Quantity surveyors make your construction project successful

How Owl Saved the Three Little Pigs

“Tell us again! Tell us again!”

The old pig settled back in his rocking chair and chuckled. His grandchildren were warm on the rug in front of the fire, their eager eyes locked on him.

“The story of Owl and this house?” he asked.

“Yes!” the children cried. “Tell us about how you built this house!”

“Your uncles were in a hurry. They were miserly with their savings. That almost cost them their lives…” The pig gazed into the fire, lost in thought. Then he shook his head and continued.

“When I found this piece of land, I knew I wanted to live here a long time. I wanted to build a quality house to raise my family in. So, I sought help.”

“Who did you turn to?” chorused the piglets. They had heard this story countless times.

“I turned to Owl. He knew about numbers. He looked at the design I had drawn and counted how many sticks it would take to build. Then he worked out how much straw it would need. Finally, he tallied up the number of bricks it would take. I knew bricks would make a strong house, a safe house. So that’s what I chose.”

“Did you have enough money?” the smallest piglet asked.

“Only just,” smiled the old pig. “I had planned to use straw for the roof to save some coins, but Owl suggested I ask Beaver for some thick timber shingles. They cost a bit more than straw but made up for it in strength. Owl made sure the design change didn’t empty my purse and I am grateful I had a strong roof.”

“Why did you then build homes for Uncles?” called the piglet nearest the fire.

“Because I didn’t want them to live with me any longer — this is a small house!” the pig laughed. “But my brothers didn’t want to build another house. That’s how frightened they were after their first building experience. But I had clever Owl to help me use my money wisely, so my experience of construction was very different. I had actually enjoyed it and I was happy to do it twice more, for each of your uncles.”

“Will you now build a bigger house, with more bedrooms, so we can all sleep over more often?” asked the piglet’s mother.

“Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin,” smiled the old pig.

The moral of this story is simple: a quantity surveyor sets up your construction project to be successful.

If you’re an architect, builder or property owner, a quantity surveyor provides cost control certainty for your building project. No more big, bad, budget blowouts. And that peace of mind costs less than you’d think.

The End.

James Cameron is a professional quantity surveyor, licensed building practitioner (carpentry, Site 3) and director of Property Values Ltd.

qs@propertyvaluesltd.co.nz

021 288 1311


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