What happens after you sign the building contract for your renovation or new build project?

HOME Method member, Ben, is back with his latest project update, and shares what comes after the contract is signed.

If you’re wondering what to expect once you’ve committed, this conversation is packed with practical insights and lessons from real world renovating.

Listen to the episode now.

Hello! This is Episode 372, and it’s part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method member, Ben, about the renovation of their Melbourne California Bungalow.

In this episode, we pick up at the point where Ben and his partner, Mike, are preparing to sign the building contract. He shares how he approached legal review, navigated sensitive conversations with his builder, and managed the personal dynamics of taking such a big step.

If you haven’t yet listened to Part 1, I’d encourage you to go back and catch up on how Ben selected his builder, finalised his design and selections, and laid the groundwork for a successful build. 

And of course, Ben’s previous updates on his project are in Episode 352 and Episode 353 as well.

As we dive into Part 2 in this episode, you’ll hear Ben’s thoughtful reflections on relationship-building with their builder, and what happened when the builder misinterpreted the proposed contract edits. We also explore how he navigated delays with builder’s insurance, rental decisions, and setting up for site start.

And now that construction is underway, Ben talks through how he’s managing communication, staying curious, and showing up as an engaged, collaborative client.

This is such a real and grounded look at what it means to be an empowered homeowner in your project. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

Before we dive into the conversation, let me give you some context on timing. 

Ben and Mike joined HOME Method in April 2021. 

The last conversation I had with Ben in Episode 352 and Episode 353 was in November 2024. This latest update was recorded in August 2025. Ben and Mike’s project is due for completion in early 2026.

Here’s Part 2 of my conversation with Ben.

I hope you find the conversation super valuable and insightful. Ben’s level of preparation, reflection, and intentionality is such a fantastic example of how powerful it is to lead your project with curiosity, clear communication, and a willingness to learn.

What really stands out to me is how Ben has balanced the detail-oriented mindset of a committed homeowner with the awareness that this is a professional relationship. He and Mike have done the work to get informed, stayed calm when things didn’t go to plan, and set up a solid foundation for his builder to do their best work too.

This is exactly what we teach inside HOME Method… how to remove assumptions, manage your risk, make informed decisions, and collaborate constructively, so you can feel confident every step of the way.

Ben’s story shows us that it’s not about being perfect. It’s about being proactive. And it’s about remembering that every decision you make ahead of time sets the tone for the rest of your project.

Let’s hear from Ben now.

This is the transcript of my conversation with Ben, as he shares his latest project update, and talks about what comes after the contract is signed.

Amelia Lee
Now, in terms of that contract signing stage, I can hear all the work that you did to set up that pre-construction and to have confidence before you signed the contract… What did signing the contract actually look like? How did you navigate that? You mentioned the time frames that happened between fleshing this stuff out and then actually signing the contract and accepting the price, what did you do to sign the contract and feel comfortable about that?

Ben
I was conscious that the contract is a serious document, and that I wanted to have a good look at it before signing it. Again, HOME Method lessons, don’t rush. Don’t rush into something so significant without proper review, which goes for a lot of things, and yes, most especially for a contract. And I knew that we were receiving a standard contract, and I had this momentary thought, it’s like, it wasn’t the money, it was the time to take an external review.

Just because we had just moved into a rental home, and it was May, which, like, “Oh, could we be in this house by Christmas?” And irrational, but some kind of hope. And do we actually want to take the time? And my rational brain, of course, thankfully I guess, got the better of me and said, like, “No, this needs to undertake review.” And instead of then having to find another professional service for my own research, I jumped into the HOME Method Facebook group and found a Melbourne-based lawyer who someone had a good experience with, contacted them, and it sounded like they were able to undertake the level of review that we wanted, and had them do a written review of this contract. And then they had a number of suggestions, some of which we went back to the builder with.

Amelia Lee
What was the builder’s appetite to make those changes to the contract?

