That’s Where the Right Qualified Virtual Consultant Can Help
We all have our areas of expertise. One of mine is construction processes and systems.
These are a couple of things missing from most DIY construction programs on TV as well as many of the “do it yourself” internet videos. They can be helpful, but typically they oversimplify things and normally only give you a small snippet of the big picture of a construction project.
As a construction professional that has been doing this for forty years, trust me, there’s a lot more to it than a sixty-minute TV program or a five-minute video.
When I meet with a customer, I instinctively know what questions need to be asked and answered.
It’s different if you’re not a contractor and this is where a lot of problems with construction projects begin. Either from a “do it yourself” construction customer or when hiring someone who isn’t qualified.
The overwhelm starts and it often leads to corner cutting, things being done in the wrong order or completely left out.
Here’s some of the information that I gather early in the process –
Measurements and dimensions, existing and new
Building materials, existing and new
Pictures of existing construction and pertinent areas involved in the new
Design ideas, products and finishes to be used
The information gathered early in the process is important to the project moving forward as smoothly and economically as possible.
Asking and answering the right questions early in the process is critical to a successful project. Once you’ve determined what your dream project is, it needs to be broken down into categories. Then these categories should be divided further into smaller tasks.
Imagine a construction project as a giant puzzle with hundreds of thousands of pieces. These pieces need to be put together in the right place and in the right order. It’s hard when you don’t know what that is.
A qualified virtual consultant can help you put the right pieces in the right place.
I developed a list of categories and tasks that I use when doing a construction proposal so that I don’t overlook things. This “Bid Sheet” is where I gather the information that pertains to each specific task.
Here’s a small excerpt from my bid sheet template –
These are just three of the 17 categories of the construction process.
The next issue for the “do it yourself” construction customer is…what do all these tasks mean? What is included in them?
These questions prompted me to begin developing just such a list.
Here is a matching excerpt from it –
Once I have this explanation page finished, I will make a link available at the Solution Building web site.
This explanation page will be a good tool for a “do it yourself” construction customer, someone hiring a professional or as a helpful referral when talking with a qualified virtual consultant.
