If you’re dreaming about or planning your next significant remodeling or enlarging process for your business premises, you might have a few details on your mind. These might include the budget, the amount of time you can spare for the project, and finding a contracting team that can handle the project. This can be an overwhelming undertaking, but with the right information and people, you can handle it. Here are a few tips to help you through the process.
Finding Contractors
The first thing that you’ll need to ask yourself is what will need to be done. If it’s something small and specific, like upgrading the HVAC system, you’ll need to find local HVAC contractors to handle it. If your project is a medium-sized one, and won’t involve any sort of structural alterations, you might need a general contractor. For larger projects, you may need an architect or a designer who can combine architect skills with contracting. You need to know who and what you need to find the right people.
Calling Contractors
Doing renovations, remodeling, and finding contractors who can help is a bit more involved than simply hiring a resume writer off of Fiverr. Start with a list of about 10 – 12 contractors and call them one at a time. When you talk to them, focus on both how they speak to you and what their answers are to your questions. They should professionally answer the phone, politely talk to you, appear to be interested in the project, and not give you the run around as opposed to direct and specific answers to your questions.
You also need to know if they’re licensed and insured, if they’ve done jobs similar to the one you have, and if they can offer references.
Negotiations
Once you’ve chosen your contractor, it will be time to negotiate the price and payment terms.
While there might not be a lot of wiggle room when it comes to how much the project will cost, you’ll still want to negotiate a plan for payment and a budget for any sort of contingencies. When it comes to payment plans, there aren’t any sort of industry standards. That being said, typically, there are two options for payments – cost plus a flat fee, and bid basics. Each of these has its pros and cons and should be considered carefully.
The Contract
When you get to this stage, it’s massively important that you leave no stone unturned in terms of drawing up the contract for the contractor. If there’s anything that goes wrong during the project and worse comes to worst, and you need to seek legal assistance, the contract you have will be critical to your case. The contract should include things like contact information for both parties, the start and end date for the project, payment, and financing terms, and a detailed schedule of project stages. Additionally, it should have a complete list of any materials needed, a guarantee that the contractor will get all of the necessary permits, provisions for any changes, and warranty information.
Hopefully, the tips you’ve read here today will make the process of your project a bit easier for you. During the project, it’s advised that you keep detailed accounts and records to ensure that the reality of the project is going along with the terms of the signed contract. Be sure to take plenty of pictures of the work if you need evidence of contract unfulfillment or wrongdoing. Good luck!
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