Darby and Associates - winning tenders for building contractors

We have recently been successful on several lucrative contracts for our building contractor clients. The private residential market continues to show strength as homeowners look to upgrade, extend and make the most of the space available in their existing properties. Looking forward to all sites re-opening early April (hopefully).

Darby and Associates Quantity Surveyors bring Airside Medical Centre fit-out in on budget

Darby and Associates Chartered Quantity Surveyors were engaged to provide full estimating, tender and post-contract quantity surveying services for a fit-out of a medical centre for Dr. Andre Nel of The Hair, Skin and Wellness Clinic. The project consisted of a full fit-out of a first floor shell and core “grey box” including full mechanical and electrical services, suspended ceilings and partitions, floor coverings, joinery, internal doors and painting. The project was completed just one week over the twelve week programme by Shelbounre Engineering / OFOS Limited. The project came in under budget for a variety of reasons but mainly due to a team-led approach from all design team members, contractor and client.

Survey: Working from home isn’t working. Productivity, Costs, kids and back pain

A survey of 144 people working from home was carried out online in the past week by Darby & Associates Chartered Quantity Surveyors. Our findings:

• Working at Home saw Productivity gains and losses

• 14% say their working from home setup is a struggle

• 35% would rather go back to work due to their current setup 

• Just 15% said they have a good setup and can work from home indefinitely

• Childcare is a big issue for working from home

• 20% have noticed an increase in back pain

• 25% cannot upgrade their space to work from home properly

• 73% of respondents felt the cost of building work would be their main concern to upgrade to work from home

Findings:

The home office isn’t working

On whether the current working from home space is suitable only 15% said they could work from there indefinitely. 36% said if they were to work from there long term they would make some changes, while 35% said it just functions and would prefer to be in their normal place of work. Worryingly 14% said their working from home setup is a daily struggle. 

Better desks, chairs, back pain

We found that 34% of people were using a smaller desk and 37% were using a kitchen table, island or other.  33% of people were using an inferior desk chair that will “get them through the restrictions” while 29% use a chair they would never use in work. Worryingly, 20% of respondents noticed an increase in back pain since starting to work from home. 

Home setup changes, better chairs and desk, light and privacy:

When asked what changes they would make instantly if there were no cost implications, 79% said they would want a better chair or standing desk. 30% of those asked wanted more light, better wifi and better privacy. Privacy was a hot topic in this survey where a quarter or respondents were worried about intrusions on a work phone/video call. 

Productivity gains for many not all

Productivity levels varied greatly between respondents, with 12% saying they were equally as productive compared with their normal place of work. 58% said they were more productive while 30% said they were less productive. - We believe from our data that the home setup itself and lack of privacy is contributing to some people being less productive.

A proper Working From Home setup - 25% can’t upgrade

Our survey asked what the respondent would do to improve their working from home setup. 22% would like to upgrade an existing room, 18% considered conversion of an attic space. 25% cannot upgrade their space to work from home properly as 16% were renting and felt upgrading their existing spaces was not an option and 9% felt they had no space to upgrade.

Costs are a big factor for a dedicated working from home space

When we asked people in the survey if they would extend, renovate, or convert their attic 73% of respondents felt the cost of building work would be their main concern followed by 29% concerned about the disruption it would cause in the home. 19% said the risks around COVID-19 and having tradesmen in their house would be a concern. 

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Survey Responses received 4th – 11th May 2020

Some interesting comments back:

·        We have only one adult working from home. If both spouses were working from home things would be very, very different from a resource/privacy/internet perspective.

·        It’s given me a better work/life balance

·        It’s isolating when used to being a team

·        We have an open plan mezzanine flat so everything is open plan!

·        Missing the social aspect and being able to discuss things with colleagues

·        Enjoy it much more than my very long commute

·        I’m sick of seeing the same four walls for breakfast lunch dinner work and tv

·        Despite all the difficulties, the same deliverables are expected. Little or no allowance made of having to mind kids all day while working. Wok day is constantly disrupted by kids stuff.