Ben
So actually, the builder was quite accommodating of a number of things. I didn’t really know what to expect. I really didn’t know what to expect, just because it was a standard contract, and I’m sure he had all kinds of other things going on. And would assume that he had legal advice too. So a number of things were accepted, but then, a few things weren’t. And this is quite worth mentioning, actually. So, I’m not a contract expert, but you read these things, and a lot of them concern themselves with when bad things happen. Especially stuff outside other people’s control happens. Like, how is that dealt with in the legal sort of way? And just wanting to protect our interests, and certainly not trusting the builder to just say, like, “Well, yeah, how can you make this as tight as possible?” And it’s always a negotiation on both sides, so that’s what I expected. It was interesting, a couple of the requested changes, the lawyer gives you things to choose from, you don’t have to take all the advice.

But a couple of the requesting changes, I didn’t ask for absolutely everything. It came to our attention from the builder that they were perceived as, I guess, like, not trusting either the professionalism or the workmanship or the approach. And I think that was an important moment for me, back to what I was saying before, it is another human on the other side of this professional relationship. Yes, it’s not a personal one, but everybody has feelings. And this person, this builder, had been very accommodating and open and patient. And there were a couple of, it was potentially, like, these are the way that things are worded. Or actually, this is another good lesson… I was requesting these contract changes, I was eager to get started. Was doing a lot of this by email, because at work, I do a lot of this by email, for better and worse. And in this case, I didn’t call him to talk to him about it. 

And, just like I was saying, that sometimes it’s good for other people to understand why you’re doing something, or what your mindset is and the way that you’re approaching something, especially when it’s sensitive. And that was taken to be untrusting. And actually, I can understand that. I don’t fault that at all. And it was a good lesson for me that I should just be intentional and careful and reflective on how, in a professional relationship, other people could perceive what you’re saying, especially where there’s assumption involved. So when there’s something sensitive like this, it is sometimes just worth a discussion, and then you can transact in your email. Ultimately, I explained things and we got there, but it was a bit of a challenge.

Amelia Lee
Thank you for sharing that, because I think it’s really interesting. I find that really fascinating, that the builder took that personally. And again, in the work that we do with builders in Live Life Build, because we do do a lot of work around mindset and we talk about the fact that humans are meaning-making machines. And it’s just information, but what story you decide to attach to it is the thing then that will start to impact how you behave and how you show up, and the choices that you make, and how you react rather than respond, and all of that kind of stuff. And so, whilst I can see your sensitivity to how perhaps you might have made different choices were you to do that again, that other side of me is going, that builder really shouldn’t have taken that personally. They should have actually taken the opportunity to see that perhaps there was a gap in how they’d educated and informed you, and that you were just doing something to protect your own interests. And at the end of the day, they can decide, because it’s their business, how they want to transact the work in their business.

But for them to interpret that as you not trusting them, I always find it really interesting when that comes into play. Because trust isn’t built in big sweeping gestures, and it’s not killed necessarily inside a contract in big sweeping gestures either. It’s done incrementally, and you’ve had that year and a half of building things up, but this is the death nail of you committing to something legally, and so I appreciate your awareness of how that might have landed, but I want to say to that builder, I hope that they’ve used this as a learning to not personalise that again in the future, and to change their systems and processes so that they can support you in perhaps not even needing to have that conversation in the future. A lot of builders don’t understand how their contracts can necessarily land. The contract obviously obligates you as a homeowner as much as it obligates them, as a builder. Is it an MBA or an HIA contract?

Ben
A Master Builders, yeah.

Amelia Lee
And so yeah, the builder has to access to legal support through the industry body to have any queries that come up and that kind of stuff. But there certainly are things in standard contracts where, when lawyers see them, they go, “No, you probably want to manage your risk, from a homeowners point of view, in that instance.” So, yeah, that’s a really interesting unfolding.

Ben
It is, and, I mean, I made sure not to just examine that happening just itself. You could almost call it, like, an outlier in our relationship. Like, yes, we have had this relationship for a year and a half. And I’d asked so many questions, and just ask for so much clarification. And, like, because this was, I guess, like, a little bit outside the norm.

It was almost like the opposite of a red flag. It’s like, “Oh, like, you don’t normally react this way to things.” So, I was very willing to be like, “Oh, well, who knows what was going on that day in their life?” Like, it’s true, wife’s having a baby, all this other stuff, but we had so much relationship goodwill brought up where that was totally okay, in the broader scheme of things. And, yeah, just caused me to be more reflective than suspicious isn’t the right word, but feeling negative about that, which I didn’t.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, I understand. And in terms of any other bumps that you had in that process of signing the contract, I know that there was some builder insurance challenges. Can you talk through what you navigated with that?

