| Building Renovations | Homeowners | Renovating | Builders | Tradesmen | Insurance | Cracked Render |
I am still seeing so many people everyday making the same mistakes with their approach to building renovations to their homes.
Sadly we have really become a society so driven by ‘price’ that we often fail to really understand what we are actually getting when renovating. This creates many problems as we think we are getting a better deal, but the reality is that something needs to give way, and this could be anything from a compromise in product quality selection, lesser performing products, shortcuts in methodology, inadequate insurances, site safety or business compliance, all of which are likely to cost you, the consumer.
The old-age phrase of ‘comparing apples with apples’ with building-related products and services, is really one area where consumers get it wrong more often than not.
The point to all of this is that over a long period of time, the cheaper deal often actually ends up costing you significantly more. It happens all of the time! But it shouldn’t.
I am dealing with a client that has been repairing her home constantly for the last 20 years! She happens to be quite price driven and unfortunately from the condition of her home, it is very apparent that poor decisions in the past have cost her greatly with a run-down looking home, i.e., cracked render, blistering paint, leaky roof and glass panels, etc. Over the duration of years of constant repairs, she has spent tens of thousands of dollars on work that has failed sooner than it should have.
The challenge for me is to prove to my client that by carefully considering all of the possible options related to the scope of works, a much better overall performance will be achieved for much longer, meaning less money thrown away in between.
Providing honest information to a client when they are considering renovating, as unpalatable as it may come across and likely damage your chances of winning the job, is the right thing to do for the clients’ long term interests.
The message to consumers really needs to be that there is no cheaper way out, other than doing the job properly the first time.
Unfortunately there are way too many builders and tradesmen alike who push the ‘cheaper, cheaper, cheaper’ mantra and consumers are taking it hook, line and sinker!
Sadly we have really become a society so driven by ‘price’ that we often fail to really understand what we are actually getting when renovating. This creates many problems as we think we are getting a better deal, but the reality is that something needs to give way, and this could be anything from a compromise in product quality selection, lesser performing products, shortcuts in methodology, inadequate insurances, site safety or business compliance, all of which are likely to cost you, the consumer.
The old-age phrase of ‘comparing apples with apples’ with building-related products and services, is really one area where consumers get it wrong more often than not.
The point to all of this is that over a long period of time, the cheaper deal often actually ends up costing you significantly more. It happens all of the time! But it shouldn’t.
I am dealing with a client that has been repairing her home constantly for the last 20 years! She happens to be quite price driven and unfortunately from the condition of her home, it is very apparent that poor decisions in the past have cost her greatly with a run-down looking home, i.e., cracked render, blistering paint, leaky roof and glass panels, etc. Over the duration of years of constant repairs, she has spent tens of thousands of dollars on work that has failed sooner than it should have.
The challenge for me is to prove to my client that by carefully considering all of the possible options related to the scope of works, a much better overall performance will be achieved for much longer, meaning less money thrown away in between.
Providing honest information to a client when they are considering renovating, as unpalatable as it may come across and likely damage your chances of winning the job, is the right thing to do for the clients’ long term interests.
The message to consumers really needs to be that there is no cheaper way out, other than doing the job properly the first time.
Unfortunately there are way too many builders and tradesmen alike who push the ‘cheaper, cheaper, cheaper’ mantra and consumers are taking it hook, line and sinker!
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