·        A first-floor extension for another bedroom and dedicated office is the medium-term plan

·        Prefer having a place of work to commute to. Don’t like associating my home with work

·        Unsuitable

·        No childcare and 3 young children <7 has a massive impact on my ability to work efficiently

·        It is going to become popular going forward

·        Losing my mind

·        Less stressful, away from a very bullying and stressful work environment is great a mixture of the two would be great

·        I find that I do intervals of work like 2 hours then have a break for 10/15 min then go again for 2 hours etc which keeps productivity high

·        The hardest thing is working from home and home schooling !

·        Working and living in the same building is not sustainable!

·        Working harder and longer, checking emails every day at weekends

·        Noise cancel headphones a must, car becomes office for certain calls, like being home with family the instant I finish

·        Can get up a bit later or earlier if need be. Miss the Craic of work. Neighbours practicing Drums in their back garden can be challenging. Having to plan around others schedule (Wife and home working daughter). Biting tongue takes practice but getting there

·        It’s hell

·        It has been much more straightforward than initially envisaged

·        In some jobs /industries there is no reason people couldn't work from home full time but I have to admit i miss the banter and the chats in the office which can't be replicated on a zoom call

·        We are expected to work from home like we don’t have kids. Expected to be on skype calls for 2.5+ hours which is hard with young preschool children. I brought this up but was told I could walk out of the meeting if I needed to, not v satisfactory as children of this age need supervision. Partner is a frontline worker so isn’t here

·        The saving on the commute is the big win. I would like a 50/50 split between office and home working

·        Construction Companies will be reluctant to encore working from home as they will not trust people to do their work.

·        Adopting the right mindset & having flexibility are key to making it work! Adaptation is everything

·        It would be great if employers allowed flexibility after this pandemic to allow employees to work from home. It should be about output not hours

·        Some distractions in and around the home I feel I'm not as productive but if it was more long term I could address these and ensure productivity was at a normal level. The commute is definitely easier

·        Keeping focused is tough with external distractions like neighbours washing etc

·        It will change the face of construction for meetings and connectivity and technology will play a bigger part in the industry going forward.

·        It could work well if better organised given the circumstances it’s manageable

·        I’m glad that I have a job and I can work from home but I find the week very long and tiring . Video calls are exhausting.

·        Miss the interaction with people in work but don't miss the commute

·        Productivity would be as high as work for most stuff if childcare was there. Meetings can be less effective virtually than sitting in the same room and talking to someone quickly without having to arrange a call / video call.

·        Feels like there's less of a connection with colleagues. On the plus side, decisions are made quicker ( not spending too much time discussing matters on Zoom), the down side, things are not given the same attention.

·        Re the Question re productivity. Normally working from home I'm more productive, now however is completely different to normal as the kids have no creche so are here. This makes it far more challenging to be productive.

·        Mind wanders

·        Managing children is a huge challenge

·        Working from home is fine when you aren’t also home-schooling

·        A balance between working at home and the office would be nice over the week. Cutting out commuting time would free up some valuable hours in the day and still allow you to put in the same work day.

·        Would love it 3 or 4 days a week, saves so much time on the commute also

·        It has slowed down some simple decision making processes, as it requires calls and emails with colleagues working from home, rather than throwing your head around the corner in the office and ask them.

·        Improve infrastructure - better wifi, printer(A3), scanner etc.

·        Better light generally at desk. General fittings dont provide the right lux level.

·        Working from home is becoming the new normal and will be probably be with us for the future so it’s worth making the space your working from as comfortable as possible.

·        I'm pleasantly surprised by how well my WiFi has met the requirements of working from home. Eir is my provider

·        Better work life balance

·        It's peaceful, the sound of the Luas is replaced by the sound of birds. The weather is great which encourages walks over the beaches and Sans dunes in the evenings. No traffic, no crowds but as productive, if not more than at my desk in city centre Dublin. I miss Marks and Spencer though, the only downside!!!!

