Work With Contractors
Every time I decide to work with contractors for a home improvement project, I know there will be construction risks. There are many differences between each contractor. My first step is always call each contractor to ask some probing questions and then setup this first meeting.
I do three things to prepare for the meeting: research his/her part of the project for the scope of work, during this call assure the contractor has interest in the project and is able to complete the project in the time required, and to ask for references. Asking the best questions at the proper time and then evaluating the truthful answers will allow me to decide if I am able to work with this contractor.
If you want to avoid working with contractors for your home project, you may take a trusted friend’s recommendation and not do any research or interviews you call a store and order what you want. On the other hand, you could do part or the entire project yourself. Whatever you decide your involvement in a project will be, you will always need to prepare and know the necessary details. It all sounds easy – right?
Green Side Up
Let me describe an experience that gave me a life lesson about construction. The first time I placed sod I asked if there was any secret to insure it grew properly. The three-word answer “green side up” was something that I still recall as not just humorous for the obviously logical answer but as a realization of how simple construction really is. Working with contractors as well as construction in general is simple but not always easy.
Often a worker on a crew will decide to take a leadership role and work hard to be a foreman. This is true for any trade whether utility construction or industrial construction. This leadership position brings higher pay and additional responsibilities for planning the tools, information and material required on a daily basis.
My observation of the foremen and supervisors, while working with contractors whether union or open shop, is they probably have played some sort of team sport that has provided them a life lesson for teamwork, cooperation and a desire for instant gratification. The foreman will assign a job for each individual on the crew at the beginning of the project. As each project and each day starts, the foreman makes sure the rhythm is established.
Rhythm for a project is the flow of each worker having the tool/material handed to him at the moment he reaches for it. Rhythm also means the flow for each part of the project that will provide momentum to make the day productive. Each type of project has its own critical flow for immediately judging its productivity.
Work With Contractors - Avoid The Triple Play
Telling you what happens on a crew shows you the complexity of the operation but does not give you a feel for the rhythm or the momentum. We judge a project’s progress by seeing the smooth running operation and listening to the sounds that are customary to the project. Once a project starts and the rhythm is established, the momentum then builds to a repetitive series of sounds and motions that is similar to “being in the zone”.
The best analogy is parenting young children. Parents know when the child’s cry is an emergency. Parents know when … it is too quiet. When I work with contractors, the same thing happens on any construction project when the picture is not right and/or the sounds change from the usual. It all is simple, but not easy.
Any change will interrupt the rhythm for the crew and may even break the momentum for the project. An unexpected work stoppage is unbelievably expensive for the contractor not just for the loss of production but also the resources to solve the problem as well as the loss of momentum (triple play). This is the reason a change order from you to the contractor could be a very costly.
When you work with contractors be aware of the risk for changing items within the scope of work. The cost could be extremely expensive.
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