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Do
it Yourself or Hire a Contractor / Remodeling
Company?
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We know
that there are a lot of talented “Do-It-Yourselfers,”
and you may be one of them. However, a lot
of work goes into a basic home remodeling
project, and managing it often loses its appeal
when you begin to experience all the moving
parts.
If you decide to go it alone, here are the
questions you’ll be answering:
1. Who will
design my project?
2. What materials
will I use and are they the right ones?
3. When should
I order the materials to get them in on time
and who will accept delivery at my building?
4. Who will
keep all my paperwork in order?
5. Who is
going to do the construction? How much supervision
is required on my part?
6. Who will
do the touch-up work? What about warranties
and repairs?
If these questions seem daunting or overwhelming,
that’s why we’re here. You don’t have to go
it alone. At MyHome, design and remodeling
is what we do every day. We know all the potential
pitfalls and how to avoid them. Our goal is
to take what can be a stressful process and
make it as hassle-free as possible. Don’t
just take our word for it; listen to what
our customers have to say. |
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1.
Who will design my project |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
Your project will require precise measurements
and drawings to scale in order to accurately
specify the materials needed and properly
construct it. Typically, design/build firms
have trained designers on staff that will
determine whether plans for your project can
be crafted by an in-house designer or require
architectural drawings. Many companies have
architects on staff or close affiliations
with these professionals, so finding one for
the project with the proper credentials shouldn’t
be a problem.
Do
it Yourself:
Unless you have formal design training, it
is unlikely that you will be able to craft
design plans yourself. You may have ideas
of what you would like to go where and how
you would like things to look, but translating
those concepts onto paper is another matter.
You can invest in various different software
packages for your PC or Mac, but you’ll have
to learn it well enough to prepare working
drawings. Most likely, you’ll have to hire
a designer or architect to create the design
plans. This process will require interviewing
and due diligence on your part. |
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2.
What materials will I use and are they the
right ones? |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
After your project is properly drawn, you’ll
need to choose the many products for it. And
this can range from dozens to hundreds – yes
hundreds – depending on the scope of the project.
Remember, that with each product also come
choices of color, type of material, style,
size, etc. Working with a design/build firm
generally provides you one of two opportunities.
Either you will have a designer who will take
you to many stores and showrooms to help you
make your selections, providing guidance along
the way, or if you hire a firm that has a
show- room, most if not all of the selections
can be made in one place.
Do
it Yourself:
First, create a list of everything you need;
next, decide what basic styles you like, e.g.,
traditional vs. contemporary; then start shopping
to see all those choices. There are numerous
stores and specialty showrooms where you can
purchase materials you want and need for your
remod- eling project. You can go to the major
chain home stores, tile show- rooms, appliance
stores, etc. And, of course, there’s always
the Internet. Even if you go to one of the
large stores, you’ll have to contend with
numerous different salespeople, of varying
skills, training and motives, that will try
to sell you on what they think is best for
you. You’ll need to keep track of each item
you select to make sure it coordinates from
a design perspective and will also fit with
your design. |
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3.
When should I order the materials to get
them in on time and who will accept delivery
at my building? |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
With your materials list prepared, the design/build
firm will order your various products and
often find out lead times so you can be
advised if something is out of stock or
has an inordinately long delivery time.
If they have a purchasing department, they
will track when these orders are supposed
to be received.
Be sure you work with a design/build firm
that has a showroom, ware- house or storage
facilities, so your materials will be delivered
to the company and brought to the project
site when they are needed. At the very least,
the design/build firm will be responsible
for accepting deliveries and processing
any returns due to damages, missing parts
or improper shipments.
Do it Yourself:
Some of your selections will be point of
sale purchases; meaning you will walk out
of the store with them the day you purchase
them. Undoubtedly, many products will have
to be ordered. The stores will place some
of the orders for you. Others, especially
online purchases, you will make on your
own. Thus, purchasing can be cumbersome.
