Running a build from another country

What good reporting looks like

This is the part that determines whether an overseas project feels controlled or alarming, and it is entirely within a contractor's gift.

• Weekly, in writing, whether or not there is news. Silence is what overseas owners complain about, and a week with no progress is itself information.
• Dated photographs from the same positions each week, so progress is comparable rather than decorative. A set of attractive close-ups tells you nothing about whether the programme is holding.
• Video walk-through at each stage boundary and on request.
• The programme reissued whenever it changes, with the reason stated. Nothing quietly re-baselined.
• Variations priced and sent for written approval before the work happens, with the programme impact stated at the same time.
• Problems reported when they happen. An owner who finds out in month eight about a problem from month five stops trusting everything else, correctly.

Decisions across time zones

Programmes run at the speed of the slowest decision, and distance makes that slower unless it is structured.

1. One named decision-maker. Where a couple or family disagree by email across time zones, everything stops. Nominate the person who signs; consult however you like before it reaches us.
2. Decisions in batches with deadlines. Tile, sanitaryware, ironmongery and joinery all have lead times. A schedule with dates on it, sent in advance, prevents the month-seven scramble.
3. A standing call at a fixed time. Fifteen minutes weekly beats an hour when something has gone wrong.
4. Written follow-up on every verbal agreement. A decision made on a call and not written down is a dispute at the final account.
5. Somebody local with authority for small things. A named person who can approve a minor item without waking you.

The trust structures that matter

You are spending significant money on a building you cannot see, with a company you may have met once. These are the things that protect you, and we recommend them whether or not we are the contractor.

• Payments against completed and inspected stages, never against dates. A stage not done is not invoiced.
• Retention held to the end of the defects period. If a contractor resists a retention clause, that tells you something before you sign.
• An independent supervising engineer, appointed by you. See structural engineering.
• A written variation procedure, agreed before work starts.
• Independent project management where you want a second set of eyes on the contractor. That role exists separately, held by someone not building the job — see project management.
• Everything in writing, including the things that seem obvious at the time.

See what a building contract should include.

When you do visit

Visits are more useful when they are timed to decisions rather than to progress.

• Come for the first fix stage, when routes, positions and levels are still changeable and before anything is closed up. This is the highest-value visit of the whole project.
• Come for finish selection if you want to choose materials physically rather than from photographs.
• Come for handover and the joint snagging inspection.
• A visit during the shell stage is emotionally satisfying and changes nothing. If you can only make one trip, make it the first fix one.