Landing on the right home builder to construct our dream house is always vital to its success. Here in Toronto, where there are many home builder companies, it is crucial to select the best and affordable one to construct our luxurious custom homes. One most important thing to consider is offering the best quality of homes at a reasonable price.
The selection process is not easy. Most of us solely based our decisions on the financial aspects. However, some homeowners go through the details of the construction process is to fully understand the methods they will go through with the home builders in the construction stages. This scrutiny ensures that the selected contractor can finish the construction within the amount of budget and time frame that they stipulate and the expertise to manage risks.
Determine their Capacity to Undertake the Project (Bidding Requirements)
Letting home builders undergo a bidding process helps in the determination process. In a competitive bidding process, you can compare and weigh down the different companies. You can determine which ones would fit your proposed home construction.
1. Financial Statements – Most bidding processes require companies to submit a copy of their financial records. You can ask them about their latest sales, net worth, annual volumes, or complete financial report. Financial reports reflect the home builder’s financial capacity to build your home.
2. Workforce – Ask them how many workers they are going to assign to the project. This list should include their respective roles and specialties on the site. All skilled workers should have proof such as training certificates, diplomas, and workers’ experience. Inspection of human resources of a home builder ensures that you get the best quality of output from the home builders.
3. Equipment – You can require them to submit a list of the equipment they will use. In typical house construction, some of the necessary equipment are:
- Mobile crane – used to lift materials, prefabricated house elements such as trusses, roofing, etc.
- Backhoe – used for excavation works
- Concrete Breaker – utilized for demolition of existing structures
- Forklift – used for on-site transport and lifting of materials
- Concrete Mixers – used during concreting of the structural elements
- Welding Machines – used for various steelworks such as trusses, railings, beams and columns, pipe works, etc.
- Trucks – hauling of waste and delivery of materials
4. Completed Contracts Similar to Your Project – Examine if they have finished constructing homes that are similar to your proposal. This documentation will cement their capacity and capability to build your luxury home. If they have several completed projects similar to your homes, you can ask the home builders to provide details. You can also ask them permission to perform an actual site visit. There is no better way to examine the quality of their work than actually to see their finished homes.
5. Currently-handled Construction Projects – In this documentation, you can verify the progress reports of their current projects. Compare their actual progress with the projected progress at a particular point in time. We can discover if the project has a delay, has on-time progress, or has advanced progress in terms of percentage.
Site Management
For site management, you can examine their efficiency by managing their safety and health programs, warehouse and logistics, and risk management.
Health and safety programs are in place to protect the workers’ welfare. It also promotes order and smooth workflow in the project site. These companies should follow OSHA regulations in Toronto. Reports such as lost time, accidents, incidents, hazard and risk identification, sanitation, and housekeeping can help you evaluate.
Next, you must consider the warehouse and logistics. These two pertain to the efficiency of their supply chain management and the availability of their materials. One of the factors contributing to delays in construction progress is the problems with the delivery of materials. Homebuilders must have an efficient supply and delivery system. Suppliers should be able to supply materials and deliver them early on site.
Lastly, home builders should be able to identify risks in construction sites. Upfront identification of threats will enable home builders to scrutinize them and provide immediate solutions to minimize or eliminate their effects. How upfront are they in determining the risks on-site? How prompt are they in addressing these risks?
Transparent Communication
Transparency promotes open communication between you and your home builder. Open communication consists of explaining all the information that we need to help each other understand the stages involved in the construction process. At the same time, asking questions and clarification from each other will help both of you. It is also necessary to raise even minor issues in the project site to address promptly and correctly.
Ask the home builder what resources and support they need from you in the planning and designing stage, construction stage, and completion stages of your house.
Another example of transparency is the regular submission of progress reports. Progress keeps you updated about what is happening at the construction site. Preparing look-ahead plans for the activities should also be made because it guides both of you about the priorities at hand.
You and the home builder should observe regular meetings and reachable contact details.
Customer Feedbacks
Customer feedbacks hold considerable importance in determining the efficiency of the home builders. A satisfied customer is a company’s important asset. Ask the home builders for references and contact details from their previous clients. You may ask the previous clients the following:
- Have they experienced delays with the contractor?
- How do they treat their workers?
- Are there hidden costs during the construction of their homes?
- How do the home builders manage risks on-site?
- Are they open to discussing changes in the plans?
- Are they attentive to your questions and queries?
- How do they respond to troubles in the project site?
- How satisfied are they with the final output?
- Would they recommend the contractor?
Selecting the best custom home builder is a task that requires careful decision-making. These criteria or considerations can help you decide for the home builder to help you build your dream luxury homes.
