Looking at your Homebuyers’ lot before starting a bid for building is one of the key things a Home Builder needs to do.
Knowing the slope of the ground – and accurate calculations of any dirt that needs to be removed from the lot or hauled in – can mean a make-or-break estimate for your next On Your Lot (OYL) build.
Or you’ll find yourself having a very difficult discussion later with your customers when you need to tell them you didn’t account for something in their allowance (and they’ll now need to pay you extra – straight out-of-pocket).
That conversation never goes well – for either you OR your customers. You lose credibility as a professional and your Buyers lose out on some unplanned money (and they’ll be sure to mention that expensive mistake to their friends who may be considering building a home in the future).
Surprisingly, a lot of Home Builders still set an allowance based on historical numbers or some standardized “catch-all” excavation allowance that they just happen to throw in to estimates.
And even though it may be verbalized that the allowance is simply a placeholder in an estimate, over-zealous Home Buyers often forget what was told to them and quickly take the numbers as “gospel.”
In fact, many take the estimate as-is to their Lender and secure financing based on that number.
And why shouldn’t they?
YOU are the professional who is signing your name at the bottom of the estimate. You need to make sure that it’s really more than just “an estimate.” Instead, you need to have some data behind your estimate so it’s – dare I say – pretty darn accurate.
By having accurate grading data available to back up the excavation allowance on your estimate, you’re making it easier for all involved to have a great homebuilding experience with you – and – making it harder for the deer-in-the-headlights look to be on your Buyers’ faces (or…..yours).
Not sure what the deer-in-the-headlights look is? Take a look at the picture at the top of this story and you’ll have a good idea of what I’m talkin about.
So How Do I Get Accuracy?
I’m glad you asked!
You can do things the hard way.
- Grab a second person and head out to your Buyers’ lot.
- Take your tall and telescoping measuring stick and give it to your buddy (especially if you know the lot falls off from front-to-back).
- Don’t forget your bulky transit. You’ll need that yourself to be seeking out the aforementioned measuring stick that your buddy will be using.
- Make sure you have a clipboard with (hopefully) a printed out copy of the lot plan attached to it (and hope for a non-windy day).
- Pull that trusty pencil from behind your ear (or out of your pocket) and get ready to write.
- Have your buddy find a corner pin (or other point of interest) and stand with the telescoping measuring stick on the pin.
- Once you set up the transit, take a look through the lens and find your buddy with telescoping pole. Spend some time getting the focus just right so you’ll be able to read the markings on that pole.
- Locate the point on that pole where it is level with your current location through that lens – and – note the difference in feet/inches of the grade on your printed out lot plan.
- Repeat Steps 6-8 for any/all points on the lot that you think need noted.
- Pack up the transit and have your buddy bring the pole and head to your truck.
- Take some time to review the data you recorded. Can you or anyone else really read your chicken-scratchings>
- Make any other notifications on that paper (and – dang it – keep coffee away so you don’t sploosh some on the paper and ruin your penmanship that was double-checked above).
- Take a moment to hope that you didn’t forget anything – so you don’t need to return to repeat many of these steps above.
Whew! I think I need a nap.
Let’s look at doing this an easier way – using the Moasure device and app combination.
- Grab your Moasure device and head out to the lot. I’m just assuming you’ll already have your phone – so – you’ll have the Moasure app handy.
- Locate the property corner pins.
- Fire up the Moasure device (on it’s included stick) and the app on your phone.
- Choose the Measurement Type that makes the most sense to you. Most likely, this is going to be the Closed Shape Measurement Type (because I haven’t seen any lots or building areas that aren’t inside a closed shape).
- Start measuring, er, mOasuring in the app and walking the property lines – setting the Moasure device on the ground when the app tells you.
- You can also set that device down at some key parts of the lot that you want to note (hello, tree in the way). You can always use the Notations inside the app to name the object.
- Complete perimeter of lot/building area. Hit SAVE in the app.
Voila! You have measured the perimeter of the lot AND got accurate measurements of grade changes – all by yourself!
Then – use the app to instantly see the amount of fill you need to bring in (or remove) in a handy color-coded picture (or presented in pure numbers for you data nerds out there).
The cool thing is that you can then email the grade and volume amounts to anyone – right from the app on your phone.
Choose PDF, PNG, or JPG files for easy readability (your files and/or for your Buyers). Choose CAD files for your professionals (DXF or DWG files). And you can use CSV files for the data folks.
Easy peasy, folks!
It’s Your Choice, Folks!
When it comes down to measuring the grade changes and calculating volume differences, I think the Moasure device/app combination sure makes a heck of a lot of sense.
But I also recognize that you may like your pencil and paper, too. You might like the challenge of figuring things out and keeping your high school geometry and algebra calculations sharp in your brain.
And, ultimately, it’s your choice. But – as they say, “Time is money.” You’ll want to choose the tools that will save you time.
AND you’ll want the tools that will help you look professional in front of your Buyers, give you more-accurate readings so you can provide accurate excavation allowances to your Buyers, and keep EVERYONE from having that goofy deer-in-the-headlights look from the top of this post.
I hope this post allowed you to think about how you are presenting your company to your Buyers – and – how you can make your excavating estimates have data behind them.
If you are already using Moasure in your homebuilding business, I’d love to hear the different ways you’ve found to streamline your construction activities using the device/app combo. Just drop me a line at brad@bradhaubert.com and let me know!
