How to choose the right contractor for your Project

How to choose the right contractor for your Project

Author: Charles Nehme

Publisher: Charles Nehme

Published:

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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Preface Selecting the right contractor for your project can be a daunting task, yet it is one of the most crucial steps in ensuring the success of any construction or renovation endeavor. A good contractor can bring your vision to life efficiently, while a poor choice can lead to delays, budget overruns, and subpar work. Given the significance of this decision, it is essential to approach the selection process with diligence and a clear understanding of what to look for. This guide outlines ten practical and actionable strategies to help you choose the right contractor for your project. From defining your project requirements and seeking recommendations, to verifying credentials and reviewing past work, each step is designed to provide you with the insights needed to make an informed decision. By following these guidelines, you can mitigate risks, ensure quality workmanship, and establish a productive working relationship with a contractor who meets your specific needs. Whether you are embarking on a small home renovation or a large-scale construction project, this guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the contractor selection process with confidence and success. Audience The audience for information about selecting the right contractor for a project typically includes homeowners, property managers, and individuals involved in construction or renovation decision-making. Here's a breakdown of the audience and their specific interests and needs: Homeowners: Interest: Ensuring their home improvement projects are completed on time, within budget, and to high-quality standards. Needs: Guidance on how to choose reliable contractors, understanding contract terms, ensuring safety and compliance, and managing expectations. Property Managers: Interest: Maintaining and enhancing property value through effective maintenance and renovation projects. Needs: Strategies for selecting reputable contractors, overseeing multiple projects, adhering to legal and safety standards, and managing contractor relationships. Construction Professionals (Architects, Engineers): Interest: Collaborating with skilled contractors to execute design plans effectively. Needs: Criteria for evaluating contractor qualifications, ensuring adherence to specifications and codes, managing project timelines, and fostering communication. Real Estate Investors: Interest: Maximizing returns on investment through successful property improvements and renovations. Needs: Identifying contractors who can deliver projects on schedule and budget, assessing project feasibility, and mitigating risks associated with contractor selection. Small Business Owners: Interest: Upgrading or expanding their business facilities through construction or renovation projects. Needs: Access to reliable contractors who can meet commercial construction requirements, comply with regulations, and deliver projects that enhance business operations. Community and Nonprofit Organizations: Interest: Undertaking construction projects to improve community facilities and infrastructure. Needs: Partnering with contractors who understand community needs, comply with funding requirements, and deliver projects that benefit the public. Key Focus Areas: Contractor Selection: Criteria for evaluating qualifications, experience, and reputation. Legal and Compliance: Understanding permits, licenses, insurance, and regulatory requirements. Project Management: Strategies for overseeing projects, managing timelines, and ensuring quality and safety standards. Communication and Collaboration: Best practices for fostering productive relationships with contractors and stakeholders. Understanding the diverse needs and interests of these audiences helps tailor information and resources to effectively guide them through the contractor selection process and ensure successful project outcomes.


Winning the Contractor Fight

Winning the Contractor Fight

Author: Tom Reber

Publisher: Contractor Fight

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9781737919100

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"The Contractor Fight" is what HGTV host and best-selling author Tom Reber calls the battle between your ears. We all have stories and experiences that have formed us into who we are. We are what we think, and the battleground is our mind. The Fight is not with the people you think are "cheap customers." It's not with the unlicensed competitors or the "illegals," as many contractors think. The Fight is with yourself. Sadly, most of the struggles contractors have are self-imposed. It's friendly fire. The negative ways we think about ourselves and our worth... friendly fire. The growing debt, working too much, small bank account... friendly fire. Winning the Fight is a choice. You're noble and full of integrity. You bend over backward to serve your family and clients. You have taken it on the chin more times than you can count. Now, it's time to get yours. Earn what you're worth. Create a business that serves you and energizes you, instead of one that beats you down. Choose to own your crap and get better today.


Markup & Profit

Markup & Profit

Author: Michael Stone

Publisher: Craftsman Book Co

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9781572180710

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In order to succeed in a construction business you have to be able to mark up the price of your jobs to cover overhead expenses and make a decent profit. The problem is how much to mark it up. You don't want to lose jobs because you charge too much, and you don't want to work for free because you've charged too little. If you know how much to mark up you can apply it to your job costs and arrive at the right sales price for your work. This book gives you the background and the calculations necessary to easily figure the markup that is right for your business. Includes a CD-ROM with forms and checklists for your use.


Sawdust to Satisfaction

Sawdust to Satisfaction

Author: Michael A. Baum

Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Published: 2014-10-08

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13: 9781500891091

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Most people make decisions based purely on dollars when choosing a contractor. This is not the way to approach such a personally impacting decision concerning your home. With over 40 years of experience in the building and construction industry Michael provides a comprehensive step by step process to find and choose the right general contractor for your remodeling project. Michael also gives tips and suggestions for working harmoniously with your chosen contractor.This book is a must read prior to any construction or remodeling project.


How to Be Your Own General Contractor

How to Be Your Own General Contractor

Author: Robert E. Emmick

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Published: 2010-08-24

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 1616630329

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Want to save money on your building or remodeling project? How to be Your Own General Contractor will help homeowners save potentially thousands of dollars! This easy-to-follow guide provides the knowledge and ability you must have to become your own general contractor and complete any type of project with confidence. Inside, homeowners will find: bull; Tricks of the trade learned over the years by professional Bob Emmick that will help to avoid costly mistakes and time. bull; A guide through every aspect of your project. bull; Assistance in hiring and dealing with subcontractors, as well as guidance for those who would rather hire a general contractor. Emmick skillfully guides readers through an entire house project, helping the average homeowner to manage his or her own project no matter the size. Homeowners with little or no experience will walk away from How to be Your Own General Contractor with valuable knowledge that will help them now as well as in the future.


