We recommend that you visit structures designed and built by your prospective builder – not just show rooms and photo galleries. The true test of quality is the client that is still happy after several years with the product. This tells you the product has been well designed, engineered and fabricated from quality materials. A short visit to some of our other articles will show you what happens to poorly designed and/or fabricated structures after a short period of time. This leads o the real question about price – “what is the total cost of ownership of this structure” and will the supplier be around to provide support.

1. What’s the rate per square foot or meter
Oftenwe are askedthisquestioninthe veryearlystagesof a conversationaboutaproject.Thistellsus
isthe clientbelievesthatall shade solutionsare the same andtherefore the cheapestrate isgoingto
deliverthe bestdeal.
The keyhere is the nature of the product – itis customor bespoke bydefinitionandthereforethe
probabilityof 2companiesofferingEXACTLYthe same solutiontoa designproblemiseffectivelyzero.
The onlyway thiscan occur is forthe specificationtobe spelledoutin fine detailandtohave multiple
supplierstenderagainstthisstrictspecification.Evenunderthese circumstancestherewillinevitablybe
manyitemsnotspecifiedandvariationscanandwill occur – evendowntothe numberof stitchesused
perinch.
Thisis notunlike buildingacustomhome.The normal practice isto determine whichbuilderyouwant
to workwithto designandbuildyourhome.Yourchoice isbasedon examplesof the theirwork
accountingforreputation,qualityandstyle,andthe budget range youhave availabletoworkwith.Once
youhave chosena builderyouthenworkwiththemtodesignyourcustomhome (or fabricstructure)
withinthe limitsof yourbudget.
While itiseasyto shoparound fora cheapprice,decidingtopurchase anycustomarchitectural
structure basedon price alone iseffectivelysayingyouare unconcernedabout:
How itlooks
How well itisputtogether
The qualityof the materialsused
How longitwill last
What it will costtomaintain
We recommendthatyouvisit structuresdesignedandbuiltbyyourprospectivebuilder –notjustshow
roomsand photogalleries.The true testof qualityisthe clientthatisstill happyafterseveral yearswith
the product.This tellsyouthe producthas beenwell designed,engineeredandfabricatedfromquality

2. materials.A shortvisittosome of ourother articleswill show youwhathappenstopoorlydesigned
and/orfabricatedstructuresaftera shortperiodof time.Thisleadsothe real questionaboutprice –
“what isthe total costof ownershipof thisstructure”andwill the supplierbe aroundtoprovide
support.