Building Company Vs Project Manager

[george25]

Hi,

I am planning to build a house at our land in Bangkok starting next year. I have the architectural design and floor plans and believe the engineering plans and building permission will be no problem.

For the building process I am considering two options:

1) Contracting a reputable home building company that does the whole thing for a fixed price. Details such as building duration, material specs, detailed scope, and thousand other things need to be negotiated and agreed upon the "fixed" price.

2) Hiring a project manager who (obviously) manages the whole building process for me. I pay the project manager as well as all material and contractor bills as they come up. I need to get engaged with the PM regulary for material selection/purchasing, contractor bill payments, project progress and so on.

I believe 2) should be significantly cheaper than 1), but bears more risks and requires more time involvement from my side. I also need to mention that my construction skills are limited, so I would heavily rely on the PM or builder.

Does anyone has experience with 2) and can share their thoughts about this?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

George

[bcross2001]

Hi George

One word of advise - DON'T get invovled with a Mr. John George Woods ( Australian National) - we have a judgement against him for 1.4 million Baht that he stole from our copany.

Barry Cross

[LennyW]

I would reccomend option 1, however, you would need to have a clear and comprehensive schedule of what the price specifically includes (or monetery values for items that you can up the value of if you wish, toilets, tiles etc.) and specifically items that the price does NOT include (driveways, light bulbs, garden etc.)

Option 2 will make you demented in a short space of time, you will be continually checking, double checking and questioning the reasoning of said project manager. I personally know of a couple of "project managers" who thought they could just "double" costs as the Farang would not know any better, they both got their marching orders quick style!

I have also heard of project managers who are supposed to have paid suppliers for materials only to pocket the money, then the poor house owner gets a visit from the suppliers demanding payment!

I am not saying they are all bad, just be carefull.

[Klyph]

I'm doing exactly the same thing on a plot of land around Udomsuk (Sukhumvit 103). We went with your option #1, and contacted a lot of different companies, narrowed it down to 4. From the 4, we visited their head office, construction sites, and contacted their architects and construction workers/foreman.

I'm keeping a record of our experiences here: (http://www.sunnyblur.com/category/c9-house/)

Filled land back on August 1, 2008. Right now, we're in the process of re-defining plans, getting the BoQ, and replacing supplied materials with our own specifications. Hoping construction might start around December or January. Third quarter of any year is a good time to start shopping for contractors.

I learned a lot over the past 6 months, let me know if you have any questions.

Edited September 6, 2008 by Klyph

[dickie58]

Hi,

I am planning to build a house at our land in Bangkok starting next year. I have the architectural design and floor plans and believe the engineering plans and building permission will be no problem.

For the building process I am considering two options:

1) Contracting a reputable home building company that does the whole thing for a fixed price. Details such as building duration, material specs, detailed scope, and thousand other things need to be negotiated and agreed upon the "fixed" price.

2) Hiring a project manager who (obviously) manages the whole building process for me. I pay the project manager as well as all material and contractor bills as they come up. I need to get engaged with the PM regulary for material selection/purchasing, contractor bill payments, project progress and so on.

I believe 2) should be significantly cheaper than 1), but bears more risks and requires more time involvement from my side. I also need to mention that my construction skills are limited, so I would heavily rely on the PM or builder.

Does anyone has experience with 2) and can share their thoughts about this?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

George

Hi George, I personally feel that option 2 is the better way to go, a good project manager will save you a lot of money in the long run, & he will ensure that the job runs to the schedule set out in the contract & the agreed plans/drawings. This will save you amongst other things a lot of headaches, & your be confident if you hire a good PA the job is being monitored on a very regular basis, if you have the time to do it yourself all well & good, but if your working the job needs to be kept an eye on a daily basis.

Although my opinon may be biased!!! There is a link to my web site in my profile!!!

Option 1 is only worth thinking about if you have complete confidence in the builders you hire, & you are completley confident the house will come out as to the agreed spec?

[Klyph]

Another thought: It's common practice in Thailand to hire a house construction company and also hire a personal Project Manager. The Project manager works for you, so he'll help control the quality of your house.

Although, from experience, nothing beats a little beer and treating your workers right.