Australians are bucking the doom and gloom of the current recession and renovating more than ever before. According to Suncorp Bank data, Australians are loaning on average $63,118 renovating their home. Tradies have never been busier. With many Aussies either at the planning stage or in the thick of it, how do you get the best out of tradies? We asked ex-contestants from The Block, Mitch and Mark their tips for renovation success.
Tips for Renovation Success
Plan
Builders love a thorough plan. The more detail, the better. Trips to Bunnings on the fly may sound spontaneous and like winning a room reveal on The Block, but the reality is far from it.
“Mark is really good at planning renovation work,” says Mitch.
“We already had the plan for the house. So, unlike everyone else who went week by week, we already worked out a plan. On the Sunday night, we were on the phone to Jason (the builder), saying ‘you know the plan, this is what we’re doing’,” says Mark.
Sticking to a plan means less stress and less hidden expenses popping up at the end.
Trust your builder
A building site can look like a chaotic, disorganised shemozzle. Dust, paint and tradies on top of each other can look like a disaster zone. This feeling can be particularly overwhelming if you decide to live in your home while renovating.
Builders are project managers. They oversee the tiler, plumber, electrician and other trades, making sure the work is completed in the correct order.
So, a lot of trust needs to be placed in the builder.
Let the tradies do their trade
On The Block, often contestants try their hand at tiling or painting. The reality is, tradies have learnt the tricks of their trade. They have professional equipment and know-how to do the job faster and better.
“It’s not about knowing their trade. When we first started renovating, we didn’t know a lot. We could say, ‘we want to totally gut the bathroom out and rebuild a bathroom’ and we learnt by expressing what we needed. Then the builder would ask us questions before the tradies got there,” says Mitch.
Mitch and Mark found the key to working well with their tradies was respecting their skills and trust. They communicated well with their tradies and prioritised planning.
Tips for tradies working with homeowners
Builder Jason Charles of Charles Bros. worked with Mitch and Mark on the 2019 season of The Block. He gave hipages some tips for renovating with homeowners.
Organise
The more organised the homeowner, the less money and time wasted. Tradies are often between two or three different worksites, and may not remember a detail told in passing last week.
“Have a checklist in front of them, so they can tick it off as they go,” says Jason.
Encourage the homeowner to have materials ready for the trades to start working with. Otherwise, they’ll be paying for your trip to Bunnings.
“If it’s only odd jobs like home improvement, try to have the materials on site,” says Jason.
Transparency
The plans are made, the renovation is in full swing, and then along comes a surprise. Rotting timber or asbestos is found behind a wall. This adds extra time and money that the homeowner may not have budgeted for.
Jason says, “being very transparent is a huge one. When it gets to the end of a job and there’s been variations, that’s when all the stress kicks in. Owners don’t know what stuff’s worth sometimes. Even if I take invoicing to them, and say ‘here’s your material costs’, they’ll say ‘what’? Why does it cost so much? I’d say, that’s how much it costs to buy things.”
Communication
Poor communication can mean the death to any relationship. When it comes to the hand over, any misunderstandings that surface may be too late to rectify.
