CONCEPT TO REALITY
So, you’ve found your dream designer and together you have plans in place to create the home of your dreams. Walls have new proposed locations, spatial designations have changed, and the once closed-off, outdated space, now has plans to be one seamless area perfect for your lifestyle. You just need help getting from paper to reality. To do this, you begin the process of finding a contractor!
WHY A CONTRACTOR
A contractor provides an invaluable service of coordinating all the trades required to get you from your current space to the final product, your dream home. Not only do they coordinate the trades as needed, but they also take care of the little things that individual trades don’t always consider, such as:
- Dust and surface protection for affected areas in your home
- Give trades access to the area under construction
- Daily cleanup, and dumpster coordination so you don’t end up with a dumpster in your driveway for months
- Phasing the project appropriately so that different trades can get in and out sequentially and efficiently
- Problem-solving for each phase of construction as unforeseen challenges present themselves
- And most importantly all the appropriate insurance in place in the unfortunate event a jobsite accident occurs.
As it is no surprise, the home industry has continued to boom despite the pandemic, thus making acquiring resources and the appropriate tradespeople to do the job more challenging than ever. As coordinating projects is their specialty, contractors have connections that will enable your project to keep moving forward once hammers have started swinging. Contractors’ are there to maintain a schedule as best as possible with current lead times because let’s be real, there’s nothing more frustrating than living in a jobsite for months on end with days where no progress is made.
TIME TO INTERVIEW: HOW TO PREPARE
It’s no easy task to take on a home renovation, especially if you plan to remain in your home during construction. For this, and many other reasons, it is important to find a contractor that you can trust and feel a connection with. They are the point-person for all communication and coordination of your project and it’s of utmost importance that you have clear communication with them from the start.
Ask yourself the following questions to help yourself prepare for this undertaking:
- Does your designer have any recommendations for contractors? Your designer is familiar with your scope of work and may know which contractor could be the right fit for you.
- Have you ever experienced a remodel before? If so, what would you do the same? What would you do differently?
- What is your overall budget? Do you have wiggle room in there should a contingency plan be required for any unforeseeable budget busters?
- How long are you willing to live through the process? Do you have a second home or any vacations planned to allow you to get away from the messier and more intrusive parts of construction?
Plan to ask the following questions to start building trust in your first meeting with your prospective contractor:
- How long have they been in the industry?
Ask if they have references or work examples available to see not only on their website but in person. A picture speaks a thousand words but walking into a space allows you to see for yourself the level of quality and detail of their finished product.
- How do they approach their contract?
Do they perform a cost + model with a coordination fee, or a lump sum to complete the project as a whole?
- How do they phase your project?
Do they have systems in place to maintain your comfort and accessibility to high traffic areas that may be impacted by construction (i.e., if your laundry room is under construction do they have methods in place that will allow you to use your washer and dryer throughout construction?).
- How do they approach unforeseeable budget-busters once construction has already begun?
- Do they have all the appropriate licenses and insurance to execute your scope of work?
We hope this helped bring some clarity to the role a contractor can play in your project. A designer and contractor team can help to alleviate your stress and make your project run smoothly from conception to implementation. If you’re looking for a designer/contractor team, you know where to find us.