Paper Contracting

Paper Contracting

Author: William D. Mitchell

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9781572182707

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Risk, and the headaches that go wit it, have always been a major part of any construction project -- risk of loss, negative cash flow, construction claims, regulations, excessive changes, disputes, slow pay -- sometimes you'll make money, and often you won't. But many contractors today are avoiding almost all of that risk by working under a construction management contract, where they are simply a paid consultant to the owner, running the job, but leaving him the risk. This manual is the how-to of construction management contracting. You'll learn how the process works, how to get started as a CM contractor, what the job entails, how to deal with the issues that come up, when to step back, and how to get the job completed on time and on budget. Includes a link to free downloads of CM contracts legal in each state.


How to Find the Right Contractor for Your Project

How to Find the Right Contractor for Your Project

Author: Gary L. Nash

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2013-12-07

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9781499107401

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Do you know how to find the best contractor for your project for the best price? Do you know the type of contractor operation that is best suited for your project? Do you want to know how to get work completed for free? These questions and more are answered. Through my years as a contractor I developed a bid evaluation process. This system simplifies the bidding process and flushes out missing items in the contractors bids which enable you to evaluate those bids apples for apples so you know what you're getting. I know this to be a fact because I used this system in my business for 20 years. In this book I have laid out the process with step by step instructions that will guide you through the whole selection process. You won't believe how much you will save in the buy out process.


Make It Right

Make It Right

Author: Mike Holmes

Publisher: HarperCollins Canada

Published: 2013-08-27

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 144340599X

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More than 1 million viewers in Canada watch Mike Holmes’ television show, Holmes on Homes, every week. Thousands more see him at his personal appearances and visit his website, looking for advice on renos-gone-wrong. Mike Holmes is Canada’s most trusted contractor, a crusader with a mission to expose botched renovations--and now the author of a bestselling book that has shipped over 60,000 copies in its hardcover edition. Mike has taken his professional expertise and tell-it-like-it-is style and turned it into the guide no homeowner should be without. Make It Right walks readers through a renovation from start to finish, from the process of finding a reliable contractor to understanding the legalities of renovation. Mike explains the inner workings of a house, covers the most popular reno projects and describes the most common pitfalls. Packed with informative sidebars, checklists, diagrams and photographs, all showing what to expect from contractors and tradespeople, and how to keep every reno running on time and on budget, Make It Right is the book you need to read before you plan a renovation. Be smart. Take charge. Get it right the first time.


Homeowners, It's Time to Think Like a General Contractor

Homeowners, It's Time to Think Like a General Contractor

Author: David M. Dillon

Publisher: David Dillon

Published: 2011-01-09

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13:

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Amazon.com's publishing division "Create Space" has helped me to provide homeowners with a book written to help them successfully navigate the somewhat murky waters of hiring contractors for their home improvements. Aside from the burden of a complex process that many homeowners are unfamiliar with, there are plenty of deceptive practices which over promise and under deliver--or, worse. This book will give you practical suggestions on how to protect yourself, how to find quality contractors, how to lower the cost of any project, how to manage the process and how to achieve the quality results you want in the first place. Getting high quality work done for reasonable prices is precisely how to add real value to your home and avoid headaches. This book is loaded with practical advice to simplify the process and make any sized project more affordable. This makes your money go further, eliminates headaches and empowers you to take charge of the whole process. We'll cover exactly how to: * Size up a project * Estimate a realistic budget * Understand exactly how to hire only the best subcontractors * How to negotiate the best price with those subcontractors * How to manage them * How to pay them * How to keep everything effectively on track Chapters include: Preface A note from the author 1 Should you trust a General Contractor? 2 What does a competent GC do and why should I think like one? 3 How much do things really cost? 4 I have a project in mind. Where do I start? 5 How do I find the right subcontractors in terms of competence and price? 6 How should I pay the subcontractors? 7 What is the typical chronology of the construction process? 8 How do I estimate the time to do the whole job? 9 How do I check the quality of the work? 10 What are some issues to be aware of when making finish selections? 11 What about appliances? 12 What if I just want to hire a General Contractor? How do I pick the right one and not get taken for a ride? 13 What are some common mistakes to avoid on the road to achieving excellence? We'll also discuss how to protect your project from going over budget and the critical decisions that need to be made prior to even starting which so many people overlook, to their peril. In the end, you'll be ready to manage your own project, or if you choose, hire the very best General Contractor. You'll have a much more informed perspective of what a good General Contractor does in any successful renovation or new construction project and be able to easily distinguish the competent ones from the rest.


How to Select the Right Home Or Building Contractor

How to Select the Right Home Or Building Contractor

Author: Randal G. Winter

Publisher: Beyond Publishing

Published: 2022-09-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781637923733

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Have you recently hired a contractor to do some home improvements, but after careful inspection, you noticed the work was subpar? You are not alone. According to the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America, home improvement contracting was the top complaint category reported by state and local consumer protection agencies during the last decade. As a previous expert witness for the California Contractors State License Board, Randal Winter has met some very distraught homeowners over the years. Some of these people have been without kitchens for over two years and some without bathrooms for up to fourteen months. Others are stuck with leaking roofs after spending tens of thousands of dollars for what they thought was going to be a new roof. This book will provide you with the insight necessary to ensure your next (or first) home improvement project goes as planned.