Working With a Contractor

Being a Good Client

Want to know one easy thing you can do to make your project go as smoothly as possible? Be a good client. Figure out what you want in the remodel and stick to it. Don’t second guess your contractor. Don’t assume that if he makes a mistake it is because of incompetence or a desire to cheat you. If you’ve done the necessary due diligence before hiring him you’ve hired a trustworthy professional. So trust him and treat him with the same respect you’d give to your dentist, doctor, or lawyer.

How to be a good client:

• Don’t be indecisive. Changes made by the homeowner mid-stream are called “change orders,” and after a certain number of them, the contractor will likely start charging you. After all, he is now having to do the work a second time because you’ve changed your mind about how you want the floors to look or how the shower should be situated in the bathroom.
• Be respectful of the contractor and his time. Don’t break appointments with him at the last minute. Don’t get worked up over small mishaps. A good contractor will make them right.
• If you have a tendency to be a control freak, let go of it. If you want to be your own general contractor, then go ahead. But don’t try to micromanage your general contractor. You’ll only inspire ill will and then you really may end up with a problem.
• Pay on time. Just like you expect your employer to pay you on time, pay your contractors on time. Remember it’s a two-way street. If they don’t like working for you for any reason, including late payments, they’ll be less interested in doing a good job for you.
• Be open to the contractor’s ideas. He’s the professional and that’s one reason you hired him.
• Have a sense of humor. Remodeling can be fun and exciting. Really!

Avoiding Mishaps and Misunderstandings

You can avoid or minimize mishaps and misunderstandings by discussing potential problems before the project begins and writing solutions into your contract. One of the most vexing and, alas, common problems is when contractors or their subs don’t show up. Ask him about this before you sign your contract. Will he show up every day? Will he take responsibility if subs don’t show up? If that happens frequently, then your remodel will certainly not be finished to meet the deadline spelled out in your contract. What happens then? Will the contractor offer you some kind of rebate if he misses the finish deadline by weeks or months? Talk it over and figure out what seems fair to you. Then get it in writing.

The best shot at making sure your project moves along at a steady pace is to hire an experienced general contractor who either has his own employees do the work, or a general contractor who regularly works with the same sub contractors. Since general contractors usually select the subs they work with, subcontractors who want to stay in business do their best to please general contractors.

If you are acting as your own general contractor you will unfortunately have less influence over subcontractors since they will assume, probably correctly, that you will never be in a position to hire them again anyway. If they have to choose between showing up at your project and showing up for a general contractor who manages dozens of projects in your town a year, guess where they’ll go?

Paying Your Contractor

How you pay your contractor should also be spelled out in the contract. He may ask for a certain percentage of the total up front and that’s fair. He needs to buy materials and wants a sign from you that you’re not going to dump him and hire someone else the day before he’s ready to start your job. Expect to pay as much as 50% up front for a smaller job. But you should never pay more than 10 to 25 percent up front for a major project.  Your initial deposit requirements may vary depending upon the cost and quantity of any custom items or special materials that are required for your project. After the job begins you should pay only for completed work and on a regular, agreed-upon basis. This means that you pay up every Monday for work finished the previous week, or every other Monday, etc. Some contractors use payment schedules that mirror the municipal inspection process - you make a pre-specified payment upon successful inspection of the relevant piece of the work. Many contractors determine their payment structure based upon whether or not a construction loan is part of the process. Construction loans dictate the payment terms on the basis of the "Draw Schedule" defined by the lender.  What you should not do is make payments at irregular, unspecified times. That can lead to sloppy record keeping and is a signal that the general contractor lacks organizational skills. Not a good thing.

Always pay by check and get a receipt. This helps you keep accurate records that can be crucial in sorting out misunderstandings or problems that may arise with materials or workmanship in the future.  Any contractor who offers you a discount for paying cash is probably not someone you want to work with. Your cancelled check is an excellent receipt, though you should get one from the contractor too. If you pay cash you may get no receipt at all since the contractor probably doesn’t plan to report this work to the IRS. Pay by check and keep it legal.

Next article: How to Keep Remodeling Costs Down

Previous article: Types of Contractors

Related Links

• How to Find a Contractor
• Types of Contractors