Stage 7 Negotiating with Builders.

Once we had selected Brownies Constructions we needed to look at ways of working with the builder and the Architect to reduce the tendered price to a level that was more acceptable to our budget without compromising the quality or intention of the design.

A number of meetings took place with the architect and builder to make these cost reducing changes. These were mainly in the area of more cost effective construction methods and efficiencies such as keeping the entire fill on site. There were design detailing changes and some significant structural and building material changes.

The builder displayed a positive attitude during this process and was keen to try to accommodate our requests while maintaining the viability of the contract.

We found that ‘being fair and reasonable’ goes a long way to setting out on the right foot with a builder so every one feels they are getting good value and it is a ‘team approach’ between architect, builder and client.

We were then ready to obtain a Construction Certificate to begin construction.