What To Expect When Building A New Home Read Count : 146

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Sub Category : Miscellaneous

One of the sacred writings has a parable that contrasts the outcome of building a house on the sand vs on rock. One could not ask for a more apropos insight for anywhere in the Florida peninsula. The point is we all tend to want what we want now. 

In this case, the construction of a dwelling, does one really want a builder to rush to have it done? These are not cash cow properties thrown together with a name brand and a big price tag to be resold in 30 years in real estate obscurity or torn down and replaced altogether. Here at Botaniko Weston we are convinced anything truly worth having takes time and Oppenheim Architecture seems to agree in its designs that encourage confluence of man and the natural environment. Knowing everyone has heard it, the cliché about the Cistine Chapel will not be repeated.

With all the best planning in the world, patience is still the objective in awaiting  a pre-construction home because there are factors beyond the architect or builder’s control that can affect the progress of a structure raising.  Begin with the right permits and permissions from the city of Weston, the county of Broward, or the state of Florida.  The average citizen is oblivious to the politics that go into a place like Botaniko Weston.

Skilled labor is yet another crucial element.  Builders typically do not switch cement layers, brick layers, electricians, and the like on a whim. The project may be waiting for one group of skilled workers, for example, who promised to be on-site yesterday and will be delayed a week because of something beyond anyone’s control on the site from which the group is departing.

Anyone can understand the logic in relationship building. A builder knows a company in electrical wiring, for example. He has used them before and knows the quality of their work. As unfortunate as it may be, an unforeseeable and unavoidable delay on a current job site can delay arrival to the new one but the builder will wait because he knows, in the long run, he does not want to call in a new crew like one would call in a new tree feller, asphalt coater, or gutter cleaner.

The same can be said of suppliers.  A builder grows to learn who will work with him, for him even, and who will not and he knows the wisdom in being patient and the folly in trying to get the needed supplies somewhere else. The availability of the supplies somewhere else is not likely the problem. Quality, price, delivery, and other key factors are.

Not only that, natural disasters can affect manufacture and delivery of materials needed at a construction site. If a tornado or hurricane destroys or damages a facility hundreds of miles away, the building at Weston, for example, can still be delayed going up.

How a builder handles inventory is yet another factor that can affect the timeliness of a building raising despite the best plans on paper.  For a project, for example, of one hundred luxury homes, they all may have the same closet doors, the same appliances, light fixtures, water fixtures, outside spigots, et cetera, and the builder may buy what he needs and store the inventory. Or he may not.  There are pro’s and con’s to each and the contract usually does not stipulate how inventory should be handled.

Say he buys all stainless steel appliances and then one of the home buyers wants all black. Then, there can be additional costs to the builder if not delays. 

The meteorologists usually do a good job of predicting the weather so that builders can plan ahead as much as possible but weather can still be unpredictable or uncooperative. Rain in excess when dry earth is needed or parched ground when moist soil is needed. Windy weeks when dry and calm are needed. The point is axiomatic.

The unknowns may not be a common occurrence but one never knows what will be unearthed once the digging begins. Unexplained human remains. Previously unidentified burial grounds. Historical archeological excavations can be made. All of them can affect the building progress.

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