[galenko]

No. That’s still a lottery and you are basically saying I’m paying more, so I expect a better service. This does not guarantee results. At all.

What you want is a third party.

Someone who understands the trade and the codes and will check in on the building site daily and will make sure everything is being done correctly. And if it’s not, will stop work and put everyone in their place.

I frankly have no idea what the term for that is in America, but we call them freelance foremen where I’m from. Current going rate per month is roughly 1.5x minimum wage in my country.

May sound like a lot of money for someone just doing checking, but that’s only until you find out how expensive lack of oversight can be.

Ask around, many building companies offer these services, so company a builds the house, and an inspector from unrelated company b does the daily inspection. But ideally you’d find a one man band man, who’s really gonna be on your side.

[gumby]

That person is called a construction supervisor: someone hired by the owner who makes sure the contractor is doing good work and not ripping you off, as well as keeping the owner in line and making sure they don’t get in the contractor’s way, delay decisions etc.

Around here they aren’t interested in projects under $5M.

[MrDresden]

In some parts of the world, mine in Europe included, those guys are required by law and are usually employed by the municipality (but the construction project owners are charged for their services via a special fee).

They take on some personal responsibility for the way the construction project is handled (at least for the things that fall within their purview).

[ozim]

That is annoying part - even if you could overspend and match salary for the guy - it still not guaranteed they will work for you. Mostly because anyone who is good is swamped with requests and can choose what they will work on.

[nextos]

Why not trying a high-end factory-made house, such as https://www.huf-haus.com/en-uk

In a nutshell, they are manufactured into standard components and assembled onsite. The number of defects is small.

The level of quality is incredibly better than what most builders can produce.

They are not cheap, though. There are several alternative manufacturers. They are a great option for a bungalow.

[carabiner]

Looks cool, wish they were in the US. Here we have "kit homes," like this First Day Cottage that I really like: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/sibihx/first_d...

The company that makes the plans is http://www.firstdaycottage.com/

[tibbon]

A good architect will be this third party and hold the GC's feet to the fire. The GC might not care about you and repeat business, but they will likely care a lot more about keeping a good architect & firm happier with a decent reputation. Plus, the architect is used to helping this process.

[bboygravity]

I thought architects are designers who are not experts on the technical details of things like constructions (strength, earthquake proofness, wind proofing), heating/cooling, humidity issues, electrical installation building codes, proper tubing, insulation materials, sound proofing etc.

That's the experience / knowledge I'd want to hire for oversight.

I don't see how a designer is the best person for that but then maybe my idea about architects mostly being desk-bound designers focused on estatics is totally wrong?

[poutine]

This is what a builder would do in North America, they're the general contractor and will generally budget for you, manage the project and the trades. They'll ensure quality and be your point of contact. Typically where I'm at they charge 15% of the total time and materials of the build.

[masklinn]

The builder / GC is in charge of the construction, so when incentives diverge they’re not on the side of the owner. They’re the second party.

That’s why you need a construction supervisor, a third party that’s on your side (if you don’t have the skills, knowledge, or time, to be the supe).

[maxerickson]

My expectation is that the general contractor's attitude towards quality would be completely random. Some are gonna be great and some are gonna cut every corner they think they can hide from you. And then the buy side of the market isn't sophisticated enough for it to be easy to identify which is which.

And like for renovations, lots will bid the easy project and do it as fast as they can vs ensuring that anything that comes up is addressed well.

[theteapot]

> Someone who understands the trade and the codes and will check in on the building site daily and will make sure everything is being done correctly. And if it’s not, will stop work and put everyone in their place. I frankly have no idea what the term for that is in America ...

Shadow builder.

[JumpCrisscross]

> have no idea what the term for that is in America

It varies. Mine's a designer, though she's also a licensed architect.

[seb1204]

My thinking was also to go with a reputable pre-fab house provider or a low-energy/emissions house. I would hope that the higher requirements will set you up with a better builder. Not guaranteed though.

Pre-fab houses/ components do require more rigor for foundation etc.

[jdadj]

The term you’re looking for in the US is “owners representative.”