This week in the Examiner, Kieran McCarthy of KMC Homes looks at how you can self build and project manage your own new home build.
Is direct labour a possibility for our self build when we live 2 hours from the site and how things operate on site with us as project managers?
A. Building a new home, when properly designed and constructed, can be a life changing endeavour. There is no doubt that building direct labour can be a challenge and, though there is the possibility of saving money albeit with a huge investment of your own time, but is it really worth it, is it feasible and how does it work on site when seeking advice and making decisions?
Let’s look at what direct labour is to begin with. Direct labour is when you run all aspects of your self build, including the day to day of a building project, yourself. You are effectively the builder and project manager.
You need to ensure you have adequate insurance for this and, to be fair I would recommend you have a reasonable head for physics and would be somewhat ‘handy’ around the house.
It isn’t rocket science and you will (hopefully) have a team of experts (either trades or professionals) to help you execute the project, but I know from experience that a good foreperson makes an immense difference to a project in terms of quality, timelines and health and safety.
In my own business, KMC Homes, I have foremen running our projects (for this very reason).
View full article in The Examiner here.
