Construction Schedule
When it comes to construction there are two things you can't do without if you want to make and save money: a budget and a schedule. Once you establish a good budget that you can meet, you will need to have a schedule that you can stick to. You can ask general contractors for bids that include a line by line schedule. Use these to create your own schedule. If you have a general contractor write out a time line that will keep the project within your deadline you can use this information. It will be very valuable to you because it will give you an idea the sequence, and of the duration of each trade involved for your specific house. So, use the schedules provided by the general contractors, and advice from subs about their time line to create a working schedule for your project.
Creating a schedule is a great place to start when you want to save money, or if you just want to get in your house in a decent time frame. Just like with the budget, there is something about putting things in writing that helps you stick to them. If you create a schedule, with all the steps to completing your home on it, you have a very good chance of actually finishing your home by the time you want to (in a 6 month period), which will lead to very large savings.
Take advantage of your planning time (the off the interest clock time) and make your schedule good enough that you are sure to save money by sticking to it, even if things go wrong along the way. It should not take you much more than 6 months, if you don't get done in that time period it is because of indecision on your part, subs not showing up, or very rarely, really bad weather. So, finish on time by creating a schedule and sticking to it.
You know you need to create a good schedule, but do you know what makes a schedule good? The elements of a good schedule are that it.
is easy to update as necessary (meaning have it on the computer so you do not have to hand write it out)
includes all of the tasks necessary to build your home (this means plumbing, framing, and even the little things like decorating)
is in the right sequence, and shows jobs that overlap so you can be sure to have them started on time (you have to have things done in a certain order to make sure things are right, so get everything in the right sequence)
shows correct duration of time for each task (use the durations given by subs in their bids, and from the schedules provided by GC bids)
provides some margin or error, or in other words, overestimates time needed, not underestimates
Your schedule should be on an actual calendar, you should have an indicated start date, and an indicated date to be finished by, then all the steps in sequence in between marked directly on your calendar. You should allow enough time (with overlap) for each step to be completed. This written schedule will act as your control during the crazy times during construction. It seems like with construction the phrase, "If something can go wrong it will, at the worst possible time," is true. So, to get yourself back on track after a mishaps or problem, you need to know what being on track means, that is why it should be written.
Staying on schedule will save you money. Lots and lots of money! So how does staying on schedule save you money? Just having a schedule will help you save because you will have a written goal to shoot for, not some vague idea of when things should be done. When you write out your goals, what happens? Think of it this way, setting goals always gets you closer to them then hoping for things. Also, if you have a set schedule you will know when to order what supplies, and this will help you save because it means you have things there when you need them, thus no time delays; unused materials are on site for shorter periods of time, thus less damage and theft; and you pay much less interest then you would if your project took 2 years rather than 6 months. So have a schedule for your construction project, the benefits are incredible.
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Tags: money schedule construction preparation
Comments
Looks like a pretty good project.
Posted by: construction-bids.com | January 10, 2008 04:01 AM