Hi there - check out this recent thread

HTH,
Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: How to pick a contractor

beschenbach - my one piece of advice would be related to using a carpenter as your GC. We essentially did that with our major remodel (included several rooms other than kitchen, as well as updating systems through entire house, refinishing old floors, painting every room, etc). It can possibly save you money, or can end up costing you even more in the end. The carpenter's estimate was one of the lowest and he had served as the GC for several other comparable projects just prior to ours (with glowing references). However, we've found over the course of the project that he really doesn't have the organizational skills to be a GC and most of his subs have been subpar (no pun intended - haha).

Not sure what we could have done differently to avoid this (since references were good), but just be very careful and ask each reference about how the person handled their finances, were they organized throughout, did they stay on top of things, how were the subs, etc. For example, the only negative thing references said about ours was that he wasn't very good with paperwork (because he was doing a lot of the actual construction himself), however they said he came in on time and on budget. This hasn't been the case with us unfortunately! While you may save money, you might need to be prepared to spend more time supervising the day to day activities to make sure that your carpenter is actually capable of the role of GC. We're at the point where we have basically written out everything step by step and have been telling our contractor what to do (might as well have saved the extra fee and been our own GC!). Hopefully that won't be the case with your project since obviously everyone is different and you may be lucky and get a carpenter who makes a wonderful GC :)

Good luck with your project and with the contractor you choose!

I started to answer your question by telling you what I did, but then I thought it didn't really apply. What does apply is this; Figure out the hard parts. Talk to anyone you know who knows anything about construction and ask them what the hard parts are. Like if you're putting in new pipes or moving old ones, what is the angle of fall, and where are the vents? Do you have anything in the way of moving them? Etc. Or maybe it's fitting things into an unusual space, or dealing with environmental issues while opening walls or roof.

Bring the hard things up in a worried voice and see what kind of answers you get. "Not a problem" isn't a good answer. Follow it up by asking, "How?"

Also, ask about scheduling. My gem of a contractor will not do any demolition until all the materials he needs to progress with the work are on site. He schedules the cabinet maker, and runs his own crew so that there are minimal delays. He doesn't like people to have torn up houses for a day longer than possible. And where there are scheduling problems, he plans for them. Like the artisan tile setter will be out of town and since we want to use him, we're putting a downtime week into the schedule, with everybody agreeing to that.

Just as important as the questions to ask, are the questions the contractor asks you. The first guy who bid on mine didn't ask anything at all!!! And his bid was too low. It also didn't take into account a lot of stuff that would be needed. Make sure that your contractor understands the full scope of work, and ask for a detailed list of what they're going to do. There's no way even the best contractor can produce a full scope of work without asking any questions.

This might be a comfort to you. When you qualify a contractor, you can only determine if he is capable of doing the work. Neither you nor anyone else can verify if he is willing to complete the work.

I look for contractors with whom I can establish effective communication. In this age of declining math and language skills, it's more of a problem than most people realize. Here is the practical solution: Hire a contractor who owns the company and will be on your job everyday. I've found that this is the best way to assure that someone who understands you will be there to implement your key instructions.

Also, it is critical to understand that you are part of the contract. Don't ever expect a contractor to read your mind or interpret vague instructions to your satisfaction. There is no relief from personally staying on top of the project and providing clear direction to the contractor.

Best wishes for a successful project, Fred

We went mainly based on reputation and we checked a LOT of references.

I'm with plllog and Fred. Our contractor was our cabinetmaker and had subs for everything else. We have gorgeous cabinets and the subs were fantastic.

The most important thing for me was that our contractor (Jeff) was in daily contact with me letting me know who would be in next, or where we were at with things. He returned my calls promptly. He had everything lined up so that someone was at our house everyday working. It took only 15 working days to finish. They put my oven and micro back in on day 2. He was really concerned that our daily life not be interrupted too much.

But...I think you have to go with your gut somewhat. I knew Jeff 'got' the look I was going for, and he was excited about our project.

Thanks everyone for your feedback - all great points are brought up. The thing I do like about this guy that we're leaning toward is that he did do a VERY detailed job looking at stuff and even brought in a few subs to look at things (like plumbing and HVAC) because we're affecting 2 walls. He's quote is supposed to come in today, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

One question (although maybe dumb) - what is standard for him to get 15% of? Like I know he won't get 15% of the cost of the cabinets (I'm on my own on these), so will he just get 15% over the cost of my HVAC, plumbing, electric, tile, etc. bills?