Ben
Once we decided to proceed, to be able to go ahead to the contract, accepting the quote, accepting the fee proposal quote, and going ahead with the contract, I wasn’t sure of all the steps, but I came to find out that insurance has to be in place for the purposes of entering into that contract. And this builder runs a small business, and I understood then that there was a step to increase the level of insurance cover to accommodate the two projects that he was planning to do at the same time, and with how it works in Victoria, I guess, like, you can use a broker who then confirms insurance arrangements from the Victorian insurance body, the Managed Insurance Agency.

And there were delays in getting that signed off. And there was some delays with the broker, but then it sounded like a government delay. And the week or two delay turned into three and four. And I felt like I was patient for a couple of weeks, but really wanted to understand why that was taking long, and whether anything could be done to escalate. Because I love to escalate issues. Or if you’re having an issue, it’s like, “Well, okay, how can I get this resolved?” I do have the less of a tendency to wait and wait. And, yeah, I think the builder, in his calmness and wanting to maintain relationships, like, I don’t want to assume too much, but I was getting impatient. And I wanted to understand what was happening.

What ended up happening is after six or seven weeks, it was resolved. But I was like, “Well, can’t we contact the Minister responsible for that insurance agency?” And I think the builder was a lot more like, “I know this is delayed, and this will get resolved. And I want to preserve these relationships.” And he trusted the process. He wasn’t getting impatient, and, yeah, it was resolved. But in a way, like, yes, would I like it to be resolved three or four weeks earlier? Yes. But then at the same time, another piece of evidence of how he approaches these kinds of things – patient, trusting and relationship-oriented, that’s not a bad thing.

Amelia Lee
I thought you wanted to sweep in and see if you could run it up the line in terms of getting more outcomes. So it speaks to what you do professionally.

Ben
It does, yeah. Sometimes you have to escalate. That’s right.

Amelia Lee
And can you talk through, because I know that you were also navigating, at the time, figuring out where you were going to be living, how that was going to work, how the timeline of that was going to work. What was your whole process with all of that and renting and those kinds of things

Ben
So, after we had accepted the quote, and before we were in the contract phase we are, based on best information, the builder projected that we’d be able to start just after Easter, which, this year is the end of April, like, Eastern associated public holidays.

And then we started turning our mind to where we were going to live, and knew that we wanted to rent in the area, so we could, not just attend these site meetings, and I don’t want to say keep an eye on the build, because actually, I am not going past the house during the week. Like, I will go there on Friday. Like, it’s not on my mind during the week. But being able to have that accessible, but also maintain my daily patents, like the train station, the shops, everything that I want to do on a regular basis, wanted that to be not disruptive. So that puts more constraints on where you can look. So we started looking at the rental market, try to understand things. And then a couple rental properties came up, and there was a decision. It’s like, “Well, okay, what do we do? We have this information, and it is likely to start. We don’t want to delay the build because of this. But then, we don’t have a contract, we don’t have a draft contract, there’s a risk of if you make those decisions, you’re taking on financial risk. Like, if things get delayed past that late April date and you moved and you’re paying rent, you can’t blame anybody. It’s not a guarantee.”

So we ended up finding a very well-located rental with storage, with more internal storage than our existing house. It had a big garage, whatever. It really suited our needs. And the question was like, “Okay, do we go for this, knowing that the build might not necessarily start?” And because it was well-located and well-priced, I think we were willing to take that risk. Because the alternate would be, you could find something better, but you have to decide, is this sufficient? What’s the level of financial risk that you’re undertaking? Like, if it is delayed by three months and it costs you this much extra, are you okay with that? And we made the decision.

And also, there’s a benefit that you get by making a decision and not having to be anxious of all right, the build’s starting this amount of time, we must find a rental in three weeks. I wouldn’t want that. So we made the decision to get the rental, we moved, and we had two homes for two and a half months before things started. And ultimately, it’s fine, and we like living here, and it costs a little bit extra because of that, but also, I’m still looking at the rentals. My partner is ready to kill me because we’ve made a decision, and why am I still looking at that? But also, rents have continued to escalate since we moved, so I don’t feel bad about the little extra money at all.

