Who to Hire?

“Choosing the Best Contractor.” For your home renovation, it might just be a General Contractor.

Whether you are installing a new kitchen sink and disposal or adding a new bedroom and bathroom addition, there is a big decision to be made. Who will do the work? When considering any size home renovation, it is important to evaluate the number of subcontractors or different trades that are needed to complete the entire project. That will help determine who to hire.

For example, the tasks of installing new carpet, a kitchen appliance, new paint, or replacing a driveway, each of these require only one contractor or trade. On the other hand, remodeling a [new] kitchen could be more involved. This job would need a laborer to demo the old kitchen, a floor contractor to tile the floor, carpenter to hang cabinets and trim, a granite fabricator to install the counter tops and back splashes, plumber for the sink(s) disposals, and possibly a painter to touch-up and do the finish work.

Many homeowners fall into the trap of thinking, “Why should I pay extra when I can go toHome Depot and do it myself?” Here is why you should hire a General contractor:

In most cases, a General Contractor aka GC, can do it better, faster and less expensively, than trying to do it yourself.

We can all find contractors from friends, co-workers, and the internet. The issue becomes scheduling and pricing. General contractors often get a discount from their subcontractors. Oftentimes this discount can offset the GC’s management fee making the end cost to you (the consumer) effectively the same. It has been Eric Leonard‘s experience that many General contractors can match, beat, or at least come close to the average retail price most consumers would end up paying when they do it themselves.

The biggest benefits to the customer aren’t only in the cost savings. It also includes all of the scheduling and management nightmares of the project. And the most important element: Time. When you are not working directly with the subcontractors but rather through a retail outlet, you have given up all of your control for scheduling. I once waited an eternity of 2 weeks without a kitchen while counter tops were being fabricated. Somehow I (a retail customer) was never informed of the two week delay.

Delays are common in construction.

Rescheduling can be costly, time consuming and most of all, frustrating. An experienced General Contractor can deal with all of this for you and likely save you money off the bottom line.

Future 1/2 bath on main level

However you run your project, with a GC or on your own, be it a big or small renovation, always try to get at least three bids. Weigh out all the Pro’s and Con’s of your project. Do what makes the most sense. A well written bid can be very helpful if you decide to piece out the project and do it yourself. Experienced contractors giving you bids might offer some good ideas. The more information you have the more comfortable you will be in making your decisions on contractors.