Structure of payment for building contractor ?

Hi all,
I am hoping to extend my home by 70 sqm in the near future and have had plans drawn up. I am at the stage where i have 3 building contractors pricing the job for me. My question is when do you pay the builder ? Do you give him a certain amount at the start, some during and some at the end when all is finished and i am happy ?
Is there a normal payment structure for this kind of job ?
Thanks,
Pablo74

Pablo,

From memory, I believe we agreed stage payments at the outset of our build ie 20% at beginning (or completion of groundworks), 20% when blockwork and roof complete, 20% after windows and doors, etc. Best to agree this at the outset so everyone is clear. Your architect can build it into the contract also..


Bren.

I had something similar recently. My job was to last 2 months - lasted 3.5 months.

We had a very detailed item-by-item priced checklist and there were stages of completion 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. We each knew what the final invoiced amount would be, and agreed that after inspection of request(s) for payment (visual inspection versus stated completed stage) that the contractor would be paid only 75% of the completed checklist at 'x' dates. (I wanted sufficient incentive to builder to hurry/finish the job for final payment)

It didn't stop him trying to claim more than he should. Or adding VAT to his completed checklist prices. And project was delayed.

While I thought I was clever, not clever enough to get the job done on time ...