Amelia Lee
I think too, if you haven’t rented before or rented for a long time, even just going through the rental process can be a little bit challenging.

I remember, we’ve been homeowners for ages, and then we were renting between leaving Brisbane and moving to northern New South Wales. And even just jumping through those rental application hoops was so weird because we didn’t have any rental history. We hadn’t rented since we were in our 20s.

Ben
And everything’s online now. I mean, look, we lived 2014 to 2018 in the rental. But when we applied in 2014, it was all on paper. And the other thing with the rental, yes, is the rental history and what we ended up doing. And yeah, like, I’d give this advice to other people, is that the selling agents for the house that we bought, they want to keep in contact with you, and so, we hadn’t spoken to them in the three years since we bought the house, but said, “Hey, this is what we’re doing.” Because agents also sell. Selling agents, but also rental properties. “Like, I don’t know if you have anything coming up that you could recommend.”

And they didn’t, but they did say, “Look, if you need a reference, I’m happy to provide one for a rental that you do find.” And I don’t know, I can’t say that was the thing. Like, they gave us a reference, they contacted the renting agent directly, and I can’t say it did any harm. So, that was a smart way to leverage a win-win relationship. They knew what we were doing, and kept in touch with them. And it was nice to have that gap covered.

Amelia Lee
That’s awesome. That’s a great piece of advice. So thanks for sharing that, Ben. Now, you’ve started on site. Yay!

Ben
Yay, finally! Doesn’t feel real, but yeah.

Amelia Lee
So when did you officially start on site? And can you talk through your experience, because this has been a long time coming for you, so that experience of committing to the contract and commencing on site, how has that all been for you?

Ben
Yeah, so we started the very end of August. Now it’s the end of July that we started. It has been, I guess, wonderfully exciting, I suppose. Besides having the weekly site meetings to keep the communication open, just to see things evolve on a week-to-week basis, it’s just wonderfully satisfying and interesting.

I mean, I learned so much through HOME Method, and putting together a build proposal, so much about what’s entailed in building a home. Or we’re extending, but there’s a big new build part of it. So I’m just fascinated. And to see the home that you were in for a long time, see it deconstructed, it’s like, “Whoa, okay.” You take the plaster off the walls and the ceiling, and you’re like, “It’s just a bunch of timber.” But it’s been a great thing to see. Recently in HOME Method, I think maybe even on the podcast, there’s the conversation about it feels big, it feels small. And, yes, the extension feels very large when you see a big 400 mil deep hole in the ground that they’re going to put a sub floor on. But it is really exciting. And any doubts or worries, we’re reminding ourselves, it’s like, “We took so long to make this decision and tested it in so many different ways.” Planning things out in the backyard, talking to so many people, getting professional advice.

If things look weird, or you’re questioning, it’s like, “No, we did the work, and we have the confidence.” And I hope we maintain that as the site visits unfold, and the build progresses.

Amelia Lee
And so, what concerns do you have? I mean, it’s understandable to still have concerns. I know that you’ve renovated before, but not, I think, on this scale, and you’ve not done it with this level of preparation. And I think one of the things about getting prepared is that you start to realise how much there is to know about the process of custom building and renovating. What always fascinates me about the HOME Method community is you know so much. Compared to the average homeowner, you know so much about the process. And yet, I see that you can still be concerned that you don’t know enough and that something’s going to catch you out. So, how are you navigating that, and your mindset around that, and also just making sure that things are going to happen the way that you hope that they will, and that you’ve prepared for them to?

Ben
One of the things that, speaking of mindset, trying to remind myself that I am interested in the detail. I like to know how things work. I want to see how things unfold. And I’m curious about how it applies to the home, to the project that we’re doing.

But then, another HOME Method adage of not holding some of these things too tightly, I think, is what they say. Like, not substituting responsibility of the builder, so being comfortable with knowing a lot of detail and being curious without being suspicious, or untrusting or feeling the need to take things on, because you can’t. And just like in my professional life, I will provide professional advice or services to other people. And they might be curious themselves. But they’re there to play a role, so trusting that the builder and just, to be honest, seeing the level of complexity, you’re right. So how much there is to know, and I feel like I’ve gotten all this education, which is great, but there’s still just so much to know that I’ll never know. So, almost like being on site and seeing how much there is even in what’s happened.

