The Speculative Builder

Progress, Volume XI, Issue 10, 1 June 1916, Page 639

The Speculative Builder

The problem of what to do with the incompetent speculative builder is of course no new one. Many a man has had bitter reason to regret the purchase of a house built by this method. It must be obvious to a thoughtful person, that when a man offers to build a house and 'save the architect's fees,' that he is going to suffer in some way, else the whole architectural profession is an unnecessary encumbrance. It is not altogether easy to convince the average person about to build that it is false economy to dispense with the architect's services, though one strong reason, that of repairs, ought to be sufficient to deter people from dispensing with adequate supervision. Unfortunately the purchaser sees only the surfaces, internal and external, of the house he buys, and he has to take on trust the builder's statement. What guarantee has the purchaser of the quality of

the woodwork and the plaster which are carefully hidden behind the bright paint and tasteful wallpapers? A person who buys a house built without proper supervision should allow 15% to 20% on to the cost to cover repairs which will surely be necessary before the house is very old.

A method is being tried in England to do away with the speculative builder house by calling for tenders for quantities of houses say up to 20 of one type. This can of course only be done under proper organisation, and is usually only practical in some of the Garden City or Housing schemes. Its advantage is that the speculative builder has no chance to compete against the big contractor in quantities such as these, and the client gets the benefit of a good article designed and supervised by an architect, and built by a builder of reputation, at a lower cost.

These schemes sound rather ambitious to us in New Zealand, but something should be done to protect the public. Now that we have Sir Rider Hag-

gard with us enquiring what we are prepared to do to assist in placing the English Soldier on the land, perhaps the Government might be induced to get designs in the open market of suitable houses which could be built in quantities.