For some practical tips on upgrading your existing WFH space, see our other blog post here

Upgrading your working from home space | Hiring a quantity surveyor

What is a Quantity Surveyor?

Quantity surveyors are like ‘accountants for construction’. We look at every element of the design for the project, estimate realistic figures for each element, such as carpentry work, electrical work, windows and total this before adding a project contingency and VAT @ 13.5%. This gives the homeowner comfort in knowing the approximate cost of the work, before getting prices from builders”.

Limited Budget

If your budget is minimal and you are limited to upgrading an existing room, here are some suggestions that may help with productivity:

• Consider all of the distractions affecting your productivity and write them down. Identify which ones can be solved easily, which would take more work, and which are impossible to remove. Focus on the easy-fixes first, such as trying a different room or a second elevated screen connected to your laptop which could help your posture.

• Consider all of the rooms in your house, is there a room you may have glossed over initially when you started working from home? Some rooms could be re-organised / have their uses swapped to create a better, more productive space

• If your employer is suggesting that working from home will extend further than government restrictions, ask them if there is any budget for upgrading employees working from home setups. Using a laptop for eight hours a day at a kitchen table when you’d normally be on a PC at a standing desk is obviously going to affect how your body copes with prolonged screen use. 

Larger Budget

If your budget can stretch to getting some work done in an existing room, the following might improve your work from home setup:

• Increasing window or rooflight size to let more natural light and ventilation in (may require planning permission)

• Stripping plasterboard linings to partitions and installing acoustic insulation. The partition is then re-lined with sound-reducing plasterboard, re-skimmed and painted

• Replacing an existing door to a heavier, sound-reducing door and installing acoustic seals

• Adding additional lighting, sockets and perhaps a Cat6 data point for a hardwired connection to the internet as opposed to wireless connection over WiFi

• Custom fitted joinery can greatly improve a room’s functionality, incorporating a dedicated desk for your needs and storage space like drawers and shelves to reduce clutter.

• Standing desks are rising in popularity and rightly so - our bodies are not designed to be sitting for 40 hours per week. Alternatively a good quality desk and chair that offer ergonomic support will make the day more bearable and will reduce back pain

• Personalising the room with pleasing paint colours, wall-hung paintings, alternative floor coverings or fabrics to your liking will make the space more enjoyable to be in. Being surrounded by clothes horses or christmas trees will only frustrate you further

Attic Conversions

When considering an attic conversion in a typical semi-detached 3-bedroom house, costs can range from €15,000 - €30,000 depending on what the room is intended to be used for.

If none of the spaces available to you are going to work long-term, it may be prudent to look at converting the attic or extending at ground and/or first floor level. An architect can guide you through how using existing spaces can be re-purposed or opened up in the most practical way. The quantity surveyor feeds into this process with cost advice on the vital work and also adding suggestions for additional options that may be considered.

 At a minimum attic conversions require alterations to the ceiling joists, a new staircase, some rooflights and lining of the walls and ceilings as well as radiators, lights and electrical sockets

A simple storage or office area would be on the lower end of the cost scale, while adding extra partitions, internal doors, a dormer window or ensuite will push costs up significantly. You may also have to upgrade the doors on the existing ground floor hallway and first floor landing to comply with fire regulations, a cost often overlooked. Depending on the size of the attic conversion, there could be three to eight weeks of having builders and their tradesmen in, moving materials up and down the stairs, all while you are trying to live and work in the home.

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Drone footage of Portmarnock House - Another project Darby & Associates Quantity Surveyors advised on building costs from start to finish

A stunning project where we provide building cost advice to the contractor. Situated in Portmarnock, Sea Scape boasts magnificent views perched high above the coastline between Portmarnock and Malahide. Designed by Paul Keating Architects and built by Smithcon Building Contractors. Darby and Associates Chartered Quantity Surveyors provided expert QS consultancy for the contractor including tendering, managing of subcontractors, processing of interim valuations and submission of variations.