Construction support: what should happen between site visits?

Start with the help you expect to need

Write down what you imagine your designer doing once building starts. You might want advice when an existing wall reveals something unexpected, a discussion about an unavailable finish, or someone to explain whether a proposed detail still achieves the design. Bring that list to the appointment discussion rather than assuming the word ‘support’ covers it.

Then ask which tasks are included, which are additional and how extra involvement is agreed and charged. MBIE’s contract guidance makes clear that a designer’s project management role needs to be arranged. Having someone available for architectural questions does not automatically mean they are booking trades or managing deliveries.

• Who is our contact during construction?
• What work is included between visits?
• What happens if the build lasts longer or needs more input than expected?

Give each visit something useful to look at

Imagine a renovation where removing a wall lining will reveal how an old window opening was formed. If the designer needs to see that junction, a visit after it has been covered again is poorly timed. In this hypothetical example, I would ask the builder and designer to agree the point when useful information will be visible and who will give the designer notice.

Use the programme to discuss those moments. Ask what happens if the work moves forward or slips, and whether photographs can answer a particular question or someone needs to attend. A standing calendar invitation is useful only if the relevant work is ready to see.

Carl from Warwick Gair Builders describes site involvement and availability for advice in his published feedback. For your own project, turn that idea into a specific conversation about when input is needed and how it will be requested.

Know what each visit covers

An architectural observation is periodic input within an agreed scope. It cannot tell you that every part of the build has been watched continuously. Ask what will be looked at, what record you will receive and how any follow-up will be handled. The builder remains responsible for construction.

Council inspections have their own purpose and requirements. MBIE explains that the required inspections are listed in the building consent and that council checks compliance, rather than judging aesthetics or workmanship quality beyond compliance. Keep those inspections and any required specialist inspections distinct from the architectural visits you commission.

• Ask who arranges each type of visit or inspection.
• Confirm what must remain visible for the relevant check.
• Ask who follows up an issue and how you will know it has been addressed.

Try a week on paper

Before work starts, choose one likely construction week with your team. Put an expected site query, a planned observation and an owner decision into it. Walk through who makes contact, what information they need and what happens if the answer is not immediately available. Agree how the builder will raise anything affecting the next step.

This little rehearsal can expose an assumption while there is still time to discuss it. If you would like help defining the support for your build, bring your drawings, programme and the parts you feel least confident about to a conversation.