Recommendations for a good builder/architect?

[JackStraw]

Let me preface this by saying yes, I did search for previous posts asking this same question and yes, I did think about direct messaging several of the very helpful Bali Pod members I have contacted in the past about land advice (I thank you all dearly for your input by the way. You know who you are ).

However, seeing as there hasn't been a thread about this in maybe 5 or 6 years, I thought I would do the community a bit of service by bringing up the topic once again for the sake of updated information. So, the title says it all but just in case it wasn't clear, I am looking for some good architects to help me design my future home and later, some good builders.

I'm not planning to build for 2-3 years probably but I figure it's never to early to start planning and budgeting so I come to the wise minds of Bali Pod with my arms and mind open.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Juggler]

I know a very good builder who has even started putting in a damp course which is really a good idea. Let me know when you are ready and I will give you his details

 

[JackStraw]

I know a very good builder who has even started putting in a damp course which is really a good idea. Let me know when you are ready and I will give you his details

Yes, I would assume in a tropical climate such as Bali, damp proofing is a wonderful idea. My property gets a pretty decent rainy season from what the neighbors tell me so that's definitely something I'd want to invest in. I'd love to talk to your builder sometime. Thanks for the assistance

 

[Mark]

There is a serious builder advertising on this site... Not going to be cheap, but from what I have actually seen the quality is excellent.

 

[JackStraw]

There is a serious builder advertising on this site... Not going to be cheap, but from what I have actually seen the quality is excellent.

And what about your builder Mark? have you been happy with the results thus far?

 

[Markit]

Just a few radical ideas about building here:
Damp course - although a wonderful idea on the face of it please consider that the building above the damp course is not physically connected to the fundament below the damp course and I question the rationality of this when building anything in an earthquake zone - up to you but I didn't and after 10 years and multiple earthquakes everything is still standing and the damp has kept itself within bounds.
I employed an architect after I'd made my own design to give the build the necessary adherence to good practices and make sure I hadn't done anything completely stupid - see previous comment, it's all still standing. After getting him to complete my design I got him to appear once a day for a couple of hours and make sure it was all being done correctly and to plan the next days activities with builders I had found myself. I only found out after all was finished that the architect was getting kickbacks from "my" builders for "letting" them work for me - unfortunately a fairly standard practice here but they also do it on all materials used/ordered. I stopped this by doing all my own sourcing and buying. It was great fun and I learned a lot both about building and Bali - I'd recommend it if you have the time.
DO NOT give the architect directions and then FO to where ever and hope he'll stick to some plan or budget. You will be out of pocket, out of your mind and have no where to live.

It can be the most fun you can have with your clothes on if you go at it the right way. Enjoy.

 

[JackStraw]

Just a few radical ideas about building here:
Damp course - although a wonderful idea on the face of it please consider that the building above the damp course is not physically connected to the fundament below the damp course and I question the rationality of this when building anything in an earthquake zone - up to you but I didn't and after 10 years and multiple earthquakes everything is still standing and the damp has kept itself within bounds.
I employed an architect after I'd made my own design to give the build the necessary adherence to good practices and make sure I hadn't done anything completely stupid - see previous comment, it's all still standing. After getting him to complete my design I got him to appear once a day for a couple of hours and make sure it was all being done correctly and to plan the next days activities with builders I had found myself. I only found out after all was finished that the architect was getting kickbacks from "my" builders for "letting" them work for me - unfortunately a fairly standard practice here but they also do it on all materials used/ordered. I stopped this by doing all my own sourcing and buying. It was great fun and I learned a lot both about building and Bali - I'd recommend it if you have the time.
DO NOT give the architect directions and then FO to where ever and hope he'll stick to some plan or budget. You will be out of pocket, out of your mind and have no where to live.

It can be the most fun you can have with your clothes on if you go at it the right way. Enjoy.

Wonderful advice as always Markit. So does the architect give you a full order list of what materials need to be ordered and how much if you want to go and source it yourself or is that something you must figure out alone? I assume he doesn't want to give away too much information because he wants that commission.

 

[Markit]

Wonderful advice as always Markit. So does the architect give you a full order list of what materials need to be ordered and how much if you want to go and source it yourself or is that something you must figure out alone? I assume he doesn't want to give away too much information because he wants that commission.

Initially I hired 6 local lads to start out making the breeze blocks - you know what's going in and can be relatively sure of the quality - not something you can say about bought ones.
Again initially it's just sand, gravel, cement and steel rebar. Your architect will design the windows and doors to order and you can run with that yourself as to who/where/ how much/ what wood/etc.

The rest is just standard stuff like roof/floor tiles, paint, etc. that can be bought anywhere - I would recommend you find a local builders merchant you can trust and just run a monthly account with him for the little stuff (nails, brushes, tape measures, etc. - buy tape measures by the kilo, they use them a lot!)

