In all the forums about construction I've joined in the past years, there are many common questions that are frequently asked. Well, to avoid repeated posts questions and answers at the forum, I will attempt to list them here and try to answer them to the best of my knowledge.
Question No. 1: I want to build my House/Building. What should I do first?
My Answer:
First, find out if you already have the following:
1. LOT with the right classification.
Residential for Houses, Commercial for Commercial Establishments,etc. If you are not sure of the lot's classification, you can go to your local Municipal Hall Land-use and Zoning Office and check in the Land-use Map. Residential areas are commonly shaded with color yellow or orange and Commercial areas are in red. Institutional is in blue and Agricultural is in Green.
If you are thinking of changing the land-use of your property eg; agricultural land to commercial land, you will be required to secure ECC or Environmental Compliance Certificate from DENR.
2. BUDGET
It's self explanatory, everything will work out if you have this.
For those who doesn't have this yet, you can try to use your other assets and properties. Loan is a good answer. It comes in many form. it's up to you how to obtain it.
The next question is "how much is the budget?" We'll discuss this later.
3. WILL
If you have the first two, but do not have the will, then all is nothing. right? In my experience, the owner's Will mosty dictates the progress. Lack of budget became out of problem. Or it may be that a simple problem may cause the construction to stop. Just what like a song says: "... 'pag ayaw may dahilan, 'pag gusto palaging mayroong paraan..."
If you already have these, next is to consult a professional, preferably an Architect, who is a relative of yours or a close friend or someone already known to the profession. Why? Simply because it's very hard to trust anyone. Kahit pa nga kamag-anak minsan nagkakasiraan pa di ba? Please, please, please, do not ask ideas from those who are not in the field of construction. Or yun mga nakikialam lang at nagmamarunong. This oftenly ruins your disposition and may lead you to miserable path and end up not enjoying the construction procedure. Trust me on this! You don't entrust your health to someone who is not a Doctor, or your Legal Cases to someone who is not a Lawyer. Right?
Many are afraid to consult a Construction Professional thinking that they will be paying too much for any of his services. But fact is, payment only starts upon signing of contract. Initial advises and even initial designs are usually free.
Everything else follows. the architect will then translate your dream house to reality!
For other questions, you can email me at royestrella@gmail.com
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Architect, I understand that one must employ the services of a trustworthy architect to design the plan of his dream home. But I have a scenario in mind, so please bear with me:
ReplyDelete1. If an owner asked an architect for a design, then the owner decided to ask the architect to gather bids from contractors, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of 'Check and Balance' since the architect would most probably choose the contractor he worked with before, or the contractor that he prefers? So bottomline is, architect and contractor pairing would be like those Design and Build firms because they have their own in-house architect?
2. If an owner chose to ask Design-Build companies to get the best possible contractor, what's the process on this? Does the owner just go to a firm, ask for design and costing of material, then do the same for another company, then just thank the one he didn't choose? Will that be like the owner wasting the time of the company he didn't choose, and what would be the possible reaction of that company?
3. If an architect creates the blue-print, will the approximate costing be included? If yes, what will happen if the contractor's costing estimate is different and higher, does this mean the owner is at the losing end because most of the details of his house will not be completed? Is this the reason why so many horror stories of uncompleted projects are around because the contractor didn't agree with the architect?
4. And lastly, related to the bid, if the owner chose his own architect to design and estimate then the owner chose his own builder contractor to build, how will the owner ensure that he is not short-changed by the contractor by using low quality materials to save on cost and earn more?
Thank you.
Laila
OFW - Hongkong
Hi Laila, Thank you for your interest in my blog.
Delete1. A freelance architect or architectural firm invites contractors that they have worked with before because they have already proven that these contractors are reliable and fully capable of delivering good construction services. Architects usually have accreditation process for contractors for them to merit the architects recommendation. As stated in my article "Contractor with Construction Manager", you can also ask your architect to let your preferred contractor participate in the bidding. The architect will only evaluate the bids and show you the apple to apple comparison of the bids. But it is still you who will decide on whom to award the project.
2. Design Build companies and even architects will only give you schematic design(floor plans and perspective probably) at first. This is just normal and they will not expect that you will commit to them right away. They will only proceed on preparing the complete design documents after you sign contract with them and pay the required down payment.
3. Estimates or Bill of Materials are standard part of the contract documents that the architect will prepare. But this estimate will not be as detailed as the ones that will be prepared by a contractor. Please read also "The How Much Question?" article for more infos regarding costing and estimates. The architect will still be evaluating the estimates of the contractor specially if it came up too far or too high from the his initial estimates. If found out that the contractor's estimates are fairly accurate, you can always request them to work on the design and specifications to suit your budget. Revisions and value engineering works can be done before finalizing your contract with the contractor.
4. You have 2 options, either you hire a Construction Manager or ask your architect to function as project inspector. You can learn more about this in my "Construction Setups" article.
Hope to have answered your questions well. Good luck!
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