And, keeping track of what's in, or out
of, stock and following lead times, requires
a lot of attention to detail and dedication
on your part.
Some of your selections will be point of
sale purchases; meaning you will walk out
of the store with them the day you purchase
them. Undoubtedly, many products will have
to be ordered. The stores will place some
of the orders for you. Others, especially
online purchases, you will make on your
own. Thus, purchasing can be cumbersome.
And, keeping track of what's in, or out
of, stock and following lead times, requires
a lot of attention to detail and dedication
on your part. |
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4.
Who will keep all my paperwork in order? |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
Whether you live in a privately owned house,
a co-op apartment or a condo, there will likely
be some level of paperwork required for your
home improvement project. You may have to
obtain various permits and/or submit plans
to a board of directors. A good design/build
firm will have personnel trained in this area
to know what you need and how to take care
of it. They will also be able to assist you
in getting the documents you need to get your
project built.
Do it Yourself:
Research is the first step here. You’ll need
to contact your city or town buildings department
and decipher the legalese in their codes.
If you own a co-op or condo, you will also
need to get information from your building
manager to determine your building’s requirements.
Then you will need to fill out forms, draft
responses to questions, coordinate all of
the requisite licenses, insurance documents,
etc. and submit plans in order to get approval
for your project. |
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5.
Who is goingto do the construction? How
much supervision is required on my part? |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
The whole premise behind the design/build
approach is that the same company that designs
the project builds it as well. The main benefit
is that everyone is working in concert right
from the beginning of the process. When the
teams have the opportunity to collaborate
(and it should be before ground is broken),
it reduces confusion. Also, the design/build
firm is responsible for making sure all the
necessary tradespeople, such as carpenters,
electricians, plumbers, etc. properly perform
the job. Additionally, the firm is responsible
for keeping track of costs and paying the
people working on the job.
Do
it Yourself:
It is unlikely you will be doing any major
remodeling with your own two hands. So, presuming
that you are not the ultimate “do-it-yourselfer,
” you have a major choice to make regarding
construction. You can hire a general contractor
(GC) that will do the construction and hire
all the other tradespeople, probably from
lists of subcontractors they use. The benefit
here is that the GC will typically supervise
the construction. Or, you can hire the various
different tradespeople yourself, manage them
all, direct them, and keep track of their
payments. Either way, expect to do a lot of
due diligence when hiring the people that
will be working in your home. You’ve heard
the horror stories and have seen the exposés
on TV, so be careful. Check all the licenses
of the people you hire so you can see how
long they’ve been in business under the company
name they gave you. Contractors tend to go
out of business and reopen under a new name
and license number if too many complaints
get lodged against them under a given license. |
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6.
How many projects are you currently are
working on? |
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Remodeling
Company / Professional Contractor:
After every remodeling project there are touch-ups
that need to be made, whether it’s a scratch
to be repaired, painting to be cleaned up,
a broken handle, or what have you. It is not
unusual to have a punch list several items
long. Also, despite the best intentions and
hardest work of quality tradespeople, mistakes
are made and things do break. If you work
with a reputable design/build firm, having
the touch-ups done in a timely manner shouldn’t
be a problem. Furthermore, a good firm will
warranty their work – the better ones up to
five years – and make repairs if problems
occur within the warranty period. The reason
is most design/build firms are longer lasting
and not fly-by-night opera- tions and tend
to take more pride in the final outcome of
their projects.
Do
it Yourself:
Failing to complete a job is by far the biggest
complaint homeowners have against contractors.
Getting them to come back to “touch-up” or
repair the job after it is paid for in full
is nearly impossible. Depending upon whether
you hired a GC or all of the tradespeople
yourself, you’ll have an even bigger challenge
getting your punch list done if you have to
locate several people. And, rest assured,
one tradesperson will most definitely blame
another and deny responsibility for a repair
that needs to be made. Most contractors don’t
guarantee their work. If they do, make sure
they’ve been in business long enough to convince
you that they will be there for you in the
future. |
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