Hawktress™ Field Notes
Methodology, field notes and operator handbooks from the BuildHawk team and the Hawktress™ platform. Written by people who run estimating and contract administration on live Australian residential jobs.
Every estimate carries uncertainty. The question is not whether variance exists, it is whether the builder controls it or absorbs it. Up to 5% per line item is acceptable at estimate stage. At contract execution, the tolerance is zero.
By Nathan Holloway · Founder · BuildHawk and Hawktress
Most builders do not lose their margin on the estimate. They lose it after the contract is signed, in the space between what was agreed and what actually gets built. One poorly managed variation register can wipe 8 to 12 points off margin before the roof is on.
By Nathan Holloway · 4 min read
A geotechnical report tells you what is at three or four points on the site. Builders who price sitework as a locked sum are pricing those points as though they represent the entire allotment. The gap between bore holes is where margin disappears.
By Nathan Holloway · 5 min read
VideoThe cost data that actually matters in construction has never lived in a software platform. It lives in completed jobs. Hawktress is an attempt to fix that.
By Nathan Holloway · 5 min read
VideoA builder can price a job accurately, manage trades well, and still finish in the red. In most cases, the cause is the same: variations that were completed but never properly controlled.
By Nathan Holloway · 5 min read
VideoEvery active job, every committed cost, every flagged variation, every dollar of cash position, in one report by the 5th of the month. Here is how to read it in 90 seconds and what to act on first.
By Nathan Holloway · 8 min read
VideoExcavation, drainage, retaining and site clean. Together they are usually 4 to 7% of the contract. Builders almost universally get them wrong on the first job in a new region. Here is what to actually budget.
By Nathan Holloway · 6 min read
