era | Complete YOUR BUILD
STEP EIGHTEEN
IN THE PROCESS TO DESIGN + BUILD ARCHITECTURE SPECIFIC TO YOU.
finish things off and move in
The final stages in finishing your architecture so it is ready to share special moments with you every day.
Get to know about completion.
You are almost there!
Completion of your architecture means things are finishing up and you will be able to move in.
If you have employed a contractor or contractors to build your architecture for you, it means completion of your construction contract or contracts.
If you are building your own architecture, it means that you are finishing up – congratulations!
In general, it means that the construction of your architecture is complete.
More specifically, particularly if you have employed a contractor to build your architecture, it means that some or all and maybe more than the following will occur, depending on your construction contract:
- The contractor or contractors will leave your place.
- Insurances will change from being the responsibility of the contractor to being your responsibility.
- Service connections and payments will become your complete responsibility.
- Warranty and guarantee periods associated with the parts and construction of your architecture will commence.
- The Defects Liability Period associated with a construction contract, where relevant, commences and ends.
- Securities incorporated in a construction contract are released.
What is completion?
There are several steps in the completion of your architecture.
They are generally related to three things:
- When and how your construction contract is to be completed, according to the contract documents.
- When you can legally live in your architecture, according to the national construction code.
- When you are literally given the keys or able to move in to live in your architecture.
They don’t all happen at once, but some do occur concurrently. It is a good idea to know your deadlines for each and to make a list of items for each part so that you can put them in your diary and check them off as you go through.
Here are the main ones in the general order they occur.
CONTRACT Practical Completion
This is a term associated with your construction contract. It means that your architecture is complete enough to use as it was intended. The Date for Practical Completion is the anticipated date that completion will occur, before it actually happens. This is usually a date agreed in the construction contract, or a time frame from the date of award of tender identified in the contract.
The Date of Practical Completion is the date when completion actually occurs.
LEGAL Occupancy Permit
This is a term associated with the legal requirements to occupy a building. It means that your architecture is complete in accordance with local, state and national construction requirements. Obtaining a Certificate of Construction Compliance from a Building Compliance Consultant leads to an Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Occupancy that gives you official permission to move in and occupy the building.
LITERAL Hand Over
This is exactly as it says on the box. The contractor will literally hand over the keys and the building to you.
CONTRACT Defects Liability Period
This is a term associated with your construction contract. It is the time frame from the Date of Practical Completion until a certain period after that date – usually six or twelve months.
CONTRACT Final Completion
This is a term associated with your construction contract. It means that your architecture is complete. The Date of Final Completion occurs at the end of the Defects Liability Period – usually six to twelve months after the Date of Practical Completion.
How to know when your architecture is complete.
Your architecture is complete to use, when you receive a permit to occupy your architecture – an Occupancy Permit or a Certificate of Occupancy.
A construction contract is complete when all of the items within the contract and all of the conditions of the contract have been met.
The NSW Department of Fair Trading describes completion of a construction contract in the following way:
‘DEFINITION OF COMPLETED WORK
The term 'completed' has a very important role in the legislation because it marks the beginning of the time periods for statutory warranties and insurance under the Home Building Compensation Scheme. The Home Building Act 1989 has a clear definition of what is meant by 'completion'.
Residential building work is 'complete' when it matches the requirements of the contract.
If there is no contract, or the contract doesn’t specify 'completion', the work is regarded as 'complete' when it can be used for its intended purpose and is free of major defects. The earliest of the following events can be used to determine when this occurs:
· the date the builder 'handed over' the project to the owner
· the date the contractor last carried out work (other than remedying minor defects)
· the date of the issue of an occupation certificate, or
· 18 months after the owner-builder permit was issued (in the case of an owner–builder).
For strata schemes, the date of issue of the occupation certificate that allows occupation and use of the whole building will be the date of completion for strata buildings.’
If you have employed a professional such as an architect, designer, design and construction organisation or project home builder they will likely guide you through the completion of your architecture.
If you are doing things yourself, all the best in finalise all the little things that will finish things off.
Now you can move in and live your lifestyle in architecture specific to you!
Your completion in the process.
The choice of what type of contract you use will determine which construction process you will utilise for the work and specifically how the contract will complete.
There may be some things that carry through past this date for your construction contract, through a defects liability period - which is another way of saying that you are living in your architecture, but anything that shows up as not in accordance with the contract through this time is attended to by the contractor.
There may also be some little things that carry over from this line in the sand beyond when you move in - such as finishing off the landscaping or putting up curtains.
However, in the overall process you have just journeyed through - this is the end.
This is the moment you move in and live with your architecture
CONGRATULATIONS!
You made it.
THE PROCESS.
This is the eighteenth step in the process to design and build architecture.
If you would like to see how this step fits within the process, you may be interested in a little Book I have written that sets out each step in the Process in one place. It is a guide and workbook to help you through each step in your architectural journey.
The process is summarised in this little Blog post - era | the Process to Design + Build Architecture.
Each step in the process will also be broken down into its individual steps right here in this little Blog - so keep checking in to see the whole set!
Til next time!
Til next time!
Start the process to find your architectural language and make your little ideas a reality.
Click here to see the little things I have made for you, or click here if you would like to work with me one on one.