In hind sight I should have had that discussion at the beginning with my architect about his skimming off the workers but he was good about recommending were I look for the other stuff and I then never told him where I got it until it was delivered, so kept his commission chances low(ish).

 

[JackStraw]

Initially I hired 6 local lads to start out making the breeze blocks - you know what's going in and can be relatively sure of the quality - not something you can say about bought ones.
Again initially it's just sand, gravel, cement and steel rebar. Your architect will design the windows and doors to order and you can run with that yourself as to who/where/ how much/ what wood/etc.

The rest is just standard stuff like roof/floor tiles, paint, etc. that can be bought anywhere - I would recommend you find a local builders merchant you can trust and just run a monthly account with him for the little stuff (nails, brushes, tape measures, etc. - buy tape measures by the kilo, they use them a lot!)

In hind sight I should have had that discussion at the beginning with my architect about his skimming off the workers but he was good about recommending were I look for the other stuff and I then never told him where I got it until it was delivered, so kept his commission chances low(ish).

....so does that mean you don't recommend your architect? haha

 

[harryopal]

I am not only not about to build but can say with some certainty that I will never build. While not involved with budgeting for building, with other projects in the past it was standard to have a 10%contingency attached. What kind of contingency would you recommend for building here? Bali seems to be studded with uncompleted projects as sentinels warning.... be careful.... really bloody careful that you have enough funding to complete the building whatever the problems.

And I do wonder as a general proposition if rather than building, one buys a property and maybe pays a fee to an established builder or architect to assess the property. If kickbacks are too established with locals then I would have thought there are enough expats around with that kind of expertise.

It also seemed that in Australia shonky building practices feature rather more often these days and with so many shoddy plumbing and other materials sourced from China it would seem probable that any contemporary building may have serious maintenance issues just a few years down the track.

 

[Mark]

And what about your builder Mark? have you been happy with the results thus far?

Happy with the results so far. Structure package including walls, plaster and roof complete. Now on finishing stage. PM if you'd like more details.

 

[Mark]

I am not only not about to build but can say with some certainty that I will never build. While not involved with budgeting for building, with other projects in the past it was standard to have a 10%contingency attached. What kind of contingency would you recommend for building here? Bali seems to be studded with uncompleted projects as sentinels warning.... be careful.... really bloody careful that you have enough funding to complete the building whatever the problems.

And I do wonder as a general proposition if rather than building, one buys a property and maybe pays a fee to an established builder or architect to assess the property. If kickbacks are too established with locals then I would have thought there are enough expats around with that kind of expertise.

It also seemed that in Australia shonky building practices feature rather more often these days and with so many shoddy plumbing and other materials sourced from China it would seem probable that any contemporary building may have serious maintenance issues just a few years down the track.

If one went with my advice below, I'd say a 10-15% contingency should be ok, provided you don't make any major changes mid construction. Also, don't forget the extras like landscaping, garden lighting, access road and gate, boundary wall, PLN connection, well, etc. All this stuff can add up and is typically not part of a construction package.

For anyone looking to build, my advice is to first obtain a bill of quantities from an independent quantity surveyor. A bill of quantities will itemize every detail of the build, including structure, MEP and finishing, and price it all out for you. For a normal house, this work shouldn't cost more than Rp. 10 juta or so and will give you a very good idea of what the house should cost based on market prices. It also helps with negotiations with a contractor, as they won't be able to bs you so easily. Having said that, if you choose to use a contractor, it's key that you have good chemistry with both the company owner and the project manager/site manager, and have seen some of their other builds. A fixed price contract, with progress payments tied to actual completion and retention amounts are also essential in my view. The better contractors will also give warranties. We got five years warranty on the structure, which was better than the usual standard of 6-12 months.

 

[JackStraw]

I am not only not about to build but can say with some certainty that I will never build. While not involved with budgeting for building, with other projects in the past it was standard to have a 10%contingency attached. What kind of contingency would you recommend for building here? Bali seems to be studded with uncompleted projects as sentinels warning.... be careful.... really bloody careful that you have enough funding to complete the building whatever the problems.

And I do wonder as a general proposition if rather than building, one buys a property and maybe pays a fee to an established builder or architect to assess the property. If kickbacks are too established with locals then I would have thought there are enough expats around with that kind of expertise.

It also seemed that in Australia shonky building practices feature rather more often these days and with so many shoddy plumbing and other materials sourced from China it would seem probable that any contemporary building may have serious maintenance issues just a few years down the track.

You make some good points. The incomplete projects could be a result of many things. From what I have learned in my research thus far, a SHOCKING amount of people start building houses without first acquiring an IMB. From there, all it takes is a saltly local to expose you, shut down the project and demand a huge fine before you can start building again.

