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Where does your project start wasting money?
Should we do this project? · Episode 18
Sam Wiseman with Tina Patel
Paying for more equipment, more floor area or an earlier start does not necessarily bring you closer to a better home.
Quantity surveyor Sam Wiseman joins Tina to explore spending that serves the project, spending that creates trouble and the advice worth getting before construction begins.
An expensive smart home—and an owner who just wants warmer rooms
Sam describes projects where sophisticated controls make a simple task, such as turning up the heating, unnecessarily difficult. Tina recognises the same frustration with curtains, blinds and lighting.
He also recalls an owner happily programming the system in the plant room. The issue is not whether automation is good or bad, but whether the system suits the home and the person using it.
Describe the everyday actions you want to make easy before choosing the equipment. A simpler specification may be better value; a more integrated one should earn its place by doing something you actually want.
01
Define the benefit
Check what the spending adds.
02
Prepare to start
Resolve the necessary checks.
03
Choose sensible savings
Protect hard-to-change work.
04
Agree the framework
Understand prices and changes.
An early start can leave people being paid to wait
Sam explains why the start date does not determine the completion date. When the necessary information and arrangements are missing, work can stop while the team tries to put the project back in order.
The conversation includes permissions, lease requirements and party-wall matters that homeowners may not know to check. Drawings alone are not the same as a complete plan for delivering the work.
Agree what must be ready before the contractor begins. Early professional input should suit the project, but leaving the checks until the site is active can turn a manageable task into an expensive interruption.
Choose savings that will still make sense after you move in
The hosts distinguish a finish that can be replaced later from structure and services that are difficult to reach once the building is complete. They also question a cheap product that costs more through early replacement.
Sam describes the value of continuing professional checks on larger, more complex projects. An initial appointment can help set things up, but the need for oversight may continue as the work develops.
Ask what a saving changes: appearance, durability, performance or support. Have the appropriate designer review technical alternatives, and compare the cost over the period you expect to use the home.
A clear framework helps when the price changes
Sam presents the building contract as a way to agree expectations, including how additional work and delays will be handled. The aim is a working relationship in which both sides understand the framework.
He describes being brought into projects after confidence has broken down. Sometimes an increased price reflects a change or an allowance that the homeowner did not understand, rather than the unfair charge they feared.
Before appointment, ask how the price is made up and which elements remain uncertain. Agree how changes will be explained and reviewed, so the first difficult conversation is supported by information rather than suspicion.
Three decisions to take into your project
01 Specify for the way you live.
Choose space and systems that make daily life better, rather than adding complexity for its own sake.
02 Check readiness before booking the start.
Establish which information, permissions and arrangements your project needs.
03 Understand the uncertain costs.
Discuss allowances, changes and continuing professional support before construction begins.
The full conversation
Quantity surveyor and project manager Sam Wiseman of Stockdale joins architect Tina Patel to discuss the ways homeowners can waste money before a project starts. Tina hosts this episode.
The full conversation covers premature starts, professional fees, hidden work, smart-home controls, useful layouts and building contracts. It also discusses CIL and VAT considerations that can affect a project's costs and need advice suited to its circumstances.
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Explore a related episode
Episode 17: Do you need an extension—or a better layout?
Check whether a better layout could meet your needs before adding space.
Episode 20: Which savings quietly cost you more?
Spot apparent savings that create extra cost later in the project.
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