The Importance of Choosing The Right Contractor
The clients were surprised when they learned that In Texas anyone can become a contractor and frame a house/structure without any formal training or qualifications. Choosing The Right Contractor becomes critical!
When choosing the right contractor you may be asking yourself what is it I am looking for, do I need a general contractor, contractor, builder or a building contractor. Basically all of these titles can be used for doing most construction projects.
Make sure when choosing the right contractor you do not want any of the responsibility of the job that you use a contractor that takes on the whole project including purchasing the materials, organizing the subcontractors, setting the schedules, and basically getting the whole job done.
Choose them carefully if you have to pay a little bit more because you have a better feeling and better communication with a contractor do it, if not it will come back to bite you.
The best plans, contracts and construction documents are useless if the person using them has no skill or integrity.
Here is a list of some of the responsibilities of the contractor.
- Estimating and bidding the project
- Negotiating a contract with the homeowner
- Organizing and negotiating contracts with the subcontractors
- Obtaining the necessary permits and scheduling inspections
- Establishing a payment schedule based on work progress
- Disbursing money to subs and material suppliers
- Interpreting the plans and specifications
- Supervising and coordinating the work of employees and subs
- Troubleshooting job-site problems
Apart from the above jobs that the contractor has to do he also has juggle other events that may take place like bad weather forces the roofer to reschedule which forces the gutter guys to reschedule for another date.
A special order window was damaged in shipping and as a result the window installer cannot finish. So basically the contractor has to juggle all these problems and try to keep on or as close to schedule as possible.
Basically at the end of the day you need to be choosing the right contractor that you feel comfortable with and that you have a good rapport with.
Make sure after choosing the right contractor, he is going to be around on the project and actually manage to be able to answer any questions or concerns you may have through out the project.
You and your contractor are going to be business partners so you have to feel confident that they are going to act fairly and responsible in any problems that do arise.
Choosing the right contractor means that he fits your personality. At Castle Crest Construction we employ our own people to do the carpentry work which allows us to do more of the more of the specialized and intricate work often not done by other subcontractors.
Having people working for us in-house allows us to keep the job moving doing jobs which have to be done but are not specifically a job done by other subcontractors liking cleanup and organizing materials to the right location of the job.
Finally make sure not to always use the lowest bidder because down the road he may make up the difference with change orders or even end up cutting corners with materials or labour which affects the quality of the overall job.
Don’t leave your project to chance. Choosing the right contractor ensures expertise, efficiency, peace of mind, a successful outcome, and saves you time, money, headaches, and the frustration of dealing with unexpected issues. Get it done right with a trusted professional who will handle all aspects of your project seamlessly, from planning and coordination to quality control and budget management.