Don’t ignore your instincts!

PlaceMakers’ sixth round of skills maintenance seminars encourages builder interaction.

PlaceMakers presenter John Tait had everyone involved in the discussion at PlaceMakers’ skills maintenance seminar in Petone, where he quizzed them on the building code, the importance of ROW detail and much more.

“Don’t lift a hammer until you’ve read all the documentation!” and “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen!” were two key points John reiterated through a number of personal examples from his building inspector experience.

John says it’s particularly important to have a good look at the plans before getting stuck into the work.

“Sometimes there might be parts of the design that lack detail, or just plain won’t work,” says John. “It’s much more useful to realise that up front than have to delay your build when it gets to that part – by then it might not be such an easy fix.”

Given the number of legislation changes in the industry, and the disconnect that sometimes occurs between designers, homeowners, councils and builders, John said the best advice builders can take on board is to document everything, ask questions and trust your instincts.

“If your gut tells you something doesn’t seem right, don’t just ignore it and carry on with the work – ask someone who can alleviate your concerns,” says John.

A number of builders recounted situations of that nature that they’d encountered, and John shed light on why it might have occurred and the best course of action to take.

Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) Kent Slobbé and Andrew Rouse-Wyeth, who work for Ezra Enterprises in Wellington, said the seminar provided great insight into their responsibilities.

“While we’re not business owners, we’re LBPs and it’s important that we know what we’re responsible for and what we’re not,” said Kent. “A lot of these projects run on pretty tight timelines, but this serves as a good reminder that saving a few minutes isn’t worth compromising
our licence or our reputation.”