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Do I need a contractor?

6 years ago

I am updating my kitchen. The scope of work includes new finishes and appliances. I am swapping the location of the pantry and fridge and having a new pantry built. The swap involves moving a heating vent. I am also thinking about bringing up a gas line from the basement so I can have a gas range. I am also restoring the hardwood floor in the kitchen, dining and living area. I've lined up craftsmen for most of these projects but am unsure about management of the timeline (what order things need to be done). Is this something I can handle myself or do I need to hire a contractor?

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Comments (4)

suzanne_sl
6 years ago
If you do decide to be your own contractor, it's all on you. You will own any procedural mistakes. It will very likely take longer to get everything done. Are you home and available to let workers in? OTOH, you can choose your own craftsmen. What you've laid out actually sounds like a very manageable job for Every Day Homeowner to orchestrate. Your various jobbers will help you with the timeline decisions.

If you hire a GC you may or may not be able to use the people you've already lined up. Probably not unless they are also the usual subs for the GC. Once a GC is on your job, the length of time your home is in transition from before to after is usually shorter presuming your GC works at a timely pace. A GC will know about stuff that you may not that is relevant to the job. Hiring a GC adds to the cost of the job, but could be well worth it. GCs absolutely need to be thoroughly checked out before hiring due to the imposters and duds. They give GCs a bad name. If you go with being your own GC, be sure to check out your subs as well - licenses, experience, references, etc.

P.S. Have you thought about getting an induction range instead of gas? I had gas forever, hate electric, but then got induction. I'm in love!

P.P.S. Don't forget to check into the permits question for your locale.
Kathy Callahan thanked suzanne_sl
sonni1
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Unless there are structural changes to the building, for me, the decision to hire a contractor is a balance between money spent and aggravation saved. Check to see if you need permits for any of this work - if so, definitely get them. If you have experienced and high quality craftsmen, they can probably offer advice on timeline. TBH I don't really know how involved moving a heating vent or installing a gas line is.

I second the induction stove idea. I went from gas to induction and love, love. love the induction. Would never go back to gas.
Kathy Callahan thanked sonni1
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I say go for it. There are a lot of nay sayers out there but if you do some research about "owner builders" you will find many people do this all the time with great success. You will have headaches, you will have stress, but its a trade off. There are plenty of good reliable subs out there that are willing to do the work. You will just need to research them. Best thing to do is have a written contract for the work. Will GC's get better pricing. Sure. Then they mark it up and you end up paying more than you may have paid yourself. I did a full gut remodel a couple years ago and found a great set of people I will continue to work with. Are they the cheapest? Probably not (plumber is for sure) but I felt the prices were reasonable and I got good work out of them. Go by word of mouth. Get on Nextdoor (the app) and ask your neighbors for recommendations on contractors. If you have time to do research and understand the basics, you can do a lot. If I can rewire my house by learning off youtube and pass a city inspection, anyone can.
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Thank you for the feedback. Bruce your mention of making sure walls and floor are plumb was my concern. I was unsure if that would be the job of a tiler or carpenter. We had connected with a tiler and a plumber (independent of each other) about a year ago that were highly recommended on our town FB Pinboard (then we had to delay the project). I found it reassuring to actually talk with the person doing the work rather than the contractor. I found that with another renovation with a GC that we still had to be familiar with how things needed to be done in order to evaluate the work. We were monitoring the work and checking in with the workers directly. I can't say that the GC reviewed the end result each day for accuracy. Several times we brought something to the GCs attention that if not identified by us after reviewing that day's work, would have meant a bigger disaster. However I can see that we would become the mediator with independent subs if one subs work impacted the others. What I may do is ask the tiler or the plumber (we liked both) if they work works with a GC when there are multiple subs involved. Thanks for the food for thought!
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User
6 years ago
Yes. But you need a Designer first. Your scope already says that you aren’t up in the best approach and ideas.
Kathy Callahan thanked User
User
6 years ago
You may need electrical work as well if you are upgrading/moving your electric needs. And, perhaps HVAC /make-up air if you are upgrading your cooktop.

For me - we rehab'd a kitchen in 2009 and again in 2016. for the 2016, we did not have the local contacts to employ the trades, so we hired a GC mostly for the person's contacts. My husband and I telework, so we would have GC'd our kitchen project if we had had those contacts.

Good luck!
Kathy Callahan thanked User

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