The three ways to build
Turnkey construction
One company designs the house, takes care of approvals, buys the materials, builds it and finishes it, for an agreed scope and price. You deal with one team and receive a finished house.
Labour contract
A contractor supplies the workers and supervision, and you buy the materials yourself: cement, steel, bricks, sand, tiles and fittings. This is common for individual houses in Tamil Nadu.
Separate contractors
You hire an architect for the design, a civil contractor for the structure, and separate people for electrical, plumbing, carpentry, painting and interiors, and you coordinate them.
How they compare
| Turnkey | Labour contract | Separate contractors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys materials | The builder | You | You, or each contractor |
| Who coordinates the work | The builder | You and the contractor | You |
| Your time needed | Low: stage reviews and decisions | High: buying, checking deliveries, site visits | Highest: managing every trade |
| Price certainty | High, for the agreed scope | Depends on material prices and wastage | Lowest: each part priced separately |
| Who answers for a defect | One company | Split between you and the contractor | Split between several people |
| Control over each brand | Agreed in the estimate | Full | Full |
When turnkey suits you
- You work full time or live away from the site and cannot visit every day.
- You want one price and one schedule agreed before work starts.
- You want design, approvals, construction and interiors to fit together without gaps.
- You want one company responsible for the result.
When a labour contract or separate contractors can work
- You have time to be on site often and to buy and check materials.
- You or a family member understand construction well.
- You already have trusted contractors you have worked with before.
Questions to ask any builder
- Is the estimate itemised, with the materials and brands listed for each item?
- What exactly is included, and what is extra (approval fees, compound wall, sump, interiors)?
- How are payments linked to stages of work?
- Who is the site engineer, and how often are they on site?
- How are changes during construction priced and agreed?
- What happens after handover if something needs repair?
How VM Skyline works
Every VM Skyline project is turnkey: free site visit and estimate, 2D plans, 3D elevation and walkthrough, approvals, construction with a dedicated site engineer, interiors and handover, with an itemised estimate agreed before work starts. Lifetime post-construction service is available as a paid service. More about turnkey construction.