New build - where to start?

[ajwfox]

We have recently purchased a building plot near to Chalus in the Haute Vienne area of Limousin. We are not sure whether to try to find a building contractor (preferably english speaking) who is able to offer a complete design / build service or opt to seek out an architect (again english speaking) to design the house and then find a building contractor. We would prefer not to use a project manager because of the extra 10 to 15 % added cost. Does anybody have any experience of either route and could give some useful advice / information? I would be really grateful for any comments. Thanks.

[Chief]

get a project manager and negotiate the fee.  For instance, 8% of a 100,000 euro new build is much better than 0% of a 100,000 euro new build.  You wouldn't just pay a car salesman the asking price, so negotiate with the PM.  Worst case scenario = you build without a PM...nothing lost in my book, but PM may offer more peace of mind.  All depends on your levels of tolerance to stress etc.

[Anton Redman]

Briefly I think it depends what you are looking for and how much you intend to spend.

If you are looking for a typical French new build bungalow - down to a price, three bedroomed say 100 square metres then have a look through the local papers and free sheets and contact the companies like ING - Maison Azure and have a look at their show homes and local agents. Also buy 'Contruire Sa Maison'  as a newsagent or Hypermarket and have a read through it.  If you have the nerve find a recently built new house that you like knock on the door say how much you like it and ask who built it. On both occasions we did this we received a lot of helpful advise plus the French equivalent of 'Don't Touch Them With a Barge Pole and If you Want The design it is On The Internet under this name'

If you are looking for 300 sq metres straight form the pages of 'Individual Home and Builder' or ready for a visit from the 'Grand Designs Team'  then I would say look for local new houses you like and ask who built them. Also beware of the 'best house in the street' problem.

 

 

 

 

[ajwfox]

Thanks for your comments so far - very much appreciated. Here's the tricky question then - do you know of a good project manager who is both reliable and professional?

[tetley]

I have sent you a pm.

[Cat]

I would definitely second the suggestion of actively seeking information from owners of houses that you like the look of.  There are some awful cowboys about, and word gets around quickly about the outfits to be avoided at all costs.

I personally know of two different building contractors that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole. The first did so shoddy a job on the house that he was building that the site was actually shut down on health and safety grounds after the gable end fell down.  The second built a seemingly perfect house, and it wasn't until it started to suffer from terrible damp problems that the owners discovered that their RDC/cellar was completely unprotected from damp, and had not had the usual plastic membrane fitted. The remedial work afterwards involved completely digging out all the surrounding area, ruining in the process the garden that they had spent months perfecting.  Yes, it was covered by the warranty, but the stress and upheaval was terrible.  After the owners got in touch with others who had used the same builders, it became apparent that this was not a one-off case.

I would also suggest that even if you do use a project manager, you be actively involved at the planning stage. Building a new house from scratch gives you the unique chance to choose the orientation of the house and the positioning of windows for views and sunlight (or even lack of it, a south facing bedroom with big windows is not a good idea in high summer, believe me).

We changed our plans 5 times before we arrived at the final design (due in no small part to the restrictions imposed on us by the architect of the Batiments de France) but now have something so much better than the original design submitted by the architect that I would have retospectively kicked my own a*** had I simply accepted original plan.

 

 

[Bones]

[quote user="Cat"]

but now have something so much better than the original design submitted by the architect that I would have retospectively kicked my own a*** had I simply accepted original plan.

[/quote]

superb phrasing!

[powerdesal]

[quote user="ajwfox"]Thanks for your comments so far - very much appreciated. Here's the tricky question then - do you know of a good project manager who is both reliable and professional?[/quote]

I would suggest that a good project manager will be able to give you a list of the projects that he has managed, you can then then visit the owners and ask if there have been any problems that are related to the performance of said project manager.

[BIG MAC]

A decent project manager pref bilingual and a good project team inc architect working to an agreed programme and cost plan will likely save you about 50% of their cost directly through "right first time" and "right on time management" Basically designing the right thing and ensuring that the cost and production programmes are menged in such a way that a schedule of payments and delivereries / phases are clsoely linked ie the bricks arrive when needed not when the substructure team are trying to get footings done, payment gets made bang on the thirty or sixty days whatever terms you can get. Local French guys are likely to be able to negotiate good trade prices I would have thought. It doesn't cost a lot to ask, do your research and good luck.