It can be a scary outlook to engage in the process of hiring an contractor. Who do you call? How do you go about it? Well, the first thing to do is relax and take a deep breath. You need to take some time to ask yourself what is important to you and what are your most prominent concerns? I know it can be hard to think of these things when you are put on the spot, so let me help you think of what would be important to me, as a homeowner. Perhaps this will help springboard even more thoughts that are important to you.

1. Will I have the same crew each and every day or will there be different crews coming and going throughout the project? There are 2 general concepts of managing remodeling projects. They are A) The Lead Carpenter Concept and B) The production Management Concept. The differences are as follows: The Lead Carpenter is a multi-crafted carpenter that manages the project, preferably one at a time or at most two at a time, while performing the duties or crafts that fall under his strengths and keeping a watchful eye on any trade partners that may be performing the duties that he may not be best suited for, such as electrical work or plumbing for instance, so you get the benefit of seeing the same face each and every day in a consistent manner and communication has the best chance of flowing consistently between the homeowner and the production team.

The production management concept employs a production manager that works for the company but he might be responsible for a half dozen projects or more at any given time frame. This would mean that he is utilizing trade partners, usually referred to as sub-contractors in the industry. He is responsible for the production of multiple projects, so he can’t be at anyone of those jobs for very long. He is making his rounds from job to job throughout the day, scheduling the trade partners as to when and where they should be at any given day. Meanwhile, those same sub-contractors are trying to juggle their own work elsewhere, so you can see how communication has the potential to become a nightmare. A sub-contractor that promises his production manager that he will be at a clients house at 10 am to handle his task, meanwhile the Production manager is on his rounds elsewhere and a glitch pops up in the sub-contractor’s schedule. He has no phone numbers to call, so the homeowner waits for his arrival, wondering what happened. Hope they didn’t have to take off work to be there. I can see tempers rising already.

So, ask yourself which production concept would be best suited for your lifestyle?

2. Ask yourself how important is communication to you? Communication or the lack thereof, can make or break a great remodeling experience. Does the company that you are considering to hire have a full time office manager or receptionists to answer the phones when you need to call? Or does the contractor utilize a cell phone for all correspondence? Here’s a tip about that. How easy is it to reach them during the sales process? it can start out easy then usually it gets harder to have the phone answered, now remember this is in the sales phase of the project. The time when the salesperson should be bending over backward to please the client and make a good impression. Imagine how hard it will become to get that phone answered after the sales has been made and the production phase has begun. Good luck with communication if there is no office staff to support the team.

3. Ask yourself how important is dust control during the project. Ask your prospective contractor how they intend to protect your home during this project. If they take it seriously they will be glad to tell you what systematic approach they take to control the interior atmosphere of your home. If they have that “Deer in the headlights look” when you ask that question, chances are they don’t have a plan or system in place for that.

4. Ask yourself how the home will be secured during the time that the workers are performing their duties, who will lockup the house if they have to leave before you get back home from work. Is there a point man that will be responsible for the safety and security of the home in the absence of the homeowner.

There are more ideas and thoughts concerning this subject but I think this is enough for today. You can only digest so much at one time. I will revisit this topic on my next visit.

Thank you for considering,

JD Norris