Blueprint Blunders: Navigating the Hidden Pitfalls of Home Construction Projects

What Are The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Planning A Construction Project?

Ever wondered why so many construction projects go over budget and past deadlines? Licensed general contractor Alex Kosley pulls back the curtain on the costliest mistakes homeowners and business owners make when planning their builds.

The reality of construction planning is far more complex than most people realize. Alex explains why Google searches for "how much does an ADU cost" lead to disaster, and how budget misconceptions create a domino effect of problems. When clients discover their expectations don't match reality, they either cut corners by hiring the cheapest contractor or proceed without proper financial planning—both paths leading to expensive disappointments.

Whether you're dreaming of a new ADU, planning an office upgrade, or tackling a major renovation in the Colorado Springs area, this episode delivers concrete advice that could save you thousands of dollars and months of headaches. As Alex emphasizes, "Construction isn't just something that you wing. A well-planned project saves time, money, and stress." 

To learn more about StreamHome Construction visit:
https://www.YourStreamHome.com
StreamHome Construction
719-644-6777

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Stream Home Construction Podcast,
where we take your project fromconception to completion.
Hosted by Licensed GeneralContractor Alex Kozley, we cover
everything from accessorydwelling units to commercial
construction in the greaterColorado Springs area.
Whether you're dreaming of anew ADU, planning an office
upgrade or tackling a majorrenovation project, we've got

(00:26):
the expertise to guide youthrough it.
Let's get building.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Everyone wants their dream home or perfect commercial
space.
But let's be real.
Planning a construction projectcan be, but let's be real.
Playing the constructionproject can be a minefield of
mistakes.
Licensed general contractor,alex Cozley shares the biggest
missteps homeowners and businessowners make and how to avoid
turning the simple build into amoney pit.
Welcome back everyone, tonyHill's co-host, slash producer,

(01:02):
back in the studio with AlexCozley.
Alex, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
I'm doing great today .
It's good to see you, Tony.
How are you doing?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Awesome, awesome, great to see you too.
So, alex, what are the biggestmistakes people make when
planning a construction project?

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Great question, tony.
There are several mistakes thatwe commonly see.
One of the biggest mistakes wesee when people are planning a
construction project is notfully counting the cost or, even
worse, coming in with budgetexpectations that don't align
with reality.
A lot of clients have a numberin mind before ever talking to a
builder, usually based on whatthey heard from a friend right

(01:39):
online or what they think aproject should cost.
But construction costs aren'tstatic.
They change based on laboravailability, material
fluctuations, site conditions,even local permitting
requirements, and all thesecosts can fluctuate week to week
.
Even when someone's budget'sway off from the actual cost,
one of two things happen Eitherthey get frustrated and start

(02:01):
looking for ways to force theproject into an unrealistic
number, usually by hiring thecheapest contractor or cutting
corners, or they go ahead withthe project without proper
financial planning and run outof money halfway through.
Both scenarios create majorheadaches, cost more in the long
run and often leave people withunfinished or compromised
projects.
That's why we always tellclients start with a realistic

(02:23):
budget based on actual, updatedestimates from professionals,
not guesses, not opinions fromfriends, and definitely not
outdated pricing from years ago,which is much of the
information that can be foundonline currently.
Another common mistake we oftensee is not having a clearly
defined scope of work.
The more vague or open-ended aproject is, the more room there

(02:44):
is for miscommunication, scopecreep and cost overruns.
Clients will say things likelet's figure it out as we go,
but in construction that's arecipe for disaster.
Every change mid-project causesripple effects.
Material orders need to beadjusted, subcontractors need to
reschedule, permits may need tobe modified, and all of that
costs time and money.

(03:04):
The best projects always have awell-thought-out plan from day
one, with as few last-minutechanges as possible.
We also see a lot of peoplechoosing contractors based on
price alone rather thanexperience and reputation.
There's always going to be alow bidder, but there's a reason
that they're the cheapest.
Maybe they didn't includeeverything in their bid, maybe

(03:25):
they're cutting corners, ormaybe they're underbidding just
to win the job and plan to makeup the difference with change
orders, which is something wesee happen often.
A well-run project isn't aboutgetting the best price.
It's about getting the bestvalue, meaning the right balance
of cost, quality andreliability.
We believe the best way toserve our clients is to provide
a realistic idea of totalproject costs up front, not

(03:47):
lower them in with lower thanrealistic price and then hit
them with tens of thousands ormore change orders once we get
started.
Another area we see people getcaught off guard is
underestimating the impact ofpermitting and regulations for
their project.
We've had clients assume theycan start building as soon as
they have plans, only to findout they need special zoning
approvals, impact studies or HOAsign-offs.

