DIY or Supply & Fit Or Self Manage?
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Probably one of the most
important questions you can ask yourself when
purchasing a conservatory or sunroom is - do you
supervise/build yourself or do you employ a
company to do the lot?
As with so many of life's "Questions"
there are no right or wrong answers. The choice
is very much dependant on the individual and I
shall not be making a particularly strong case
for one or the other. In this section I shall
only be pointing out some of the Pros and Cons of
each alternative. I will also be providing some
additional links such as Selecting
a Builder and some Extra Tips.
DIY
Advantages
1. You usually save money. You
in effect become your own contractor. If you
don't wish to complete any particular aspect of
the work yourself, such as digging the
foundations, then you can sub-contract out that
part of your work.
2. You can be confident that you
have complete control of the final result. You
will be more likely to take the necessary time
over the more difficult parts or any problems
that might arise. You would be more likely to
"rush" the problems that might occur if
you were the contractor working to a price. If
you have something unusual on your site which
might require a little extra attention then this
can be particularly relevant.
3. You have the personal
satisfaction of knowing that the work is done
exactly as you want it. You know every
"inch" of your conservatory personally.
If you are somebody who "despairs" at
ever getting a job done exactly as you want it
then perhaps it's time to do it yourself. Building
a conservatory is practical for just about all of
us. A lot of companies now specialise in
supplying to the DIY market and there are lots of
Tips booklets and "How To" guides
available. All it takes is some time and lots of
patience. Here are some Extra Tips if you decide to do
it yourself.
Disadvantages
1. Apart from all the "hard
graft" there are not many disadvantages -
except perhaps that you are working for most the
difficult client - yourself!. You, and you alone are
responsible for the final result, it can be quite
lonely doing it yourself - especially if you come
up against any problems. It requires a reasonable
degree of confidence to tackle this on your own -
I personally think its rather nice to enlist the
help of a friend or neighbour. Perhaps you could
help each other with each other's conservatory -
a sort of joint effort. A second pair of hands
and view point will often help in overcoming the
challenges that will arise.
SUPPLY AND FIT
Advantages
1. Provided you have been
careful and successful in your selection then
this approach should be the most "trouble
free". Note that I said careful and
successful - this is the Key. You will need to
research your supplier and their products
especially well. This will extend/lengthen the
buying process. Whilst not particularly connected
with this approach you may like to review my Selecting
a Builder. The tips there are equally
relevant when selecting a Conservatory Supplier.
2. Once you have selected the
Conservatory Supplier for your supply and fit
project then the project and its associated
challenges should become the conservatory
suppliers problem. You can relax and look forward
to pleasant days in your new conservatory. After
all that is why you selected this option, you
wanted a trouble free life! If you find you are
not getting this then you are not getting what
you paid for. The following tips may help you in
selecting a reliable conservatory company. They
do exist!
EXTRA TIP 1. If you
"employ" one company to do all the work
- try and meet their builders before placing a
firm order. You may feel the company is the
builders - but in almost all cases the company
sub-contracts out this element of the work to a
separate building contractor. You will most
likely spend more time with this person on your
conservatory project than any other. Ask them if
they can foresee any problems. What do they do
with rubbish? Will they reinstate around the new
conservatory base after construction or will that
be an extra? If you are having electrics or
plumbing installed it is most likely that the
builder will in turn be sub-contracting out this
element of the work. YOU CAN SEE HOW PROBLEMS CAN
OCCUR - ESPECIALLY IF INFORMATION IS NOT PASSED
ON FULLY OR "TRADES" DO NOT FOLLOW ON
AS QUICKLY AS YOU HOPED. You must feel
comfortable with this person - so do take your
time on this element.
EXTRA TIP 2. Unless you feel
especially confident, do not go for the cheapest
quotation. A bit of a generalisation I know - but
rarely in my experience does the cheapest
supplier also supply the best product or the best
service.
EXTRA TIP 3. When obtaining
quotations do not try to "beat every
supplier into the ground". Most of the
better companies will not wish to trade in this
way - only the less professional will usually
have the flexibility. These less professional
companies will often "agree" to your
request but end up short changing you later. I'm
not suggesting that you don't negotiate - what I
am suggesting is that you negotiate fairly. Make
a detailed list of the features "you must
have" and ask each company to give their
best price. Don't expect to get a conservatory
with a glass roof, Pilkington "K" glass
and Argon filled units for the price of a
standard double glazed conservatory with 16 mm
polycarbonate in the roof.
Disadvantages
1.
Using a supply and fit service is usually the
most expensive way of buying a new conservatory
or sunroom.
2. You may find that the
complete service that you ordered is not as
complete as you thought. Please see my notes and
tips above. Most so called "Full
Service" Conservatory companies do in fact
sub-contract out various parts of the work
especially if you are requesting items such as
plumbing or electrics.
SELF MANAGE
Advantages
1. OK - I'll come clean - this
is my preferred method. You have the most control
over the final result without having to get your
hands dirty! You can do a little of the work
yourself or, if you prefer, sub-contract out all
of the work to various trades. You are
effectively doing it yourself and, as with most DIY, you will save money.
2. You can dictate the time
scale and manage your finances more easily. If
you are one of those people who doesn't mind this
sort of thing - then you can do the work in
various stages - often some time a part. For
instance, you could construct the base this
year but only purchase and erect the conservatory
next year or as funds allow. If you are going for
a standard model then you will need the base
dimensions etc and also to be confident that the
model you selected will be available next year.
Alternatively you could get the conservatory
first. This is particularly good if you can buy
and Ex Display or end or range model at
discounted prices.
Disadvantages
1. You need to be confident at
managing various trades. You need to at least
have a working knowledge of what's involved.
Remember you will be selecting each trade
individually - but if you are lucky then some of
the trades people will be able to introduce other
trades.
2. This is probably the most
time consuming of all the alternatives.
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