this may not be a big deal if we're talking about bricks or concrete blocks or sand for concrete. But it's a much bigger deal when it comes to a product with a higher cost - take expensive stone floor tiles for example. Let's say the contractor is fitting them to the wall in your new bathroom. If they're careless and break some slabs, they can just ask you to buy more slabs at your cost. They'll be much more careful if they bought the slabs.
And when it comes to slightly more complex items like say a toilet - there are a few components needed by the plumber. So let's say you're supplying the parts. The plumber arrives on site as planned to install the toilet. Then he discovers you didn't buy one critical component and now he can't continue with the install. If you can't immediately go and pick up that missing item from a local supplier - literally within a few hours - then the plumber wastes a day. Some contractors will be reasonable and if they can, they may go to another jobsite and work there for that day. But if they can't or won't do that, they could charge you for their wasted day and charge you for coming back another day when you can confirm the missing part is now on site, for the installation to go ahead.
If the plumber is supplying the parts and he forgets to buy that critical component - then it's on him. He either tries to find the part in a hurry or he has to come back and that return visit will be at his cost, not yours.
Sometimes it can make sense to split a package even though it may have complex elements. And bathroom components are a good example. You might choose to purchase the bath, or the shower screen, or the expensive mixer tap but have the plumber buy all of the associated components - like the copper or PVC pipes. You buying light fittings direct while the electrician buys the cables and control switching is another example.
One other consideration is that Contractors can often get better discounts from suppliers than Joe Public, especially if they use a supplier more regularly and for larger volumes than a homeowner could for their one-off project. It can happen that the contractors cost, including mark-ups is actually lower than the best price the homeowner can achieve.
My recommendation is to carefully weigh the risks against the potential cost benefits. For complex, specialist items - perhaps like electrical components, plumbing parts - other than the big-ticket items perhaps - get the contractors and sub-contractors to supply and fix. For less complex materials, ask the contractor to tell you how much to buy before you buy them yourself.
If you've never done this before, then you may want to let the contractor supply and fit on your first project, watch and learn and then you'll be able to work out what materials you could safely buy yourself on the next project.
A final note is to be aware that not all contractors are willing to work on a labour-only basis. The contractor makes money from the overhead and profit mark-ups on the materials as well as by charging for their expertise and labour. Because they're professionals, buying materials is not very onerous, nor very risky, so it's relatively easy money. If they only get paid for expertise and labour, then in the same time period they will earn a lower return - which either means they increase their labour charges to maintain their profit ... which cancels out your savings anyway or they simply refuse to take on your project.
As always, I suggest being upfront and discussing it openly with the contractor. Try to reach a compromise position. Perhaps you offer to pay more quickly if he reduces his overhead and profit margin on those materials. Win, win solutions are much more likely to help you get your desired end result.
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