keeping track of hours

[Tom]

So, our build has only just started and we're basically paying our builders on an hourly rate. We sorta know the chap - his daughter is friends with mine etc, so I want to tread carefully, but how are things normally done to keep track of hours worked? Is it done on trust? I'm thinking it might be an idea to put a year planner up with a pen, and ask him to put a figue on it at the end of each day. Does that seem weird? It's not so much a trust thing (well, perhaps a bit...) - I just want to know where we are rather than get a nasty surprise at the end of each month. Yes, I know this should have been sorted before we started - it's not like I haven't been planning this for about 3 years...

[Mr Punter]

I sometime pay people by the hour.  Make sure you establish whether they get paid for breaks etc.  I prefer to just pay for the hours worked.  I like a timesheet but it depends who it is.

 

We had some bricklayers where the boss paid them day rates.  Start, break and home times were very strict.

 

Our cleaner gets paid a fixed amount supposedly for a set amount of time but sometimes she does longer or shorter.  We have had the same arrangement for 30 years.

[nod]

As above (P) 

Even the larger sites only pay hours worked 

A weekly timesheet listing the daily hours is perfectly reasonable 

[ETC]

Sounds like a licence to print money to me.....

[Temp]

Paying buy the hour would have been difficult/complicated on our self build. Our builder was only on site a few hours a day usually first and last thing, he did physical work but was more of a project manager. He also did all the buying so his workers were never stuck for materials. Some of that would have been done from home or in person while he was on the way to the site or on the way home. He had two staff that were officially a "foreman" and "carpenter" but they did most things from setting out the site to tiling the roof. They worked pretty much full time on site for the whole build. Other trades were hired and came and went as he required them. 

 

 

[Tom]

Thanks all. nod would you expect the builder to fill in the time sheet themselves - or just keep a close eye yourself?

[John latimer]

We are in a similar situation. I thought about a time sheet but it felt like we lacked trust doing that. He’s just billing us at the end of each week. We are paying for lunch hour. He’s an honest chap and I’m sure he’s not going to diddle us. 
 

[ToughButterCup]

Time lapse camera. Can't be challenged. 

[DragsterDriver]

The wall planner sounds good, just tell him you have a strict budget and need to make sure you’re keeping to it.

[Tosh]

Or a site attendance register knocked up from excel and ask them to sign in and out each day. Most trades should of come across this in their life so shouldn't be a surprise if asked. I also think a site diary is a great thing to do assuming you or an agent is about to witness work all day. Will prove very useful if things do unfortunately go pear shaped. Keep a record of weather, deliveries, work done, etc. Simple bullet points can be enough.