- Make sure he/she has a state contractors license
… the higher the number the newer the company.
- Make sure he/she has worker's comp. Check
www.cslb.ca.gov
Get references and be serious enough to follow up on
checking them out. Be Courteous … you, yourself
would want to be a reference too!
- Understand that there is a plan, permit and
inspections process and that these things take their
own time. There may also be CC&R’s to comply with.
- You’ve heard the motto … “If it sounds too good,
it usually is”. That is especially true in the
construction business. Almost all contracts are
“open contracts” in one way or another … clauses
that allow for materials shrinkage, unforeseen
circumstances, changes and addendums. These things
can happen by no fault of either the homeowner or
the contractor in that items may even have been
missed during plan check. Yes, just because you have
an approved set of plans doesn’t always guarantee
that it is right.
- “Shopping for Price Only” is almost certain
disaster. When faced with 3 proposals don’t choose
by what you see at the bottom right hand corner.
Read the content of what you are getting and it
should also contain what is not included. In other
words you don’t want to assume that everything is
included. That low price may not be so low after
all!
There are only 3 ways to hire a contractor in a
contractor’s capacity ...
- TURNKEY – Call him/her FIRST
and let them take care of the entire job
from plans, permits to running around to
finishing the project. The Turnkey job
can also include financing. The
contractor should be able to give you an
estimate within 10% to 15% before
“approved plans” come in unless either
the owner or government/local
requirements make severe changes. Owner
is allowing the contractor to do
everything. Any change orders/addendums
wanted by the owner will be extra and an
addendum/change order to the original
contract will be created on that date of
the order. Owner has only partial
control once the contract is signed and
the contractor pulls the permit. Owner
only has the options of hiring other
people or doing work themselves if given
permission in writing by the contractor
who originally pulled the permit.
Sometimes a waiver of liability by the
owner accompanies this. Contractors’
liability is limited to only the project
they have done.
- CONTRACT – Call him/her AFTER
you have the financing in place, an
approved set of plans along with any
city, county or CC&R’s requirements
including any engineering and
calculations of all kinds that are
required to do the job. Note: A reliable
estimate cannot be given without these
requirements. This is where the
contractor pulls the permit, he is in
charge of the job and any change
orders/addendums wanted by the owner
will be extra and an addendum/change
order to the original contract will be
created on that date of the order. Owner
only has the options of hiring other
people or doing work themselves if given
permission in writing by the contractor
who originally pulled the permit.
Sometimes a waiver of liability by the
owner accompanies this. Owner has only
partial control once the contract is
signed and the contractor pulls the
permit but contractors’ liability is
limited to only work they have done.
- SUB-CONTRACT - Call him/her
AFTER you have the financing in place,
an approved set of plans along with any
city, county or CC&R’s requirements
including any engineering and
calculations of all kinds that are
required to do the job. Note: A reliable
estimate cannot be given without these
requirements. In this way the owner is
performing this task him or herself as
an owner/builder. The owner pulls the
permit and assumes the liability for the
project itself. The main reason to do
this is to save money but another plus
is more control over the job but even
that can be somewhat limited. Like the
Contract, the sub-contractors liability
is only limited to the job they
performed only. The mediation between
sub-contractors can also happen with the
owner in the middle and lacking the
needed knowledge or foresight to settle
the dispute. Unfortunately in such
cases, most of the time the owner is
left with the problem. Since the
owner/builder pulls the permit and
assumes more risk he/she has more leeway
in hiring and firing contractors however
since it is a contract, [not hourly]
owner / builder may have to pay
additional charges beyond just the job.
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- Always get a contract in writing. If any
problems arise during or after the job and you don’t
have a contract in writing, how can you prove what
job was done. The contract should be specific in
what is included and also what is not included. The
contract should include: Notice to owner options,
name of company, address, all phone numbers;
contractors state license number and all details and
exclusions of that contract. “As per plans” means
that the main information of the item is on the
plans. Note: “Approved” set of plans does not always
mean it is complete or sometimes even right so there
can be and addendum change, yes even after the fact
especially if the inspector catches something that
the plan checker did not.
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