We are Michael and Peta Smith. We have recently moved into our new house at 749 Esplanade, Lota in Bayside Brisbane. We gladly provide a testimonial for Mac Brown of MRB Projects. Without Mac’s guidance, support and professional know-how this build was destined for a disaster.
We were struggling with the best way to approach building our new house. We wanted to design and build a new house but had heard all the painful stories of heartache and pain, at the mercy of those that want to take your money and leave you outcomes that become a nightmare. We wanted to approach this in a way that would give us the house that we wanted, for the price we wanted at the standard that we expected. We had a couple of false starts.
We were immediately confronted with decisions that stopped us in our tracks. We wanted to design our house and ensure a quality build. So initially we approached a couple of design and construct builders. They wanted us to be locked into exclusively using their planners, architects and certifiers and all trades. By going down this approach the building company owned the plans, told you how they were going to build it, charge you for any changes and excluded any competition. We did not believe they actually listened to what we wanted and everything was about their profit and an easy build.
We got frustrated so changed tact and approached an architect/planner with a view to developing our own plans and then approach different building companies to bid for the build. Very quickly they started asking building questions that would have a significant impact on quality and cost and we were quickly out of our depth.
We then sought recommendations from others and hoped for the best!
An acquaintance suggested that we engage someone with building and construction experience that works on behalf of the owners, not the builders. This made a lot of sense to us. After all, we were talking about our life savings. We were obviously out of our depth once those in the industry moved to “building speak”. This included Surveyors, Urban Utility requirements, plumbing requirements, Town Planners, Council Inspectors and Engineers, not to mention the individual trades, just to name a few. The number of required forms, applications, decisions points and approvals was mind-boggling. What was really important and what was not?
After extensive research, we found that such people do exist that can guide owners through the maze and ensure that architects, planners, builders and certifiers deliver what the owner wants. We realized that this was probably the biggest investment of our lives and we thought we knew what we wanted but were terrified of missing something important that was our fault and then pay for those mistakes.
We had several conversations with Mac Brown of MRB Projects who in very simple terms told us how someone with his skills could guide us through the design, planning and building phases to ensure that we were listened to, could explain the many technical issues, applications, approvals, and building questions at a level that we could understand instead of industry people talking down to us. We asked Mac to become our Project Manager.
Mac, who has a university building qualification in project management and proven building experience, came with us when we discussed and agreed on issues with the architects to ensure that building designs we sought were clearly discussed and resolved so that the plans were certified and owned by us.
Mac managed the whole process on our behalf, especially the build, starting with the plans and subsequently the tender process and most especially the costs. He provided valuable advice from experience and ensured adherence to the agreed and signed off plan. He managed a building tender process and met three shortlisted builders to decide on which builder would best build our home as per the approved plans and specifications by comparing the three tenders based on cost, but up to a standard and not down to a price.
The overall tender process catered for bundled costs for appliances, cabinetry, plumbing, floor coverings, fans, lights, fences and nearly every other part of the building construction and fit out. So even when the contract was awarded we had the ability to research all these areas and have subcontracted for each area with the costs set out in this further tender process. For example, Mac developed specifications for cabinetry. Three cabinetry business, that we research and met with, were invited to tender against the specifications and then Mac assisted us to choose the one that provided the best outcomes by comparing apples with apples. At each decision point, Mac provided unbiased guidance to ensure we could understand the advantages and disadvantages of one product over another.
We learned that you cannot always believe most of what you are told as everyone seems to want to take your money but not necessarily provide you with a good outcome. Without someone, you can trust it just becomes ‘a bridge too far’.
This approach allowed us, after the initial building tender process was completed, to input and source supply and fit out. This saved us tens of thousands of dollars. Nothing was done without a minimum of three quotes and within an agreed budget.
Mac guided the whole process, regularly conducted on-site inspections, addressed builders’ questions and took the builders to task when not building the required specifications. This might sound straight forward but would have turned our build into a nightmare without someone working on our behalf.
We found that the builders were always looking for the best way for them to do the build and always tried to impose changes that would best suit them. There was always an increased cost involved. Once they realized that they had to deal with Mac on every variation, and not deal with us things went much more smoothly.
Even after we took possession of the house Mac has been involved with ongoing building issues and process to manage ongoing building concerns and builder’s responsibilities.
Peta and I highly recommend anyone thinking of building a house to engage MRB Projects. You will have peace of mind, have more time to focus on the building / fit out issues that are important to you and know that someone is working on your behalf.
