Selecting the Right Contractor

2018/10/25 –

Many of our Building Owner Clients ask us, “Who do you recommend for a General Contractor?”  We have Contractors we work with on a regular basis and we can get them to meet with you within the day.  But some Building Owners want to do it alone and if you are one of the bold, here are some questions to ask local Contractors that will benefit you before hiring them for your project:

• What person at your construction company will be the lead on the project?  Who will be in the field?  Is there anyone else that will work on the project?

• When will you complete the project?  Are there items that could effect the timeline?

• What happens if you don’t meet the project deadline?

• What other projects are you or your company working on?

• Have you done this type of project before?

• What subcontractors will be working on this project with you?

• What work will you self perform?

• Will you have someone on site fulltime?  If not, how often will you be on site?

• What hours/days will you be working?

• How do you approach work site safety?

• How will you approach site cleaning and protection of existing building elements?

• What do you see as a challenging element of this project?  How can we overcome that challenge?

• Are you licensed in our City?

• Are you insured?

• Will you obtain and pay for building permits and setup inspections for the job?

• How do you charge for your efforts?  Will you provide a hard bid with a defined scope?  Will you provide a negotiated proposal with a not to exceed amount?  Will costs be transparent?

• How do you charge for changes made during construction?

• Can you provide references?

• When and how often do you require payment?

• How will we settle disagreements?

• Can I see an example of your Standard contract?  Or do you use AIA Contracts?