Like demo restumping and digging out dirt for new stumps. With those three things, there’s an enormous amount of complexity and things that you don’t know. So, that’s been really helpful, too.

Amelia Lee
And so, in terms of you thinking about managing your budget through this process, how are you taking that on?

Ben
We have a notional contingency for the budget. And I was also aware, like, feeling the need to have the contingency at an appropriate amount, I would say, almost a little bit of a lower amount than if we had more provisional items or hadn’t made a number of choices. There have been a variation in this one month, because it was having to do with rotted bears when the whole thing was restumped. But in the exclusions, in the quote is works to existing subfloor, so that’s very reasonable. And the amount was very reasonable. One thing that we’re dealing with now is what we’re going to do with landscaping. 

And going back to the previous question, one thing it was was like, “Oh, is this house taking up too much room on the block, and are we going to be able to have the landscaping solution that we wanted?” So, having that in mind is key. And we do still have things to spend money on, but the way that we’re managing the budget overall, the budget, I guess, isn’t just the sum of the build contract plus contingency. There are a couple things that are being supplied, but that needs to be adding up. We’ve made 90% of the decisions for what’s being included. So there’s a spreadsheet. It’s like, “Yeah, this model oven, that’s how much it’s going to cost.” We have this appliance package that’s on hold with the appliance supplier. And there’s an amount for feature lighting that we haven’t made decisions on, but the level of confirmation that we have about the budget is, I think, reasonably as much as we could expect.

But having that contingency amount in case things are unforeseen, to basically have that allowance and, not just manage the budget, but just manage our feelings about it.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, I think that’s really wise. I mean, it’s a renovation. So there’s always things that, even with all the due diligence, it can be really tricky, unless they’ve pulled the whole house apart before pricing everything, and when you’re living there, and that kind of stuff, that’s not always possible. So, to me, it sounds like you’ve done all the right things in terms of getting your ducks in a row and then having that little bit of contingency set aside. And really, I like the fact that, even though it’s not great to have a variation in your project at all, let alone early in the piece, the fact that the builder has already said to you, “Okay, this is unforeseen. This wasn’t included, and we’re going to execute a process according to this,” to me, shows that they’re demonstrating a knowledge of the contract and the execution of the contract as well. So that’s really awesome in terms of following due process and making sure that everything’s being done properly.

Now, I’m conscious of the time, and I’ve taken up a lot of your time talking about things, but it’s been super helpful, Ben, and such a good catch up. I’m just wondering, is there anything else that you want to chat about before we wrap up, or anything that we haven’t covered in terms of where you’re at in your process?

Ben
I will just say, one of the things, and I guess we’ve touched on it a couple of times already, that it’s really just satisfying to see the work that we put in ahead of time, I feel like already paying off.

We became, not necessarily the butt of jokes, but everyone’s like, “Oh, so is this renovation actually ever happening?” And there were so many times it’s like, “What are we even doing? Why are we taking so long to do this? Who does this already?” And all those moments is like, “Is this even worth our time?” Like, I do remember a lot of those times. And then, even that key decision, are we going to delay this a year by doing a redesign? Like, yeah, fine. Like, where did the last year go? Like, I don’t have any regrets all about the last year. Like, we’re doing this now. And just to have that level of that confidence, it’s going to be interesting. Like, just see how things unfold. But to feel like this, and this is all going to be done in maybe six or seven, eight months from now. That feels like such a short amount of time. So, it’s just been a really good feeling so far. Hopefully, we’ll feel even better later. But the fact that we put in the work up front is just satisfying in a way.

Amelia Lee
Yeah. It’s awesome to hear. How are you going with the way that you walk on site and you have those conversations? I mean, watching earthworks happen doesn’t feel like there’s a lot that you can be across as a homeowner and be, I suppose, reviewing or checking. What are your thoughts in terms of how, as things start to unfold and timber structure starts to go up and all of that kind of stuff, how are you feeling like those site meetings are going to go and how you’re going to be able to show up during that process?

Ben
So, I’m imagining, there’s going to be a lot more detail to digest in the ones in the future. And the fact that a lot more work is happening, but I’m taking the chance now by not just talking about the work that’s going, just to engage the builder. You try to keep these things to a half an hour so not to take too much of anybody’s time, but just to get him to talk more about what the approach is, and what’s coming in, just wanting to speak freely.

