Stop Cutting out Corners and Professionals Because It Will Cost You More in the End When You Build

I am not one who likes rules and I am certainly not a statist. However, there's still a right way and a wrong way to go about things regardless of the absence of laws, rules, or rule enforcers. I'm sure by now you've heard the old adage by C.S. Lewis, "Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching". When hasn't that ever been true?

Think about the last time you accidentally littered with trash blowing from out from your picnic or when you've seen some in public that isn't yours but is in your path. Did you pick it up? If you have any integrity you probably did, right? I know I do these things but I also know that many don't. The same measure for integrity can be applied to those who are building or will build in the near future.

If no one is looking and you are looking to cut corners and save money but still have to follow all of the red tape it takes to build these days do you really think you're going to get away with it? What happens when it's time to open up that new ice cream shop and you managed to do it all without hiring professionals to do the right thing when no one is looking? Will the health department notice during their inspection?

What about that janky old addition that was slapped on the back of your house by the previous owner unpermitted and out of code? Will the building department notice when you submit new drawings to build a new addition? Will the engineer and architect recommend you tear it down costing you more money?

Again, I am no fan of extraneous regulation, rules, and out-of-common-sense code applications but the reality is that until we are able to deregulate and streamline the building process, here we are having to wade through it, together. What this now highly regulated industry then requires is for owners to rely more and more on trained, knowledgeable, and seasoned architects, engineers, contractors, and other specialty building professionals from the outset of project.

As an owner and developer myself in addition to being an architect and contractor I get it. I get the seduction of cutting corners and what might seem like, unnecessary professionals, out of the mix. Extra corners and professionals cost money, time, and resources. I get it, it's expensive to build and you need to get that business or house built for less.

Over the years we've almost seen it all until we haven't. We've seen the contractors who convince their clients that architects and engineers are unnecessary only to find out that they are come crunch time. We've seen the naive owners too intimidated, and rightly so, by the insane amount of bureaucratic red tape it takes to obtain a building permit these days and get building. We've seen the owners of homes come to find out that the previous owner with his or her corner cutting costing our new client tens of thousands of dollars in design and construction fees when it's time to start their new addition. Each time this could have been avoided if people had done the right thing when no one was looking.

So what is the right thing? The right thing is hiring the right people at the right time for the right price. Seasoned professionals such as architects, engineers, and contractors from the get-go. Why cut corners and take the risk of delaying your next build or business by months and months when someone can and probably will eventually catch you in the act anyway? Instead of being afraid of what these people might cost you upfront, why not ask them how they can save you money down the road? Ask them why hiring them now rather than later is a good idea. Ask them if they have any examples of other owners who cut corners and paid dearly for it later on down the road. If they stumble on the questions and can't give you a good answer then move onto someone who can.

You owe it to yourself, your home, your business, and your integrity to do the right thing. "Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails" - Earl Nightingale