Our Process
Building or renovating your home is an exciting undertaking but we know it can be daunting, particularly if this is your first building project. It is a complex process and involves a lot of important decisions over many months. But it doesn’t have to be difficult or stressful. At Gaia Construction, we’re committed to providing our clients with a smooth hassle-free process. If you build with us, you can relax and enjoy the journey.
If you are thinking of building, we encourage you to contact us early in the process. You don’t need to wait until you have finalised construction drawings – in fact, there are excellent reasons why you shouldn’t wait!
This is your roadmap for a dream build…
YOU CONTACT US
We’ll help you get your exciting building journey underway.
Initial call
We start with an initial chat over the phone. This gives us an opportunity to learn more about your project and what you are looking to achieve and you an opportunity to ask any questions about us and our work. Before proceeding further, it is important to check that we’re all comfortable that we might be the right builder for you.
Renovation but no plans yet?
We would be happy to meet with you at your property and discuss your options (from a builder’s perspective). We can also arrange a designer or architect to meet with you to discuss your renovation ideas, formulate the perfect design for you and your lifestyle and prepare drawings.
An opportunity to check you're on track
Our Initial Build Review is a quick and cost effective way for you to check estimated build costs and construction timeframes and get an experienced builder’s feedback on your concepts/plans before you get too far down the track. We can also assist you with site surveys, soil tests, energy reports and engineering...whatever building advice and documentation you need to move your project forward.
You appoint a building surveyor
If you require a building permit for your works, a building surveyor will need to be appointed to issue your permit and undertake inspections. Builders are no longer allowed to do this on your behalf so this is something you will need to do. But we are happy to help you to find a building surveyor and to compile the paperwork you’ll need to lodge with your permit application.
OUR PROPOSAL
We’ll show you how your dream can become a reality and give you all of the information we can to help you make an informed decision on the way forward.
We prepare a comprehensive quote
When all of your plans, drawings and reports are ready, we’ll prepare a comprehensive quote that can form the basis of a fixed price contract. Our quotes are generally around 15+ pages long and include a detailed breakdown of the project costs so you know exactly what is included. We like everything to be completely clear.
We prepare a construction schedule
We know how important it is for you to be able to plan your life around building works, so we provide a detailed construction schedule with our quotes and are prepared to guarantee our completion dates.
You get access to our online client portal
Our secure online client portal has all project details in one place, accessible 24/7, from anywhere in the world. Selections, variations, financial decisions, project schedules, photos, documents – all accessible online. When we present our proposal, we’ll give you preliminary online access to your project so that you can see how exceptionally useful this tool will be for you before and during the build.
We present our proposal
We present our proposals in person so that we can have a detailed discussion with you about the scope of works, the costs, the expected construction timeframes and how we can make the process and outcome exceptional. We’ll schedule the presentation at a time when all decision makers can be present so that all questions can be answered. Choosing the right builder is essential for a successful project so we'll provide all of the information we can to help you make a fully informed decision.
WE BUILD
Time for you to watch your dream become a reality. You can relax knowing that your new home is being carefully crafted by professional builders who are committed to making your building journey as stress-free as possible.
We sign the building contract
After our proposal is accepted, we’ll enter into a fixed price building contract with you. Generally, we use the standard contracts prepared by the Master Builders Association of Victoria. In our contracts, we give comprehensive warranties, guarantee our completion date and provide a 90 day defects liability period.
You get full access to our online client portal
You’ll now be able to make selections, variations, track your financial decisions and payments, and communicate with us through our secure online portal. We’ll keep you informed of progress on-site through the job log, project schedule and photos.
We'll have a pre-works site meeting
Before the works commence, Jeremy Gates will meet with you on-site and introduce you to your dedicated site supervisor who will work exclusively on your project from start to finish. We’ll walk through the property with you, discuss the works and construction schedule and answer any questions you have.
Works begin!
You can relax knowing that we are well organised, professional builders and will be working hard building your dream home on time and on budget. We’ll keep you updated every step of the way and will schedule regular on-site meetings to discuss the works.
If you remain in the property, we will do everything we reasonably can to make it as comfortable as possible for you.
IT'S ALL YOURS
Our works are completed and it is time for you to move in to your new home. But don’t worry, we’ll keep in touch to make sure that you are 100% happy with our works.
We finish our works
We’ll let you know when we expect to complete our works and schedule a time for a Final Inspection.
At the Final Inspection, we will inspect our works with you and complete a comprehensive Pre-Handover Checklist. If we identify anything that needs attention, we’ll address it as soon as possible.
We handover your new home
It’s time to move in to your new home! When we hand back your property to you, it will have been professionally cleaned and we will provide a Handover Kit that includes all of the important information and documentation about our works that you might need in the future.
We stay in touch
We are committed to ensuring that you love your new home. So if you come across anything relating to our works that you are not 100% happy with, let us know. What’s important to you is important to us.
