Need a roof leak repaired?

 Need a cost effective waterproofing solution? We undertake roofing repairs, gutter cleaning, painting, ceiling repairs and waterproofing projects. We also do re-roofing of all roof sheets, repairs to all tiled roofs and slate roof repairs and refurbishments. Contact us for a reasonable quote.

Cost-effective Building Solutions

 Need a reliable contractor?

Efficient building systems for all projects including high-end residential projects in and around the Cape Town metropolis and Southern Suburbs area. Our services include: Structural Additions Interior Remodeling Exterior Remodeling Construction Management

Each project is under meticulous supervision and completed with professional workmanship.

Our vision is to build long term relationships with our suppliers, clients and professionals.

We seek to satisfy customers through developing a few typical performance objectives.

When customers value our cost-effective pricing the operation will place emphasis on its cost performance. If a customer insists on error-free services the operation will concentrate on its quality performance. When a customer emphasizes fast delivery we will make speed important within the operation important while an emphasis on reliability will make dependability important. When customers expect an innovative service, the operation must provide a high degree of flexibility in order to get its innovations to its customers before its rivals. If a wide range of services are demanded by customers, the operation will need to be flexible enough to provide the necessary variety without excessive cost.

How well we meet your requirements is determined by how well our operation excels at these performance objectives which will subsequently influence the competitive factors.

Allow us to maximize your precious renovation budget to achieve the best return when the time comes to sell.

We believe that our cost-effectiveness and personal touch are the two key values that have contributed to our success. We are definitely the unexplored market and key players in the industry and clients who wish to build meaningful relationships with the less traditional role player such as ourselves will be pleasantly surprised with our high levels of expertise.

You may provide a few images or a short video in order to provide a preliminary quote.

Why clients should not purchase the materials

 Once you have found the contractor you want to work with, and if you decided to supply the material for the project yourself, your next step will be to negotiate with material suppliers.

Firstly, you need to understand that the price you pay as a consumer is about 25 to 50 percent more than the price a contractor who regularly buys a particular product will pay.

Most manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of building-related products will have two very different price lists or pricing structures - one for members of the public and one for the trade clients.

The main difference is that trade clients tend to buy in large volumes.  They usually have accounts with the relevant manufacturers or suppliers and they probably buy from them regularly. Loyalty counts for a great deal, and suppliers often renew the bigger clients with favourable pricing.

The benefits of working with small contractors

 It is cheaper to work with smaller, less established contractors.  They are usually more open to negotiating prices, more flexible as they are building a reputation rather than relying on an established one.

Most new contractors are trying to build a reputation and rely heavily on word of mouth and are likely to go the extra mile to keep their clients happy.

Smaller contractors are more likely to take on smaller, lower-profit jobs than larger contractors.

Small contractors often have a smaller team which makes them more accountable.

Your decision to hire or not to hire a newer less established contractor should be based on your priorities such as pricing.

How to prepare a detailed construction estimate

When preparing a bid, estimators create a general framework with cost recovery in mind.  Estimators should therefore have knowledge of the technologies involved in building the project,  which allows them to divide projects into individual pieces of work, namely physical subcomponents, systems, etc  These work packages will naturally consume resources generating costs that must be recovered from the client.

What are the steps followed to develop the estimate?

A chart of cost accounts acts as a guide or checklist as the estimator reviews the plans and specifications to highlight which cost centres are present in the contract being estimated.

The estimator should generally follow certain steps in developing the estimate:

Break the project into cost centres.

Estimate the quantities required for most cost centres that represent physical end items which is commonly called quantity takeoff.  For those cost centres that relate to nonphysical items determine an appropriate parameter for cost calculation, namely, the level of builder’s risk insurance required by the contract or the amounts of the required bonds.

Price development for physical work items may require an analysis of the production rates to be achieved based on resource analysis.  The estimate should therefore:

Assume work team composition to include number of workers, skilled and unskilled, and equipment required.

Estimate an hourly production rate based on the technology being used.

Make an estimate of the efficiency to be achieved on this job, considering site conditions and other factors.

Calculate the effective unit price.

Calculate the total price for each cost centre by multiplying the required quantity by the unit price.  This multiplication is called an extension and this process is called running the extensions.

How to estimate construction costs

 The key to a successful project and effective cost control is the development of a good estimate as the basis for bid submittal.

The estimate serves as a “flight plan” that is followed by the project team and becomes an essential tool in achieving a profit. If the flight plan is unrealistic or contains basic errors the contractor will certainly lose money. However, if the estimate is strategically calculated and reflects the costs that will be encountered in the field, the chances of a profitable job are greatly increased.

Estimating is essentially the process of looking into the future and attempting to predict project costs and resource requirements.  A consistent procedure or set of steps is therefore needed for preparing an estimate to minimize errors and achieve reliable results.

Types of estimates

The estimating method depends on the level of design detail that is available.  Before the commencement of design only the conceptual information is available.  A comprehensive unit such as a square foot of floor space or a cubic foot of usable space is used to characterize the facility being constructed.  The representative unit is then multiplied by a price per unit to obtain a gross estimate of the facility cost.  This conceptual estimate becomes useful in the schematic or budgetary phase when design details are not available.  However, the figures developed are of a limited use as soon as design data are available.

Once design details are available the designer maintains estimates of costs to keep the client informed of the general level of costs to be expected.  The production of the plans and specifications proceeds in two steps.  The first step is called preliminary design and offers the owner a pause in which to review construction before detail commences.  This usually takes place at 40% completion of the total design and extends the concept documentation.  This preliminary estimate is prepared by the architect or architect/engineer to reflect expected costs based on more definitive data.

After the preliminary design is approved by the owner, final or detail design is accomplished.  The detail design form part of the plans and specifications that are given to the contractor for bidding purposes.  At this stage the architect or engineer will produce a final engineer’s estimate indicating the total job cost minus markup.

The owner’s estimate is used to ensure that the design produced is within the owner’s financial resources to construct and establish a reference point in evaluating the bids submitted by the competing contractors.

The bid estimate takes place when the contractor prepares his estimate of the job’s cost to include a markup for profit.  This bid as well as the engineer’s estimate require a greater level of effort and a considerable number of estimate hours to prepare.

As the project proceeds from concept through preliminary design to final design and the bidding phase, the level of detail increases, allowing the development of a more accurate estimate.

What are the characteristics of a good supplier?

 It is doubtful whether an ideal supplier would always be readily available, however, it is necessary to have some idea of what would constitute a good supplier.

A good supplier generally honours promises, has a stable background, always supplies the quality as specified at a fair and competitive price and delivers the service at an agreed time. This supplier takes the initiative in suggesting better methods of service and constantly tries to develop new money-saving services to help buyers make purchases more economically.  An ideal supplier reacts quickly to varying unforeseen needs of the purchaser resulting from changing business circumstances, specification changes, maintenance problems and/or other requests.  Good suppliers warn the buyer in good time if normal delivery cannot be made and make alternative arrangements so that the purchasing enterprise's operations are not delayed. A good supplier will take the initiative and offer the purchasing enterprise the necessary technical support and other expertise if required.

A long tern relationship with this supplier may be a great advantage to both the purchasing enterprise and the supplier.