Whether it’s a commercial or residential, small or large-scale project – sticking to both your schedule and budget are absolutely essential. This ensures that everything runs as smoothly as possible and also works to minimise the chances of unforeseen issues arising.

As builders in Pakenham, we know that it can sometimes be a bit difficult to stick to a plan, so we thought we’d give you some handy pointers to help you stay on track and within your budget.

1.    Formulate a plan beforehand

The smartest thing you can do, whether you’re an owner-builder or a contractor, is to plan ahead. Figure out exactly what needs to be done – right down to the smallest detail – and then lay out all the materials you’ll need to achieve this.

Once you know what needs to be done and what materials will be used you can start to draft up a schedule that will be revised and refined over the coming weeks.

The schedule should be fairly strict but still have a bit of leeway. It’s always better to estimate a little bit over to leave room for any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.

If you have a solid plan and budget ready to go before you actually start building, then you’ll find it a lot easier overall to stick to them as opposed to going into a project with a less comprehensive plan.

2.    Breakdown the plan into stages

The easiest way to navigate your schedule and budget is to break it into stages. This is something that should be done right after you formulate your initial schedule and budget plan. The smaller the stages the easier it will be. For longer projects, you can also implement phases.

For example, building the shower would be a single phase but there are multiple stages involved in completing the shower. Each stage will have a budget allocated to it which should be as accurate and cost-effective as possible.

This also makes it easier to know how much money you’ll need for each job and when the money is to be released to the contractor/owner-builder. This works especially well if a construction loan has been taken out.

3.    Avoid impulse changes

If you’re an owner-builder, then be sure that everything goes into your plan and that you don’t add things in later during the construction phase. This can throw the entire plan and budget out of whack and end up being more costly and time-consuming.

As Pakenham builders, it’s our job to ensure that we go through everything with the client to ensure they’re happy with the final result and don’t want anything extra added. If extra things are needed or wanted, then the schedule and budget will have to be amended.

4.    Draft contingencies

Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes things go wrong for reasons that are out of our control. If something does happen during construction that throws a wrench in your schedule and/or budget, then it definitely pays off to have a contingency plan.

Even by reviewing your plan you may be able to predict where things are most likely to go wrong and adjust accordingly. It’s better to have them in place and ready to go in case of an emergency then risk derailing the project further.

5.    Follow the project closely

You don’t have to necessarily micromanage but be sure you stay on top of all the stages that are occurring simultaneously throughout the project. If something does go wrong, then the sooner you can identify and respond to it the better. This will keep things on track as much as possible and help to mitigate any unnecessary deviation.

Are you looking for builders in Pakenham?

S & B Lamble Builders are premium builders in Pakenham with 35 years of custom construction projects across both residential and commercial properties. Our knowledgeable experts are able to help you tackle any construction project as well as help you plan an effective budget and timeline for the project.

If you’re looking for builders in Pakenham for construction services, then please get in touch with us by calling (03) 5941 8135. You may also get in contact with us by filling out the enquiry form found on our website.