Multiple contractors at once
Hi, in your experience are multiple contractors not under a GC okay to work on the house at the same time?
On my latest rehab I had to work on: roof, trash, carpet, lawn, pests. I could have hired 4 of the 5 at the same day or time but instead scheduled them at different times which slowed things down.
In your case, the roofer should have been out of the way of the others as well as the lawn person. Trash . . . depends if you mean exterior only or interior as well which would impact the carpet person although it is odd that the carpet person is there early in the project - usually we do that last.
Depending on what you're doing with the lawn as a landscaper, I will say it is much easier if "we" come in at the very end (last) if at all possible just so that we are not in the way of other contractors and they and their vehicles are not in our way things go much smoother. As for the roofer and landscapers at the same time, unless you have landscaping tasks that need to be completed away from the house as well it is an issue we are always in each others way, as roofers generally take and just throw their stuff (trash & debris) on the ground ALL around the house.
Also any contractors performing "major" jobs that require bulk materials to be on the job site will be in the landscapers way, again depending on what other tasks you have for the landscapers. Many contractors also like to or need to in some cases drive onto the lawn for ease of install of appliances, use of equipment such as lifts and fork trucks. In all honesty if at all possible try and always schedule your landscaper for last. You don't want them to come do your lawn and have it looking beautiful to have a contractor come right behind them and drive on it ruining it. You also don't want the landscaper to have to leave your project because another contractor is in the way or blocking access to an area they need to get too for the their next task, so they go to another job and than your project gets "set aside".
Best advice is communication is key, if you don't have a GC or Project Manager running the show tell each contractor what other tasks you need done and ask them if those other contractors will be impeding their ability to perform the tasks you want them to complete.
Being a crew leader if a crew calls me and says they are stuck and can't go any further due to another contractor being in the way I am sending them to the next job location, I will not pay them to sit around until the roofer is done. That down time is not figured into the quote.
There is a reason why many times you drive by new built houses that are finished besides maybe some interior finish work and the yard/lawn has still not been touched.
That is also the benefit to hiring a GC and why you pay them what they do because they are responsible to deal with all those headaches and problems, we pay people to make problems go away.
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Why would that be an issue? Why don’t you hire one GC to handle the whole project? Sounds like a headache.
Ditto on what everyone else is saying. Technically nothing wrong with having multiple trades on site at the same time IF (and that's a big if) you understand proper sequencing of trades, workspace and material staging requirements, etc. If mess this stuff up you'll end up doing everything twice and the contractors will charge you for that.
It's possible to have multiple contractors out at the same time, but I would ask and check with them to see if they will be ok to work with multiple contractors in the same area of the property. Electricians, Plumbers, and HVAC contractors would be in this category. It's better to give them space to do what they need and give them room to work, but they also understand the process of building and can work around a crowded space during crunch time on completing a house. Just make sure to give them notice of the possibility of working around other contractors.
@Sam Tright: to echo the others, it really depends on the contractors. And your responsibility as the GC to make sure all are safe. I.e. roofers generally throw everything down then clean up the ground. Your pest guy walking the perimeter of the house spraying is not likely to enjoy having shingles dropped on him. Same with the lawn guy. And depending on your layout, the pest guy might need his chemicals to sit and dry for a few days before any mulch is spread, for instance.
Interior, generally has a more linear order of operations, depending on scope.
That being said, you can certainly shave a lot of time off of flip, if you know how to properly schedule your teams. I.e. you can likely have your carpenter hanging trim while your tile guy is working in bathrooms. And knowing when your carpenter will be getting to baseboards can be coordinated to go in while your flooring installer is wrapping up, if you have them work say from top to bottom, front to back.
I'm not a GC, but you need to feel out each sub for this kind of thing. It all depends on the work being done and the materials that are needed, some guys are easy going working around other trades and some guys will walk out on the job. That said, roofing is a priority and needs to get done in a certain window, so don't hold those guys up.