Whether you’re knocking down your house to rebuild from scratch or taking on a larger-scale commercial project, it’s a good idea to look for tips and advice before you begin – especially if you’re a newbie to the world of construction. Doing the research beforehand can be the difference between a dream-build and a complete nightmare.

Get the Right People

The chances are you’re going to need to hire a lot of outside help for your build. Whether these be landscapers, plumbers or demolition contractors, you need to make sure you get a team of trustworthy and skilled workmen to do the job. First, check that the company you’re looking at has all the required permits and licenses – if they don’t then that’s a definite no! Then look at past jobs they’ve completed and see if there’s any feedback from other clients to gauge their reliability.

Listen to Professionals

Once you’ve found your skilled team of workers, make sure you listen to their advice. It can be easy to get possessive over your project – you know exactly how you want it, right? But by not listening to their suggestions for improvements, you may be compromising your project. Remind yourself that these people probably know more than you do about the complexities of a build and will only be giving advice that will improve the end result, even if it may not have been what you originally planned.

Be clear about what you want

It may sound contradictory to the last tip, but knowing what you want is key to a good knock down and rebuild project. If you aren’t precise on details, your build won’t be well planned and may become confusing – especially to your workers. Having a detailed plan can also help beginners. If your team knows exactly what you want then they can work alongside you to improve your idea and show you the best way to bring your build to life.

Look at the Land

Something often overlooked by beginners is the land surrounding their build. Knowing what’s going on in your project area is vital – especially if you don’t want costs being hiked up by unwanted surprises. It can give you an idea on what foundations you’re going to need (get a soil test for this), the access to necessities such a plumbing, and where your build should be placed. You definitely don’t want to be halfway through construction before realising there’s a protected tree in the centre of your future kitchen.

Taking on a building project can be daunting, but if you’re prepared you’ll help things to run far more smoothly. Perhaps the most important part of your construction project is hiring a good team. From demolition contractors to interior decorators; these are the people who will help to guide you through your build and eventually create your masterpiece.