Also, I am not so sure I like his HVAC sub and want to go with one that I have used in the past and has a great recommendation. If it is my guy, does he get 15% of that since he's still coordinating the project? I think HVAC will be about $5K, so it's about $750 we're talking about - not something to get too worked up over, but still a good chunck of change :)

Thanks again!

My GC added 15% at the end of the total estimate for all things he was co-ordinating whether his direct workers or subs. In "shopping" my granite I had trouble getting a firm cost for material, fabrications, cut-outs, sink, etc and kept getting the run around from the sub saying I had to get it from the GC. When all was said and done I found that the GC does a mark-up on each item or service before adding the 15%. So, in reality I was confused and questioned him about it. He revealed what they shoot for on all projects is around 30 -40% end profit. But that is rarely info given to the customer because they generally only go for the 15%.

Being the wife of a business owner, I had no problem with their making a profit and was okay with it. You just can't compare item by item price and come to the same figure. It is the cost of making the choices but asking them to take on the headache and cost when things can go wrong. We have to have some items fixed or subs come back for more than the initial work and my GC has handled it all with a smile and a "No problem, we want you to be happy" To me, this has been worth it's weight in gold (or cash as the case may be)

I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling when his flooring guy came in (he brought in every possible sub to give us the most accurate quote) and I told him I would rather go with my own. He was fine with that and by not co-ordinating it does not collect a profit on that part. But, I had to find my own guy and will have the work done when the rest is finished, which is a bit of a headache but hope it works out.

My GC gave me a daily production schedule calendar and a detailed timeline so anything I needed to do on my own could work around their schedule.

Good Luck. I am very happy with my GC and I couldn't imagine getting this done without him. My GC also owns the company, it is well established and has been running this business for many years.

>>
The most important thing for me was that our contractor (Jeff) was in daily
contact with me letting me know who would be in next, or where we were at
with things. He returned my calls promptly. He had everything lined up so
that someone was at our house everyday working.
>>

We too just had an unusually good contractor experience, and these were the hallmarks:

- Good communication: frequent and consistent email contact.

- Much work done by direct employees, all of whom had blackberries, bluetooth headsets and email.

- Office support: regular billing, scheduling, take deliveries, answer questions, convey urgent messages, central source of information, and a really good Web site! We never had our GC's cell number and never needed it.

- Feedback requested: we were asked to fill out a mid-project survey!

- Regular meetings. Some GCs blanched at the suggestion of weekly meetings, ours practically insisted on it. LOTS of problems prevented that way.
- We asked GCs if they could get their bids in by a certain date, they all said yes, only two actually did, including ours.

- Scheduling: our GC blows out a complete schedule, with dates for every trade to start, in writing. Never a down day in 9.5 months.

- Resources: Every GC has to deal with trucks breaking down, injured workers, flaky subs, delayed materials. We never saw it and never heard excuses. (a previous GC's main guy got injured, delaying an entire upstairs remodel by weeks, and we had a baby coming!)

- Can manage agencies: Our instructed all his workers never to B.S. during inspections, admit the problem and don't argue with the inspector. As a result, trust was built and we sailed through final city inspection despite a few minor code issues.

- Punchlist-avoidant: they're inevitable, but he encouraged us to bring up the sticking-out-nail here, missing trim piece there, immediately. Goal was for no punchlist to build up.

Meantime, a friend had a very difficult experience with a carpenter-turned-GC. Good carpenter, bad manager. Didn't know how to read plans, didn't interact well with the architect, ran out of money and refinished floors himself and made a huge mess, forcing our friends into a hotel for a few weeks, hired a painter who messed up the sheen levels and had to repaint the entire house, then the painter went broke. Without my friend's engineer husband on the job every day it'd have been a nightmare.

Our awesome G.C. really cared about his reputation and told us in the first interview that his goal is for us to move in to a complete house and be thrilled. I think that sort of philosophy is what made our project work so well.

Richpoor - I want your GC! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have someone that methodical about everything. And actually, I think your friend and I may have had the same contractor - haha :) I won't say ours doesn't know how to read plans and he can do a good job with most of the work but unfortunately, his managerial skills are nonexistant!