ᐅ Construction Phase – What Should Best Be Avoided During This Stage

Hello everyone,

What were things during the construction phase that you would have been better off avoiding in hindsight?
For example, too much supervision, no time off, too many changes, no expert consultation, etc.

Looking forward to your experiences!

Thank you

Basically, I think it’s right to ask questions when you don’t understand something or notice something that seems off. But:

I made the “mistake” — and I see it often with other homeowners too — that for example, after work, they visit the construction site and find some supposedly strange condition or alleged mistake. It really bothers you, and you want immediate clarification to make sure there’s no big problem.

I even lost sleep over it and called the architect or construction manager first thing the next morning. Other homeowners, no joke, send angry emails at 11 p.m. (especially to general contractors), because the construction manager didn’t answer the phone at 9 p.m., demanding explanations of what this shoddy work is supposed to be. With deadlines and a lot of fuss, going straight to red alert.

In 98% of cases, however, you’ve simply seen a work-in-progress, unfinished work. This would have been explained anyway the next day and definitely wasn’t worth getting upset over.

I believe professionals get really fed up with this. That’s definitely how I feel.

So always stay calm and ask politely if something is unclear. Most of the time, it’s not a big deal, and you only make yourself look foolish by reacting like it’s the end of the world every time you find something unusual.

guckuck2 schrieb:

In 98% of cases, people have just seen an intermediate stage, meaning unfinished work. That would have been cleared up the next day anyway and is not worth getting upset about.

I believe that as a client, you can tell whether something is going wrong or if the work is simply not finished yet. We visited the construction site every day; for example, the wrong bricks were accidentally ordered (filled instead of unfilled), and the masons were just about to lay the first brick when we arrived and noticed the mistake. We also double-checked everything in the evening by measuring and inspecting, but fortunately, everything went very well. Often, the tradespeople were glad we were there, and everything was discussed on the spot.

Best regards,
Sabine

- trust NO ONE except yourself
- thoroughly read up on EVERYTHING, there are hardly any construction experts
- never leave for vacation when work is happening or issues arise on site
- providing food and drinks to the workers is polite and friendly, but it does not improve work quality (often claimed, but in my opinion nonsense)
- family-run businesses do not perform better than other companies
- experiences from other construction sites are only partly helpful, as it depends on the "crew" present onsite

Curly schrieb:

In the evenings, we always remeasured and double-checked everything, but fortunately, everything went very well.

How did you measure? Which laser measuring device would you recommend?

In hindsight, I would have liked to have had an (independent) construction supervisor throughout the entire building process and also to have the planning reviewed by an expert.