Five Things A Client Should Do For A Successful Building Project
Recently I was interviewed for an article in the Princeton Packet newspaper group of papers for their PM Magazine. The article was about my collaboration with a local architect, Joshua Zinder, on designing two new contemporary homes. After publication I shall share it with my newsletter readers.
I was asked what the five things are that a client should do for a successful building project. Normally I think we as the builder focus more on what we have to do for the project to be successful for both us and our clients. This gave me an apportunity to think about the project purely from the client perspective.
Here is my list:
1. Prepare a building program on what is to be built. This is not a design but a scope of work for the project and should include the major features to be incorporated in the design and construction.
2. Prepare a budget for the construction which should be complete and include not only the design and building cost but the cost of any civil engineering, financing costs, and any other indirect costs for carrying the property, utility hookups, site work and any municipal fees. Very often clients think only about the construction cost and not all of the other items that go into the total costs of the project.
3. Select the professionals to work with you on the project. This should be the architect, builder or a design build firm.
4. Prepare a list of specific features, materials or design elements that are of interest, to be incorporated into the work. a. Pictures or any materials or features that have been collected to be considered in the design and construction. b. Amount and type of rooms desired. c. Special needs for anyone who will live in or visit the home. d. Define the lifestyle of the residents of the home. e. Specific materials or systems to be incorporated in plan. f. All program elements that you want incorporated into the design.
5. Commitment on the part of the client to give the necessary time to work with the design and construction professionals from the beginning to the completion of the project. This is very important for a successful design and construction experience. I believe that the best home building projects have a great collaboration of the architect, builder and client. All three are necessary. I have been fortunate to have many great clients. I hope I have served them well.
Warm regards, Richard Dickson Dickson Development Corporation 666 Plainsboro Road, Ste. 2000F Plainsboro, NJ 08536 (609) 799 0220 - phone info@dicksondevelopment.com www.dicksondevelopment.com