And hopefully, that’ll put us in almost like in a joint problem-solving frame of mind together.

So I can just have a bit of an understanding what’s going ahead. I don’t know if this is how it’s going to go, but when things are starting to be built, hopefully, in the collaborative way, you’re just checking things are being completed as per the plan. And also, what checks are being undertaken to make things straighten properly. Or, I’m sure, other things that are happening like when stuff gets enclosed, how are we going to know what’s happening behind them? Already thinking of the times when you hear people moved insulation out of the way to do something electrical, how am I going to manage that? So, just trying to, I guess approach those in a collaborative way. I’m not interrogating the work that you’re doing. It’s like, we’re working together on this project. So, let’s do that together. I think that’s really how I would like to approach things with the builder.

Amelia Lee
Yeah. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because I know that a lot of homeowners will get an inspector, for example, to come and assist with particular milestones in the project. And that inspector will walk around with a tape measure and a level and a level of interrogation about things. But the challenge always is that the contractual relationship is between you, as the client, and the building company. And so, even if the inspector finds something that isn’t meeting Australian standards or that they feel needs to be flagged, it’s still you, as the homeowner, needing to bring that to the builder and compelling the builder to pay attention to it, and demonstrating that it doesn’t meet Australian standards or doesn’t meet manufacturer’s warranty conditions.

And really, I suppose, I hope that the builder will take that on board to then enact that change, because the inspector themselves can’t actually force the builder to do anything. And so, I always find it really interesting, because I think, as an informed and educated homeowner, and particularly inside HOME Method where we provide you with the resources like the framing checklist, and of course, you’d be able to ask questions during your construction process, and we always work really proactively when we know members are inside their build process to be able to respond quickly, because we know that it’s time sensitive, and so we don’t wait until the next Q & A to get back to you. We are responding in real time. And so, I think it’s really interesting that oftentimes you do have the tools and the resources to be able to have a similar conversation.

And legitimately, you could walk onto site with a level and have looked at the Australian Standard, have looked at the framing checklist, and then, have that conversation yourself. But for some reason, homeowners can be concerned about how it will land with the builder. There’s a fine line to tread that you spoke about earlier, about over-owning your responsibility, and how you still keep that relationship collaborative. And so, homeowners can be guilty of trying to micromanage and instruct the builder, and project manage the builder, rather than project manage their project. And so, I love that you’re trying to navigate all of that. My recommendation would be, I think the fact that you’ve got the weekly site meetings is super important, and a really good sign of a builder that’s open to that process, always having your drawings on you and your selection schedules and things like that, so that your role, I think, as the building starts to unfold and be built more, will be just to be wandering around, comparing that to your drawings.

And I think that it’s reasonable for you to have a tape measure and just be checking things because you won’t necessarily be able to gauge the size of something just by looking at it. But if you feel like it’s too small, you don’t want to leave sight and go, “Was that just my judgment and inexperience, or is there actually an error there? And I’m not going to find that out until the thing’s lined?” So, you could always just have a tape measure on you, just to check for your own comfort level. And then my recommendation always is ask with curiosity. It’s that thing of, “Look, I was just wondering about this. This is something I noticed. Could you share with me why X, Y and Z?” And your builder already sounds like they’re open to those kinds of conversations. And so, I think then, that can be a really great way that you can stay in the place of, “Look, I know I’m not the expert at this, but this is my home, and I really care about it. And I’ve done all of this work to get myself educated about this, and at the same time, I know that it’s your responsibility to deliver it. I really care about what I’m seeing, and I want to be able to ensure that we catch anything.”

And there’ll be times, I think, where you may still see something that isn’t necessarily how you expected it, just because of your inexperience in this. And so, you having the drawings to check that, to then be able to have that conversation and see. It could be that it’s just not finished yet. It could be that it’s being done a certain way, and it’ll turn out differently once it’s all completed. But you got to keep that dialogue open. And my hope is that the builder stays receptive to that dialogue, so that you can do that comfortably.

