Architect’s Plan to Cut Remodeling Woes

I have followed, with some interest, readers’ contributions to this column and have decided it may be time to “tell the other side of the story.”

As an architect and general contractor engaged in the remodeling business I can commiserate with your readers on many of the commonly cited problems peculiar to home remodeling.

However, through proper planning and the establishment of a realistic budget one could be spared the experience of a disappointing and emotionally and financially draining project.

The old adage that “good judgment comes from experience but experience comes from bad judgment” rings truest in the construction business. The following rules may, at first glance, appear to be unconventional in that they tend to contradict some previously published advice from other remodelers and clients but, I assure you, careful consideration of these rules may reduce costly mistakes and inherent heartaches in the long run.

My suggestions are as follows:

--Don’t interview architects who have been referred to you. Interview some recent clients of theirs beforehand to determine their suitability to your project. A well satisfied client is still an architect’s best advertisement and stunning photographs in a portfolio are soon forgotten once you experience a serious problem during construction.

--Discuss your budget with your architect to determine if your preliminary “guesstimate figures” are realistic. If it appears to be beyond your current budget--one simple word of advice: WAIT.

--Don’t assume that everything you mention to your architect will automatically be incorporated into your finished drawings. Review the architect’s drawings before you contact contractors for bids. Many naive clients sense that the architect is an infallible translator of their spoken and silent needs but contractors rarely give credit to owners based on something “we told that architect that we wanted” when it doesn’t appear in the plans.

--Don’t be afraid to share your projected budget figures with a prospective bidder before the preparation of the bid. This will save a great deal of time for all parties concerned and, by telling your contractor what your budget is beforehand he can many times tell you whether he can work within your budget, thereby saving the time wasted in waiting for an exorbitant estimate.

--Don’t bother to get any more than three estimates. A well prepared set of plans and an arrangement whereby all contractors are required to use the same bidding format or form should assure you that all bids will be between 10% and 15% of one another.

--Don’t automatically take the low bid. Construction is one of those old-fashioned businesses where you still get what you pay for and the initial costs of hiring an amateur will invariably exceed the cost of having hired a professional in the first place.

A contractor who works off the back of his truck may possess a winning manner and tender an adorable low bid, but before you hire him, check out his references. Hiring a contractor who does all of his own work does not assure one of a good job and low prices and may even become a liability once he gets another, more profitable job, before he has finished your dream home.

--Don’t even think of acting as your own contractor on any moderate- to large-scale project. Perhaps one of the most common complaints of upscale, heavily leveraged, young working couples is that they decided to act as their own general contractor to save the extra costs associated with having someone simply “baby-sit their job.” They soon discovered how much time and effort this activity consumes and how disruptive it proves to be to their own schedules.

My sympathies did not extend to my erstwhile client who, standing amid a poorly maintained job site, with drywall dust clinging to his pin-striped suit, complained of unethical contractors and unsympathetic building inspectors.

“After all, the inspector should know that I’m an attorney and not a building contractor,” he whined.

--Assuming that you have already violated the previously mentioned tenet, don’t expect that your homeowners liability insurance will automatically cover you in the event of an accident; many of these policies specifically preclude such coverages. Remember you are acting as a general contractor, and your contractor, and his employees, are now your employees.

--Don’t agree with cost-plus arrangements with the contractor, figuring that the overall price will be somehow less than expected. Unless the contractor is willing to commit to a guaranteed maximum figure you are simply signing a blank check.

On this same note, don’t agree to any contract stipulating fixed weekly payments unless these payments are tied into certain items of work being completed or material delivered to the job site. All that you may be doing, without these controls, is simply helping your contractor meet his payroll for that particular week.

--Don’t insist on occupying the house during the remodel unless the work proposed will have only minimal impact on your family’s daily routine. The costs of alternate housing should always be figured into the total budget.

--If you don’t understand something about the projected construction work--ask. This is the only way to avoid the “Mr. Blandings dilemma” whereby an owner, rather than admit ignorance, gives off-the-cuff direction, thereby setting into motion a chain of events that may have costly consequences later on.

If you are going to make changes after the construction begins find out, in advance, what the changes will cost and pay for them once they are completed. Do not wait for the contractor to figure out the “true cost” of the extra at the end of the job. Better to resolve the matter beforehand.

--You should insist that information concerning hourly rates and “unit prices” be included in your contract to intelligently anticipate reasonable costs for extra work and changes to the plans.

--Don’t insist on penalty clauses for late work unless you are also prepared to offer compensating “bonus clauses” for work completed ahead of time.

The best way to assure that your project will be completed in a timely fashion is to develop a payment schedule that continues to provide a financial incentive for your contractor to finish without delays.

Expect, however, that your job will take longer than originally expected.

--Don’t visit the site daily. A well-organized contractor does not need extra supervision and an owner’s incessant questions of a superintendent accomplish nothing more than a slowing down of the work already in progress. Schedule periodic meetings with your contractor to “walk the job” and review progress in an orderly setting.

--Don’t judge unfinished work unless you know that something is seriously flawed. A good contract should always allow for a final review and “punch list itemization,” and all work should have a 10% retention clause to ensure quality workmanship.

And finally, let us not be too harsh in judging the construction industry on a minority of unscrupulous practitioners. I have always marveled at the public’s willingness to sign what would generally be considered open-ended contracts with various related industries while insisting on holding contractors to more restrictive criteria.

References to “contingency fees, hold harmless clauses, assigned consent” and the fact that overall costs do not include “taxes, insurance, transfer costs and dealers preparation” are routinely consented to by consumers who insist upon punitive measures (late fees, performance and completion bonds, retention clauses to name a few) whenever the contracting party happens to be a building or remodeling contractor.

Are we not establishing a criterion by which to judge building contractors so severe that, if used to evaluate other professions, it is uncertain that any other given industry could meet these same unbending standards?