Understanding Construction Work

Keeping Things On-Schedule When You Hire A General Contractor

Homeowners often complain that when they hire a contractor, the work never gets done on time. To some degree, this is the nature of the business. Contractors cannot always account for shortages in material or delays in the supply chain, and often, these issues are to blame for their lateness. There's not much you can do about these issues, either. However, there are a few steps you can take as a homeowner to help ensure your general contractor is able to stay on schedule better.

Decide what you want early on.

Before your contractor even gets started working, make sure you know exactly what you want. Share these plans and desires with your contractor. Establishing a plan from the get-go will reduce the number of changes your contractor has to make as they work. This will help them work more efficiently, and it will prevent them from having to re-do work they have already done. when you establish a plan early on, your contractor can also order materials sooner, which means any delays are less likely to affect the timeline of the overall project.

Offer to do some of the demolition and cleanup yourself.

If you have the hours to dedicate to it, you could do some of the demolition and cleanup yourself. Even if you're working alongside the contractor while they're doing this work, having an extra person on the project will speed things up. And you don't have to pay yourself for the extra labor!

Answer phone calls and texts promptly.

When the contractor is working on your home, try to make sure you are available to respond to communication from them promptly. They may need an answer to a question in order to keep working, and if you make them wait a day or two for a response, this could slow down progress on your project. If you are not able to answer your phone during the workday, consider designating another family member to communicate with the contractors. As long as this person knows the general plan and what you want out of the project, they should be able to handle the communication and update you later on.

Contracting work does not always stay on schedule, and often the reasons for this are beyond anyone's control. However, that does not mean you should not still do what you can to keep the project moving ahead. Follow the advice above for the best results.


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