I didn't mean to be harsh, but I just meant to illustrate that it's not just
a case of cutting out the builder and then reaping his profits. There are
lots of potential pitfalls in managing multiple tradespeople, and if you are
not totally clued up then you could very easily not only loose the savings
you hoped for, but also pay more into the bargain.

Asking on this group for advice on how deep a foundation should be is one
thing, asking how to deal with a groundworker who has to divert drains and
wants extra money, which will then hold up the concrete pour and the
bricklayer, who then can't fit you in for another 3 weeks, so you ask the
ground worker to set the walls out and then find that they are out of square
and out of level etc etc, is another.

You need to know how to deal with the things you don't know about, because
that's where your money goes.

dg


"Michael Mcneil" wrote in message
news:fb06ed73b51f385bc78640fb713d0616.45219@mygate .mailgate.org...
"dg" wrote in message


I would suggest that if you need to ask the question, then you are not
experienced enough to manage the work.

That's a little hard isn't it? This is a do it yourself newsgroup after
all. Being experienced means you started somewhere. Why not start at the
top? He knows he needs to hire professionals. That's a good start.

You can only save money if you are able to assemble the correct people
at
the correct time..

Once he has had a series of quotes he only needs to ensure the cheapest
is good at his job and will arrive sooner or later. Timing is only
important for the purpose of having the ground clear for the next trade.

Don't assume that the builder is charging you OTT prices, the % profit
is
not that big on the average extension job.

On the other hand don't assume that because a builder might be getting
greater discounts for materials etc, he is going to pass that on. It's
all a matter of comparing quotes and whatever.

How do you sack a man the builder has hired? If the original poster is
willing to live with half a house and prepared to give it a go I would
encourage him. The steep learning curve will stand him in good stead for
his next job. If it doesn't kill him it might make him repentant.


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