Working With Contractors: Construction & Interior (p1)

What is a contract:

Every time you sign your name on the dotted line, you are legally staking your name to a contract. A contract is a legal document that guarantees a service between two or more people.

Generally speaking, a contractor is any person who agrees to fulfil the demands of a contract. When you hire a lawn care company to mow your grass and a plumber to fix a leaky pipe, you are dealing with contractors. The contractor then legally binds his or her name to the action spelled out in the contract – and so do you.

When it comes to home remodelling, a “general contractor” is the person who is in charge of the construction site. Contractors use their contracts, agreed upon by both the homeowner and the contractor, as the blueprint for all aspects of the job.

The vast majority of contractors are honest people who simply want the opportunity to do the things you want done, and they want you to be happy with the work. A contractor’s whole livelihood is based on your satisfaction, but every contractor has had a combination of good and bad experiences with customers.  As a result of those experiences, contractors rely on the written contract to resolve any dispute over what was agreed.

Types of contractors: www.sentricdesign.co.uk

In a big remodelling job involving several trades, there are two main types of contractors: General contractor and subcontractors.

A general contractor is a type of manager who is in charge of overseeing the entirety of a project. For a home remodelling job, the GC will meet with the homeowner to go over the initial project details, estimate the cost of the project, draft a contract, hire workers, and handle the daily operation of the job and all the rest of it. These guys don’t usually perform any of the labour work, but instead hire skilled tradesmen as subcontractors.

A subcontractor is a worker who is hired by a general contractor to perform the obligations of another’s contract. Also referred to as specialty contractors or “subs,” subcontractors are typically hired to perform a specialized type of labour. They are the plumbers, roofers, carpet installers and electricians who are essential to any large remodelling project. As the name implies, subcontractors work under contract with, and get paid by general contractors.

There are also specialized, trade-specific contractors who manage groups of workers under the same trade. For example, an electrical contractor could be a business owner or firm that employs a team of electricians. This type of contractor is usually needed for large projects, or highly-specialized work. 

TBC