10 Ways to Be a Great Home Construction Client

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Hello friends!

Last week, we discussed 5 Roles for Homeowners. This week, we'll focus on one of the most pivotal parts of any project: your relationship with the team and what you can do to make sure they are healthy and productive.

10 Ways to be a Great Client

As many homeowners quickly discover, home construction is a unique beast. It has its own language, methods, processes and expectations. This can be confusing and frustrating for homeowners who expect the project to work like it does in other industries. In the fog of construction, it's easy to lose sight of how our actions and behaviors impact the project.

In our Planning Navigator Course, we devote an entire chapter to "How to be a Great Client". I've included a number of points below:

1. Be Financially Responsible

I'll say it plainly. The business relationship between a homeowner and GC is held together with money. Part of being a great client means having your financial house in order and paying on time. If this part of the relationship is compromised, it can cause big problems, no matter how friendly you are.

2. Understand the Plans

Unfortunately, building plans are not easy to read for most homeowners. It's a challenge to imagine a three-dimensional structure based on a two-dimensional drawing. Before construction begins, take the time to develop a solid understanding of the plans so that you can be sure that the home is being constructed as it was designed in the plans.

I’ve had experiences where owners were engaged with the plans and had creative ideas. Then, when you sit down with them to go through the plans page by page, it’s clear they don’t understand what they’re getting. Once I explain how something is going to look, they say something like, “Oh, that’s not what we thought it would be.” Big design decisions were lost in the translation. We were about to build something the owners didn’t understand. So understanding the plans is really important. - Drew Reed, General Contractor

3. Have a Plan and Stick to It

The best-case scenario for a GC, and your budget, is to have a fully developed set of plans and owners who have committed to sticking to it. This, of course, rarely happens in practice. As the house comes to life, it can reveal things that need to be changed. These changes often cost money and minimizing them can help.

4. Be Decisive

Homeowners can be paralyzed by all the decisions they have to make and paralysis can cause project delays. Remember that the GC is always thinking ahead and often needs to order materials or schedule subcontractors weeks ahead of time. Being decisive helps keep the supply chain on track.

5. Communicate Clearly

Ambiguity is the cause of many problems. Err on the side of over-communicating, over-specifying and over documenting. Take notes regarding discussions and decisions. Take photos and keep them organized.

6. Understand the Chain of Command & Responsibility

Problems arise, mistakes happen, things will not always go to plan. How and with whom you communicate the issues will make a difference in how smoothly the project goes. As a general rule, the GC is responsible for the project and all of the workers, including subcontractors. This means that your feedback should primarily go through the GC and not the people performing the work or those under their responsibility.

7. Remain Flexible

You should assume that some things will not happen as you expect. A product may be discontinued, a material may have doubled in price, or an appliance may be back-ordered for a year. It happens and there may be little you can do. It will help the project if you remain flexible, learn what IS possible, and keep moving forward.

8. Provide Positive Reinforcement

The team working on your project, like most humans, appreciate recognition for their work. If you see that a worker has completed something that looks great, tell them. Show that you noticed and that they are appreciated. If possible, do it with the GC present, or tell the GC if they did a great job.

9. Seek Advice from the Pros

Being the homeowner is a powerful role. With great power comes great responsibility and how you use that power matters. Some owners are like dictators who won’t be easily influenced. Other owners are like teammates who actively look for feedback. While projects with dictators may be efficient, they risk alienating the team and don’t always end up with the best outcomes.

In my experience, being a teammate is the best way to build the house you want. Getting through the dilemmas and creative decisions is a challenge that can be overcome by seeking advice from people who have been there: the construction team. They are a valuable resource who can help you balance what you want with what is possible. For this to work, you’ll need to set the expectation that you’re open to their ideas and appreciate their input. Then, it will be up to you to ask questions and seek advice. Try to be a teammate more than a dictator.

10. Remember that Perfection is Virtually Impossible

We all want our new homes to be perfect, but that’s not the reality. The material you want to use may not be available or fit into the budget. You might have forgotten to add an extra outlet that would have been handy. If you get wrapped up in making every detail perfect, you’ll never move in and the construction team may grow weary. This sets up a situation that can become volatile.

Perfection is a worthy goal, but it must be balanced with reality and compromise. Sometimes “very good” has to suffice in order to keep moving forward. It's difficult to imagine in the heat of the moment, but imperfections will fade in your perception. The ding in the entry door will become invisible, the texture smudge in the paint will end up behind wall art. No one will notice but you and you’ll adapt. It will be okay.

Finally... Help for Homeowners

Until now, homeowners haven't had a resource that clearly explains the entire planning and construction process from the homeowner's perspective.

That's our goal: to help you save time and money by understanding and navigating every phase of your home's construction.

Learn more

That's what I have for now. See you next week!

Lee LeFever, Build Livable

Build Livable helps homeowners navigate custom home construction. Learn More.
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