(04:08):
Permitting isn't just aformality, it's a critical part
of the process that can delay aproject by months if not
accounted for up front.
On top of time needed forarchitecture and engineering,
plans must also go through thebuilding department for review,
which can easily take a month orseveral months for the size of
projects that we work on.
So all that extra time needs tobe factored in into the

(04:29):
schedule and the plan from theget-go.
And finally, poor communicationand project management really
make or break a job.
A construction project has aton of moving parts clients,
architects, engineers,subcontractors, suppliers and if
there isn't a clear, consistentcommunication, things can go

(04:50):
sideways quickly.
We've seen smallmisunderstandings turn into
massive rework just because oneperson assumed something and
never confirmed it.
That's the reason that we makesure our team and clients stay
in sync, with regular updates,documented changes and clear
expectations from start tofinish.
So my advice as a generalcontractor is if you're planning
a construction project, ourbest advice is to get real about
your budget, lock down yourscope, hire the right team,

(05:12):
understand the permittingprocess, building contingencies
and prioritize communication.
Construction isn't justsomething that you wing.
A well-planned project savestime, money and stress and, as a
builder, that's exactly what wewant for our clients.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Crucial steps, crucial steps.
So what's the number onemistake, besides thinking
YouTube tutorials make you ageneral contractor.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
That's a great question yeah, I think you know
might be one that we touched onis just assuming project budgets
.
You know, you go you Googlesearch how much does a new ADU
cost?
You know, and, and you're goingto get answers that can vary
wildly.
You might find answers from youknow 50,000 up to you know
500,000, a really wide rangeisn't super useful, but a lot of

(05:58):
times the prices are justoutdated.
Getting access to all thisinformation it's not like
there's a public library whereyou have all the bids in
construction history and you canpull from that data.
So the data is a little bitobscure and hard to obtain and
then mostly it's proprietarywith each contractor.
So really the best way is tojust talk to a contractor who

(06:19):
built these types of projectsbefore to get the best idea, not
a Google search, not spinning,rolling the dice or just asking
a buddy what they think.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
Okay, so have you ever had a client who thought
their Pinterest board was ablueprint?

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, a lot of people come to us.
You know it's very common tocome.
We've got our Pinterest board.
We saved all these things.
We think we've got kind of thewhole thing figured out and in
some degrees the selections andthe materials and the style are
a big part of the project, butreally that's almost like the
icing on the cake, you knowwhere everything that we have to
make sure everything'sengineered and designed properly
to code, it's engineered, we'llwithstand the snow and wind

(07:00):
load.
There's a lot of other kind ofmore technical things that we
don't really find on Pinterestrelated to math and engineering.
So in one sense it can reallyhelp to guide and give your
project life.
But a Pinterest board isn't thefull set of plans.
And another thing that we seethat's common is related to that
is people will find pre-madeplans online and say, hey, I

(07:21):
found this plan online, this isperfect, I just want to build
this.
Can you guys just build this?
It's not that simple.
Every jurisdiction has specificcodes.
Here in Colorado Springs we'reat high elevations, we have low
temperatures, we have higherinsulation requirements.
There's just a lot of thingsthat vary, and almost every time
those plans will have to beadjusted and it will cost as

(07:41):
much, if not more, to justcreate a plan from scratch or
get with a builder who has somepre-made plans that are specific
to this jurisdiction.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Okay, alex, be honest .
How many people forget tobudget for actual walls because
they blew it all on fancy lightfixtures?

Speaker 3 (07:59):
because they blew it all on fancy light fixtures.
So I think when a homeowner ora prospective client's kind of
doing budgeting work on theirown, and I think it's very
likely they're going to forgetmany pieces that one, they may
not even know about, several ofthe pieces that need to go into
their project, but then theyalso may be more oriented
towards those design featuresthat we talked about earlier

(08:21):
that are coming from theirPinterest board, and not
thinking about screws and nailsand brackets and things like
that that you don't see onceyour structure is finished.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
I love it, love it, love it.
Alex, well, you're the man.
We'll catch you on our nextepisode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
You too.
Thanks, tony, see you then.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
That's a wrap for this episode of the Stream Home
Construction Podcast.
Ready to bring your vision tolife?
Snag a free on-siteconsultation by visiting our
website at wwwyourstreamhomecom,or call or text us at
719-644-6777.
Until next time, let's keepbuilding your residential and

(09:11):
commercial dream in the greaterColorado Springs area.