The Build Route Decision Guide is a practical worksheet designed to help you decide how your house should be built before you appoint a contractor. It is Tool 7 in the From Land to Home companion toolkit and supports Chapter 12 of From Land to Home. The guide helps you compare different construction arrangements based on the time, knowledge, control and risk involved in each option.
Choosing how your project will be managed can affect cost control, material management, supervision and accountability. This worksheet gives you a structured way to think through your capacity as an owner and decide which building arrangement fits your circumstances.
Assess Your Readiness as a Building Owner
The guide begins with five practical questions that help you assess how involved you can realistically be in the project.
You are asked to consider:
- How many hours each week you can give to the project
- Whether you have the knowledge, or someone you trust, to judge workmanship and materials
- Whether you can count, store and protect materials and keep proper records
- Who will coordinate different trades each day
- How much financial loss you could absorb if something goes wrong
These questions help you consider your real capacity before choosing a construction route.
Compare Three Building Routes
The worksheet compares three common approaches:
One Main Contractor
The contractor generally buys the materials and manages the work from day to day. The owner spends less time coordinating trades, but the contract, progress and quality still need to be checked.
Labour Only, Owner Buys Materials
You purchase the materials while labour is handled separately. This gives you greater direct control over materials but requires frequent site visits, careful record keeping and coordination.
Mix or Separate Trades
Different parts of the project may be handled by separate contractors or artisans. Responsibilities and risks are shared and must be clearly defined.
The comparison covers material purchasing, day-to-day management, price and wastage risks, owner involvement and the main danger associated with each route.
Understand Where the Risk Sits
Different building arrangements place responsibility in different places.
With a main contractor, much of the day-to-day coordination rests with the contractor, subject to the agreement.
With a labour-only arrangement, the owner takes greater responsibility for purchasing, storing and controlling materials.
With separate trades, responsibility can become divided, which makes written roles and coordination especially important.
The worksheet helps you record these differences before committing to one approach.
Define Who Does What
Once you choose a route, the guide helps you assign responsibility for key project tasks.
These include:
- Holding the overall picture of the project
- Buying materials
- Receiving, counting and signing for deliveries
- Paying contractors and artisans
- Coordinating trades
- Checking work independently
- Approving changes
This section can help reduce confusion about who is responsible for each part of the work.
Decide if You Need a Project Manager
The worksheet also gives you space to indicate if you will appoint a project manager and record your reasons.
This is particularly useful if you live away from the project, have limited construction knowledge or do not have enough time to coordinate the work yourself.
Watch for Signs That the Arrangement Is Failing
The Build Route Decision Guide includes warning signs that may indicate your chosen arrangement is no longer working properly.
These include:
- Payments running ahead of completed work
- Difficulty accounting for what has been bought, delivered and used
- Deliveries not being counted
- Nobody being able to confirm what has been completed against the plan
- People involved blaming one another
- Money running low while the project remains far from completion
These warning signs can help you identify problems early and review how the project is being managed.
What This Toolkit Helps You Do
The Build Route Decision Guide helps you:
- Compare different construction management arrangements
- Assess how much time and knowledge you can give the project
- Understand who buys materials under each arrangement
- Clarify who manages work on site
- Identify where financial and material risks sit
- Assign responsibility for key tasks
- Decide if a project manager is needed
- Record the reasons for your chosen approach
- Identify early warning signs of poor project control
Who Is This For?
This worksheet is suitable for:
- First-time home builders
- Families planning a residential building project
- Ghanaians living abroad who are building at home
- Owners deciding between contractor-managed and labour-only construction
- Individuals planning to buy their own building materials
- Owners considering separate artisans or trades
- Anyone who wants clearer responsibility and accountability before construction begins
How to Use It
Complete the worksheet before appointing your contractor or deciding how labour and materials will be managed.
Answer the five opening questions realistically. Compare the three routes based on your available time, construction knowledge, ability to manage materials and willingness to coordinate different people.
After choosing your preferred route, assign responsibility for each major task and keep the completed worksheet with your project records.
Review it again if payments, materials, coordination or progress begin to create problems.
Product Details
Product: Build Route Decision Guide
Series: From Land to Home Companion Toolkit
Tool Number: Tool 7
Related Chapter: Chapter 12
Format: Digital PDF worksheet
Length: 2 pages
Author: Adams Bediako Asare
Website: asarebediakoadams.com
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