Incomplete houses can also be a result of poor budgeting. With the right contractor, there should be no need to go insanely over budget. Of course, one should plan for a little over/under leeway and it goes without saying, if you don't have the money to build two properties, then you should not even attempt building one.

That's my philosophy for buying anything really, from nasi goreng to a new motorbike or beyond.

As for shonky building practices...yes they do happen. The way I see it, it is collateral damage. The house will simply not come out 100% the way you desire and that's something I'm personally willing to live with

 

[Markit]

I found that the prices quoted by contractors to be massively pumped up to take in any and all eventualities in the expectation that we expect the build to be done "our" way (that's how it's done in the west). I felt with my build that I, being a stranger in a strange land (thanks Robert Heinlein), wanted to have more control over all aspects of the build and not to throw myself on the mercy of the locals.
I attacked the problem slightly differently in that I mentally broke the build up into various stages beginning with the wall around my land. Got the Archi to plan it and draw it then posted up flyers all over the area asking for offers to build the wall - I'd supply everything but the building team would just have to supply labor. With my telephone number on the flyer asking for SMS offers. Got 20 or so and from the more bonefide ones I got a local friend to call them and ask them to meet me on the land - all of them at the same time. Needless to say they'd never seen anything like that and were slightly out of sorts, having expected to find some lonely little punter to abuse. So me, my archi and local friend met about 8 groups that turned up on time and on the day and explained what we wanted done and sent them all away to consider and make an offer for the job. 5 did and we then looked their pricing and at the work they had done before and chose one group on that basis.

I did the entire build on that basis. Only the finishing was done by an imported group of Javanese as apparently they are the specialists and do the best work.

If your build is going to be a success or failure on the basis of having 10 or 15% overrun budget don't even start with my method BUT I'll wager I got mine done for half the price of any contractor.

 

[JackStraw]

I found that the prices quoted by contractors to be massively pumped up to take in any and all eventualities in the expectation that we expect the build to be done "our" way (that's how it's done in the west). I felt with my build that I, being a stranger in a strange land (thanks Robert Heinlein), wanted to have more control over all aspects of the build and not to throw myself on the mercy of the locals.
I attacked the problem slightly differently in that I mentally broke the build up into various stages beginning with the wall around my land. Got the Archi to plan it and draw it then posted up flyers all over the area asking for offers to build the wall - I'd supply everything but the building team would just have to supply labor. With my telephone number on the flyer asking for SMS offers. Got 20 or so and from the more bonefide ones I got a local friend to call them and ask them to meet me on the land - all of them at the same time. Needless to say they'd never seen anything like that and were slightly out of sorts, having expected to find some lonely little punter to abuse. So me, my archi and local friend met about 8 groups that turned up on time and on the day and explained what we wanted done and sent them all away to consider and make an offer for the job. 5 did and we then looked their pricing and at the work they had done before and chose one group on that basis.

I did the entire build on that basis. Only the finishing was done by an imported group of Javanese as apparently they are the specialists and do the best work.

If your build is going to be a success or failure on the basis of having 10 or 15% overrun budget don't even start with my method BUT I'll wager I got mine done for half the price of any contractor.

Wow....that is simply amazing and wish I had the time to do all of that. You take things to a different level that I haven't heard of ever from the dozens or so expats I have consulted.

Unfortunately, I do have a job to manage and will not have the time to be this hands-on with my house. I don't want a turn-key scam contractor per see, but I do want a Surveyor of Quantities and Project Manager I can trust to monitor the project and make sure things don't get out of hand when I'm not around.

But first thing's first, I need a good architect and if anyone can recommend that, I'd greatly appreciate that.

 

[Markit]

But first thing's first, I need a good architect and if anyone can recommend that, I'd greatly appreciate that.

Where are you planning on building? You'll want a local architect who knows the locals and can intervene on your behalf.

 

[JackStraw]

Where are you planning on building? You'll want a local architect who knows the locals and can intervene on your behalf.

I'm planning on building a house for personal use. Not a villa rental or any bullshit like that.

 

[Mark]

Where are you planning on building? You'll want a local architect who knows the locals and can intervene on your behalf.

The architect intervening with the locals? For what reason?

 

[Markit]

The architect intervening with the locals? For what reason?

Securing your access/road, getting permission from your neighbors to even build, getting an IMB from the local offices, getting the local PLN to give you business power (cheaper) as opposed to private citizen, best places to buy your shit, etc. etc.

I wonder that anyone even asked?

 

[Markit]

I'm planning on building a house for personal use. Not a villa rental or any bullshit like that.

Not "what" you are building but "where" - no point in finding the best architect in Tabanan if you are building in Bangli is there?