Dryer brackets arrived late on a multi-res job.

Our usual chippy was tied up, so a trusted carpentry subbie helped us out.

He fixed brackets through about 75 units.

In one unit, one screw hit a plumber’s pipe inside the wall.

No one knew. The water wasn’t on yet.

Final walkthrough. Water on. Unit wet.

Carpets up. Wall linings replaced. Fans hired.

Around $10,000 gone.

Yes, we could have backcharged the carpenter.

But he’d worked well for us for years, and he was helping us out of a bind.

We split the cost.

Owl Note

Sometimes sh#t happens.

In construction, someone still has to pay for it.

That’s why contingency matters.

At some point, a lot of builders look around and think:

“I’ll just get my partner to help with the office.”

On paper, it makes sense.

Trusted. Available. Good with people. Keeps things organised at home.

But the back office of a building business isn’t light admin.

It’s accounts, contracts, claims, cashflow, compliance, timing, pressure.

A different job entirely.

And just like you wouldn’t expect a builder to step into a hospital and run a shift…

It’s not fair to expect the reverse.

This is how good intentions quietly turn into stress.

Not just in the business.

At home.

Owl Note

A back office is a role.

Not another household activity to organise.

And treating it like one usually costs more than it saves.

For years, many builders developed programs based on how they wanted the job to run.

Increasingly, programs are now being shaped by subcontractor availability instead.

Especially in regional areas.

A builder recently said to me:

“The subbies run the jobs now.”

There’s truth in that.

On many projects, there are only a limited number of capable subcontractors available locally.

And if those crews are already committed elsewhere, the program may already be under pressure before the contract is even signed.

That changes the commercial risk profile of the job.

Because the program bound into the contract may assume labour and trade availability that does not actually exist in the market.

This is becoming more noticeable:

• where there are shortages of experienced tradespeople

• where older workers have left the industry

• where a small number of subcontractors service an entire region

• and where builders are competing for the same crews at the same time

In some areas, subcontractors are also refusing liquidated damages clauses altogether.

Not because they are being difficult.

Because they know they have leverage.

That would have been unusual years ago.

Today, many builders are simply trying to secure reliable labour.

The result?

Program risk is no longer just a delivery issue.

It starts during pre-contract.

One question worth asking before locking in a program is:

“Does this program reflect actual subcontractor market capacity, or just the sequence we would prefer?”

That is a different question.

And it may be one worth adding to your pre-contract review process.

Related:

Practical Steps for Better Pricing

Selecting the Subbie

The Builder and the Subbie went to sea…

Not always in a beautiful pea-green boat.

And not on the "thank you!" fishing trip either.

Sometimes in a ute full of marked-up drawings, late materials, half a program, and a variation everyone remembers differently.

The builder needs the subbie.

The subbie needs the work.

But when timing, scope, handover, approvals and program expectations are not clear enough before the job starts,

the whole thing can drift very quickly.

Good subcontractors are not the problem.

But unclear systems make everyone harder to manage.

And when the job starts drifting, the builder is usually the one left carrying the client pressure, delay risk and margin loss.

You may not be able to control the subcontractor market.

But you can reduce your exposure to it.

That starts before the job hits site.

Construction Owl

Commercial sense for builders before the margin disappears.

#Construction #Builders #Subcontractors #ProjectManagement #CommercialManagement #MarginProtection

A few years ago, I nearly left the construction industry.

I'd been working with a builder for years and was made redundant. It wasn't the redundancy itself. It was the feeling that our industry had become a battleground. Builders going broke. Subcontractors losing everything. Relationships sacrificed for survival.

Then Jeff rang.

Jeff is a subcontractor I know whose house was badly damaged in the floods. To make matters worse, he wasn't fully insured. This came not long after another builder had gone broke owing him close to $300,000.

He rang to thank me.

A while earlier, I had introduced him to Matty, a carpet supplier and installer.

Jeff told me Matty had replaced all the carpet in his house.

For free.

The two men barely knew each other.

Matty simply saw someone in trouble and decided to help.

As remarkable as that story is, it wasn't unique.

I've seen a subcontractor turn up and fix defects for a builder who owed him more than $150,000 and had little chance of paying it back. When I asked why, the answer was simple.

"Because he gave me my start."

That's the side of construction most people never see.

The industry has its faults. We all know that.

But over the years I've seen countless acts of loyalty, generosity and quiet decency that never make the headlines.

People helping because they remember who helped them.

People showing up because relationships matter.

People doing the right thing when there is no commercial reason to do so.

Whenever someone asks me why I've stayed in construction, I think of Jeff and Matty.

Because despite all its flaws, this industry is still full of good people.