What Do You Need To Ask Your Construction Contractor Before Starting Your Project?
Remodeling a house or even just a part of it is quite an expensive investment. It can also cost you a lot of your time if you want to be there to make every decision. In order for you to avoid nasty surprises in the cause of your project, you need to plan and put measures in place to deal with anything that might pop up. For you to prepare and plan, you need to know what to expect during your project. The following are questions you should ask your contractor before you start the project so you can know what to expect and plan for it.
1. What is the schedule?
A work schedule is much more than just a project start and end date. You need to have a schedule that stipulates what will be done when. The schedule should show you what part of the house or the project which will be started when and when it will end. For example, it should show when the contractor will start getting rid of the old tiles, when that will be done and when they will start putting in the new ones. A schedule will help you even plan your life. For example, with a schedule, you can know when the remodeling in the kitchen will start and end. This information will help you plan for how to get your family meals during the remodeling process.
2. Who will be at the site every day?
The answer to this question will depend on the level of remodeling and the size of the contracting company. Most companies will have a supervisor on site daily to monitor and over-see the work. You can always call this person if you have any questions. It is also wise to know who they are as they will be in charge of opening and closing the home for the other workers. It is good to know who is responsible for the other workers in case anything goes wrong and you need to know who to hold accountable.
3. How will you protect my property?
You need to have this conversation with your contractor before the demolition starts. You do not want to come home and find all your things covered in dust. You may also want some areas of the house to be off limits or be protected from anyone who might be passing by and take advantage of the fact that things are everywhere and no one is looking. To keep the house safe from passersby, you can try and find a temporary fence for sale and erect around the construction site. This will also help with stray pets as well. There is also the issue of personal items like books, drapers, and paintings. You should remove these from the wall long before the construction starts and put them away in a safe place or covered them well to prevent dust from ruining them.
4. How will you communicate with me?
Some people decide to go away from the house during the remodeling and move to maybe an apartment or a hotel. If so, you will want to keep in touch with your contractor without having to visit the site every single day. Agree with the contractor on the mode of communication. The contractor will probably have his preferred way of communication like a cloud-based system or email. Make sure you are comfortable with their method. If not, both of you should compromise and find a way that works for the both of you. Either way, you need to be up to date on your project. You should also plan to meet at least one in two days in person with the contractor at a convenient location or at the site so you can inspect the work and see if it is being done as you want it.
5. What part of the project might concern you?
Every project has a point of concern for the contractor and it will more than likely cause some change in plans in the cause of the project. There is a high chance your contractor noticed it when you were going over the project. Ask him or her to come out with it from the first day so that you can run the worst possible cases and plan for it. It might mean even doing a little demolition just to establish the exact possible problem and account for it in term of time and resources.
6. What happens in case of a change in the project?
After establishing the possible changes that may occur in the cause of the project, you need to stipulate what happens, when they do occur and both sign and agree about it with the contractor. The contract should also indicate how the change in order affects the schedule and how that affects the initial agreement.
