iwubpreve

I have a question. For subsales 2 stories landed property and it has an extensive renovation.

I found out that the owner submitted and got approval only for the CCC of the building plan and construction but didn't complete it with Borang F to finalize the CCC.

How hard is it actually the last part to get the Borang F done? The owner for some reason seems reluctant to do this.

And how long usually does the process take?

This post has been edited by WhitE LighteR: Aug 2 2016, 07:37 PM

Hello seniors,

I've heard that alot of consultants opt to become contractors after a few years of experience (M&E and C&S).

Is that really viable? cause from what I can see contractor themselves are quite specialized and consultants are lacking in site-experience (i.e. they dont know the lifetime of cement etc).

Also, can I know what is the average profit margin for contractors in residential projects? Does main-contractor earn more than sub-contractor in terms of % profit margin?

Thank you !

hi, sorry for "abandon" this thread for a while.

actually is like the chart below, i try to put a simple chart so u can understand better. below is a chart for structure work. so for a building, we use the plan view and divide into 2 zone, namely zone A & zone B. if bigger site will divide into more zone. so each floor we have zone A and zone B. so horizontal denote as weeks, vertical is level of building. sequence of work is like this, complete level 1 zone A, only move to level 1 zone B. it look like u need 4 week to complete a floor, but in fact every 2 weeks u complete a floor. reason is because u have 2 team of workers. 1 team only do zone A, another do zone B. so level 1 zone A complete, then they move to level 2 zone a. in construction time is money. so have to plan the work within schedule. the chart only display structure. imagine u have all work included, the chart would be very massive and complex. u have facade, architectural work etc and different work might have different sequence. average there would be about 40 trades of work in each project. imagine this chart show 1 trade, put 40 trade inside would be really complicated. but this is important because it help u to plan the work, and at the same time it can be as a reference of claiming extension of time etc.

main contractor have lesser margin compare to subcontractor.

let's say a subcontractor cost 1mil + 15% profit, he have 1.15mil of contract.

but contractor have 150 mil + 3% profit = 154.5 mil of contract.

also main contractor distribute the risk to subcontractor. main contractor no need much asset like machinery, equipment or material but subcontractor need to have those thing to operate their work. in conclusion, main contractor manage the work and earn the money while subcontractor need to own the machine to carry out the work and earn money.

Thanks for clarification, this explained why we alw observed the construction alw do half then another half instead of both side together...

more like a "holiday" instead of "abandon"..

Thanks for taking your time for the explanation... it also clarify the different section's height.

btw, from your experience, what would the normal progression of a 33 storey service apartment that is build on top of approximately 2 acres of land? by standard 1 storey in 2 weeks after completion of all the ground work and stuff..?

Thanks a lot dude ! Do you know how does a person start to become a main contractor? Like which company do they join before becoming a full-fledged independent main con.

I am a fresh grad working in a engineering consultancy firm at Malaysia, just started my job 2 weeks ago. I always feel that there's too much Ir. at Malaysia dont you think so? I feel like by the time I get my Ir. it's probably gonna be very common already.

On a side note, can I know what you did previously? You seem super knowledgeable.

Thanks a lot for answering !

how many units per floor? if u mean after ground work (substructure work i mean) complete, it take abt 24 months to complete a condo with 15 units x 1500 sqft per floor.

of course it could be varies depend on the complexity of building. and also things will happen in the midst of construction. like design changes or compliance issue and it will probably draw another few months.

any profession in construction industry also have opportunity to be a main contractor. but u need to have capital, that is the most important things. cash flow is the crucial thing as a main contractor, need to play around it will. if ur cash flow got problem, that's quite risky as could be easily get wind up by other.

u can start of with consulting engineer and then u can become associate partner (which is partner of firm) from there on u can slowly move on to be a contractor. there are always short of competent engineer and it won't be common. market flooded with contractor. and contractor not an easy path, coz u need to compete with other contractor. u might want to have a higher profit margin but imagine ur competitor lower the price to get the job, what would u do? a contractor, u bid the project with high price, u can't get the job. u bid with low price, u might suffer loss at the end. is a dilemma to be a contractor.

Its about 27 units per floor. Ground work is completed, they are now building up the parking floors and was at 5th floor already.

Land clearing commenced at somewhere around October'15.

They did have the problem to keep all the raw materials and machinery as there is limited space at the site for storage.

IMHO, the parking floor should be up pretty quick since it was not as complex as the rest? correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks again for the reply

on the contrary, lower floor take longer time. it considered podium and a lot of services would be commence at lower level. and also at the beginning lot of planning and coordination require hence take time. main contractor will incorporated all service into 1 drawing to ensure there are fit and no clashing / discrepancy happen.

also car park consist of ramp and also is a heavy loading structure. perhaps they might also do pre-stress concrete slab which also take time.

until the typical apartment unit, things getting faster as everyone familiar with the pace of the work and also typical floor generally is same so they will pick up progress from there

is it normal condo? without special facade? should be within 2 years. from ground work

U mean 2yrs after done ground works?? Is it the same for those 3yrs and 4yrs SPA?? Heard nw even 5yrs!

But the way, it seems when most ppl talk about the built quality, we seems tends to look at developer instead of their main con, is this correct?

For eg Developer A may engage Main Con A, B and C for their Project A, B and C respectively, but will the quality be similar since they are done by diff main con?

Similarly, for Developer A, B, and C may engage Main Con A for their respective Project. But will the quality of these projects be similar since it is done by same main con?

the years of course can be change. due to some project require longer. therefore when the developer sign SPA with u they will amend it and let u know that this would take more years. so at the end it is abt the agreement between buyer and seller.

as a purchaser, u only have contractual relationship with developer. so how the main con did, u only can complain to developer. of course as purchaser, if u know who is the main con it will help u determine well whether u wanna buy from them as u know which main contractor going to do the work.

the quality actually all depend on how the developer implement their quality plan against main contractor. if the developer is competent enough, different contractor will build the similar quality for project a,b, and c.

This post has been edited by iwubpreve: Aug 22 2016, 04:42 PM

Thanks.
Indirectly, I cn interpretate that even same main con, the outcome could be diff as diff developer may hve diff QC criteria?

depend 1. even developer not good but a responsible main contractor will do it. but it is like chicken and egg thing. so a responsible main contractor will usually be competent but their competent come with a price. so usually they are not the lowest bidder for the project. most of the time, developer wanna maximize profit so they will award to lowest bidder. u know a lot of main contractor that willing to throw the price in order to get the project. at least they need to take care for their company employee. so award to lowest bidder they will usually save cost and save a lot of work

in general u can't expect much if u pay lower price for property

but of course i did see some good developer (high end property) they really honour their purchaser. Selangor Dredging have a lot of come back purchaser. so even after defect liability period they still change the brand new kitchen cabinet to their purchaser. some purchaser take over unit after 2 years also didn't move in. so things spoil and they take initiative to rectify it for free. of course SDB properties is pricey

Thanks!! Im just looking around seeking clarification.. just landed myself a unit from SCP group, Seasons Garden..

Tot bigge developer wanna maintain reputation, so will put more attention on quality?? 1k for 20k, so house price of 600k only cost them 30k?? Seems ratio a bit over ady...

I see, you got your points there... from construction line??

LOL... earn enuf ady.. haha

wanna ask sifu, at current economic situation, is it better to buy property fr big player rather than small time developer? is it true now most small developers get financial support fr bank before begin construction even not all units are sold?