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Owner build your future
June 28, 2010 Author: Jerry Tyrrell
After watching over three decades of building disasters I decided to write a book on Owner Building for Sydney home owners.
Don’t get me wrong, Owner Building makes sense, and dollars as well. But like anything good, it takes hard work and the right choices to make the most of this ‘loophole’ in the law. That’s right. Becoming an owner builder is probably technically illegal because it is basically allowing an unqualified person to do complex professional work. No other serious profession lets you ‘DIY’ their job. The lawyers don’t. You can’t work as a doctor or dentist. And you need qualifications to teach or be a nurse.
If you make a mistake as an owner builder, you have to pay to fix, live with it or have to discount the future sale price if a buyer rejects faulty work. So often, when we inspect Sydney homes for buyers we see examples of stupid owner builder designs like the wrong choice of external timbers, silly roof details which leak, or use of imported stone without checking how to seal and install it properly.
So how can owners become good temporary ‘builders’?
I’m a great fan of the owner builder1 who does his or her homework and doesn’t try to be anything more than a ‘manager’ of the building process. This is because it took me 6 years of study and at least 10 years of on site building to become a good builder.
In the Owner Builder Handbook2 I say the best owner builder is a combination of cook, team player and book keeper. Nothing about being a good builder here. Or insisting that you do complex training courses.
It simply boils down to planning, trust and quality assurance. Getting good quality drawings is essential. Choosing well referenced tradespeople capable of doing the complex work you want honestly and expertly. And finally, checking the quality of the finished work BEFORE you make final payment.
Hang on, one more thing to think about. Get yourself an owner builder buddy. Someone who can help you with the tricky bits like jointing the extension to the existing premises without movement or termite problems. Or helping you get a dry basement and keep your weather exposed multi-fold door. Or simply telling you how to get rid of design problems which are impossible to build without future problems.
This buddy might be a brother in law or uncle. Or even a builder mate for larger projects. Of course, I’m bit biased and think a building consultant makes a very good ally for the complex, expensive jobs where one mistakes makes you look foolish to your friends and can cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix.
Many Sydney owners will not sell their homes in this troubled financial period. They will extend or add to the present homes themselves. If they are smart, they will do much of the management and planning themselves and even some of the labouring and painting, so long as they research any safety or technical issues before they start.
So good luck. Please make sure you join the ranks of the many owners who successfully researched the process, coordinated the experts and got a ‘bloody good job’ done at a fraction of the costs they could have paid in margins and profits if they’d used a regular builder.
Had an experience, good or bad, as an owner builder? Let us know in the comments.
Update 1/9/10 10:23pm: Changed the Owner Builder Course availability date noted here.
- Tyrrells offers an Owner Builder Course which is available until the 30th of September 2010 ↩
- To get a FREE copy of the Owner Builder Handbook please contact us ↩
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