Ben
I hope so too. And I think there’s a level of, like a lot of people, pride in his work. All of us in our work lives, not everybody, but a lot of us take pride in what we’re doing and what we’re creating, and how we’re doing it, and the people that we’re affecting. And ostensibly, there’s an element of this here, so, how can that be a mutually beneficial thing? We want the same thing, right? So yeah, just trying to work with that in mind.

Amelia Lee
And the relationship management with you serves the builder well in terms of you becoming a fantastic brand ambassador for that builder long-term. I mean, you’ve kept in touch with the clients that they worked with previously, you’re likely to be one of those clients in the future that others will keep in touch with. And I think that that’s the thing that builders need to recognise, that when there’s an opportunity for a builder to navigate this relationship where they don’t have to feel beholden to the homeowner, they can still operate their business as they feel is the way that they want to run it.

But their role is to set and manage your expectations around this. and to be the professional leader in the relationship. And so, keeping you informed whilst also respecting that you will have a level of concern and curiosity about what’s going on because you’re investing so much in this, and the answer of, “Just trust me,” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Homeowners are too educated for that. So, it’s that thing of just taking a moment to say, “Look, it may not look how you expect it to look, but this is what is still yet to come. We’re going to do X, Y and Z, and I’ve taken on board your concerns. And so, when you come next week, you will see this.” And also then giving you a heads up for anything that is coming. So, I would just have on your radar, Ben, things like lead times on windows, and the big, chunky stuff. If you look at the framing checklist, and you look at the resources that you have inside the Build module with the Manage Your Build lessons, you’ll see things like when you actually have to pay attention to all of your plumbing and your electrical runs that happen during that framing stage before the lining goes on.

That’s when you have to pay attention to where things are positioned that you’re getting your selections, all of that kind of stuff. Because it won’t be at the actual installation of those products that you get.

Ben
Yeah, I think that’s sooner than we think, which is funny. Like, in last site meeting is like, “We’re going to need the in wall plumbing equipment, because the plumbers going to be here. I was like, “Oh, really?” I was like, “It’s a hole in the ground.” But yeah, you’re dead right, that’s really good advice.

Amelia Lee
And things like any plumbing coming up through the floor, all of those kinds of things, you just want to make sure that it’s looking like it’s landing in the right position. And you’ll be able to see that from your drawings. Because if you’ve got wall hung vanities and those kinds of things, you don’t want your plumbing coming up in the middle of the bathroom, and that kind of stuff. So yeah, I’d get yourself a tape measure if you don’t already have one, and it might be a case of saying to the builder whether you can push back your half hour meeting by 20 minutes or something like that, so you have a chance to walk around before, rather than walking around with the builder. That can also be an option. You could say, “Look, can I just come on site for 15-20 minutes first? Have a walk around, gather my thoughts, gather any questions that I have, so that we can make our meeting time more productive,” rather than you feeling like you have to operate under pressure in the moment of catching things and seeing things and then going away.

Because as you start to get to frame stage and see those things, stuff’s going to feel more real to you. At the moment, holes in the ground aren’t going to feel real to you. But as you start to see that the real physical walls and roof and that kind of stuff, then you’re probably going to have a lot more questions about things.

Ben
That’s good advice. I really like this idea of the walk around ahead of time, gathering thoughts, yeah, thank you.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, all right, awesome. Okay, well, I’m looking forward to getting you back. It’s only a little while, in a few months that we have another catch up. So it’ll be really good to see where you’re at in your project then.

I can’t thank you enough for your time, Ben, and for sharing in such detail, not only your project process, but all the machinations and thinking that’s gone in behind it. I know it’s super informative for anybody listening to really land in what it’s going to feel like emotionally, mentally, physically, all of that kind of process of making a project be a reality. So, yeah, really, really appreciate your generosity and your time, Ben, it’s been super awesome.

Ben
My pleasure. Thanks.

RESOURCES

Ben’s previous episodes on the podcast:

• Episode 352 ‘How to Design a Home Renovation and Extension, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-how-to-design-home-renovation-extension/ 
• Episode 353 ‘Managing Your Renovation Budget When Designing, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-managing-your-renovation-budget-when-designing/ 

Access the support and guidance you need (like Ben did) to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder 

My free ’44 Ways’ E-Book will simplify sustainability for you, and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home – whatever your dreams, your location or your budget. Access your copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways