The first critical component of the decision is the time that will be necessary to construct the gazebo. The author will use the precedence diagramming method, as described by Dionisio (2018), to map out the process. The plan provided by the California Redwood Association (n.d.) features the steps of deciding the layout, making footing holes, inserting post anchors, setting up the deck, installing the posts, constructing the rafters, and shingling the roof. Each of these steps takes place after the previous one, with no opportunity for parallel work.
The decision on the gazebo’s layout and the primary area’s planning should be the fastest part, but it will still likely take an hour. The holes’ digging will take another three hours or more, as they have to be relatively broad and deep, going below the soil. The next step will be the installation of the anchors and the pouring of the concrete, which can be done in two hours by three people. Next will be the deck’s installation, consisting of setting up the structure and tiling the floor, which, for a gazebo 16 feet across, can take upwards of six hours. After that comes the installation of the posts, alongside which the gazebo’s exterior walls will be installed, for a total of three hours. The following tasks, the placement of rafters and the shingling, will take place above the ground and take longer as a result. The rafters are the simpler, if more challenging, task and should take approximately four hours. Lastly, shingling is a more convoluted process that will likely take eight hours or more. Under the assumption of a $30 per hour weekend time worth, the gazebo’s costs amount to $810.
This cost is considerably lower than that of the contractor, in large part because the author has two assistants who are willing to help at little to no cost. Another advantage of the choice to build the gazebo oneself is the ability to customize it freely in the process of construction. If the author wants to make any adjustments, they can do so quickly and efficiently without delaying the construction through discussions with the contractor. The knowledge of the gazebo’s construction would also enable the author to perform future repairs more easily, knowing how the structure is arranged and how specific parts may be accessed. With that said, self-building also increases the chances of injury during the process, which can be substantially more expensive to treat than the contractor’s price. Additionally, the author may make design oversights that lead to problems such as splinters getting into people’s skin.
Choosing the contractor to do the job alleviates such risks, as they are likely aware of these problems and competent at preventing them from emerging. The firm can also build a much more complicated gazebo than the author can do in a reasonable time frame, introducing décor elements that enhance its attractiveness. Lastly, the author will not need to spend the time they would otherwise use to build the gazebo, leaving the matter to the hired workers. However, all the considerations from the previous paragraph still apply, detracting from the option’s attractiveness somewhat. With that said, the issues are small enough compared to the risks of self-building the gazebo that the author will assume the additional cost and pay the contractor for the construction.
References
California Redwood Association. (n.d.). Lake Tahoe gazebo. Web.
Dionisio, C. S. (2018). A project manager’s book of tools and techniques: A companion to the PMBOK® Guide – sixth edition. Wiley.