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Avoiding Common Problems with Your Builder

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Be Sparing with Changes

If we were to create a list of the biggest potential problems homeowners face when having a home built, change orders would probably rank right up there with hiring the builder.

A change order is a written order to the builder to change the plan of work, whether deleting some element of the construction project, adding some element, or, most likely, simply changing some element, such as swapping a lower-quality countertop material like laminate for a higher quality material like solid-surfacing. Minor changes usually don't cause problems. It's the bigger changes that cause problems because they have a ripple effect throughout the tightly scheduled construction project.

"If you assume the builder is competent and honest, the biggest problem in terms of budget and schedule is changes," Goldstein said. "If a homeowner cares about his money and his schedule, he should try to understand what he's building before he starts and be happy with it. But once you start changing your mind, it's costing you money and you're demoralizing the builder."

Goldstein, whose general contracting company, Thoughtforms Corporation, was chosen Custom Builder of the Year by Custom Home magazine, has thought a lot about this issue and offers good advice. "Change orders make the (construction) process less-efficient and cost more," he said. "Let's say he (the builder) has ordered the lights you chose for the kitchen but you say, 'No, we're going to get different lights.' Or he's ordered your cabinets and you've suddenly changed your mind. These changes add layers and layers of inefficiency," Goldstein said. "It's demoralizing to the builder and it sets a tone."

He gives a similar example involving decision making. "Let's say (the builder) bid the job with a tile allowance" and it's time to schedule the tile installer, "but you haven't picked out your tile yet," he said. "That can slow down a number of other jobs the builder has to schedule. What you're saying is that you've changed your mind, that the sub (contractor) doesn't have to come now. That sends a message to everybody on the job that the schedule isn't important."

A Few Fine Points

Take care of the little things and the big things take care of themselves, the saying goes. That being the case, the little things often add up to big things, and there are a few of the little things you should remember as you work with your contractor to build your home.

One of these is communication. "You should have formal meetings, even if you plan to show up every day," Goldstein said. "You should have a formal meeting scheduled. You sit down, you go over the issues, problems, questions. If there's a lot discussed, meeting notes are taken."

These don't all have to be long or in-depth meetings, but these meetings need to be established in a formal way. "What this means is that you're imposing a discipline, that there's a formal structure here," Goldstein said. "This doesn't limit you from having informal conversations. But it gives the meetings, and what you say at them, a little more weight." These meetings will also help make sure you know what's going on so you're not taken by surprise.

"You're dealing with a construction project that is completely reliant on the people doing it," he said. "Other consumer products are made over and over, identically. Here we're doing it outdoors, it's a big thing, it costs a lot of money," and both the homeowner and builder will find the process smoother when things get talked out on a regular basis.

Finally, Goldstein offers a more subtle piece of advice, one whose meaning bears on virtually every relationship in the working world. "I would suggest that, as much as possible, the homeowner should convey to the people who are working on their project-and I don't mean in a phony way or that they buy them things-but they should convey an appreciation that these people are trying to do a good job for them," he said. "These are people who are out there working with their hands, and this means a lot to them. If the homeowner comes across as arrogant, they'll ultimately end up with a worse job. But if, in an honest way, they can let it be known they appreciate that, they'll get a better job.