SELECTING A CONTRACTOR
Finding the right contractor for your project can be stressful. There are so many factors to consider even before contemplating all the ways things could go awry. To help you, it’s best to settle on an architect first. After all, it’s part of their job to walk you through the contractor selection process. That said, it’s still important to be actively engaged. Ultimately the decision of whom to hire rests on your shoulders.
WHEN TO REACH OUT
Contractors are often inundated with project inquiries, so it helps get their attention when you have an architect reach out on your behalf. Drawings will help demonstrate the scope of work better than words, and the effort shows that you are serious.
The first good opportunity for selecting a contractor is after schematic design, when the size and nature of your project are worked out. At that time, you will be able to gauge and compare many factors among candidates, but it is still too early to expect firm quotes. The point of choosing a contractor so soon is to secure an earlier start date—the good ones are always in high demand.
Otherwise, the sweet-spot for getting a cost competitive bid is about halfway through the design process, when significant detail can be provided—especially regarding structure, mechanical, and electrical systems—but not so much that value-engineering would require undoing lots of work. Once selected, a contractor can help the architect keep the project on budget as the final details are fleshed out. Sometimes a contractor may charge a “pre-construction fee” for this service.
EXPERIENCE COUNTS
You don’t want your project to be someone’s first rodeo. It’s important that the contractor you hire has had direct experience with projects similar to yours in scale, style, and location. And it’s better to avoid outfits that concentrate mostly in other areas, like commercial or large developments—they likely won’t have the right mindset. It’s also important to know the company owner’s experience vs. the history of the company. For example, there’s some risk to engage with someone’s new company even if their personal experience in construction runs deep.
Ideally you should have your architect be involved during construction to help the job run more smoothly. Typically this means regular site meetings, review of shop drawings, substitution approvals, and finalizing details like tile layouts and colour choices. You should make sure that your contractor has experience working with architects and knows when to ask questions instead of making decisions on the fly.
SMALL VS. BIG OPERATORS
Custom home construction and renovation companies vary in size and organizational structure. On the big end, a company will delegate project management to hired staff. In this set-up, a project manager is assigned to your job, serving as the primary contact: handling paperwork, communication, and pricing. Reporting to the project manager is the site supervisor (foreman). This is the person who actually manages the work and trades on site. Often they also do much of the carpentry.
Companies with this tiered set-up are usually more expensive. If they are good, however, they will provide a very client-friendly and professional level of service. The key is to discern if the project manager and site supervisor will be be properly focused on your project—do they work on more than one project simultaneously? Also, you want confidence that they will see the project through, so try to gauge typical turnover at the company.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are owner-operated outfits, where one person takes on all of these roles. If the contractor is very capable, then this could be viewed as the ideal set-up since it streamlines communication. To be done well, though, they should run only one project at a time, or schedules may suffer. On the downside, dealing with such a contractor might involve some compromises on the level of administrative polish. For example, their spreadsheets might be formatted funny; they might not have a website; you can’t reach them when they’re up on the roof that day, etc.
IMPORTANT CONTRACT DETAILS
Construction contracts are far from standard, and there are even certain legal requirements that contractors sometimes ignore. Because residential work is dominated by small operators, they often use their own contracts, so it’s important to review them before signing. A good default is the industry standard CCDC forms, which have clear legal understanding embedded in case law. The only problem is that these are geared towards larger projects and can be a bit overwhelming in their language and requirements.
One marker of an honest operator is that they honour lien holdbacks. This is a requirement of the Ontario Construction Act, though it is sometimes ignored. The general idea is that homeowners withhold 10% of what contractors bill until the project is nearly complete, at which point it is verified that no lien claims have been made against the homeowner. The holdbacks are then paid out. This is meant to provide a reservoir of funds for the homeowner in case the contractor has failed to pay one of their sub-contractors.
Consider it a red flag if a contractor asks you for an initial deposit. Companies should be capitalized enough to perform work prior to billing for it, and lien laws are meant to protect them if they are not paid. That said, many subcontractors and manufacturers do insist on deposits, so it might be reasonable to reimburse the contractor for these specific instances as long as receipts are provided.
COMPARING BIDS & CHECKING REFERENCES
Once bids are received, your architect should help you compare them, ensuring that they are as apples-to-apples as possible. Costs vary among contractors for many reasons, largely the difference lies in the nature of the job: efficiently managing dozens of trades and major purchase orders is an extremely difficult one. The small, often owner-operated businesses that dominate the residential labour market vary significantly in quality, reliability, and cost. A contractor might be able to build your home quickly with beautiful results, but they may have to use the most expensive tradespeople to do so. Another contractor might get you to the same end by more effectively coordinating cheaper labour, but need more time to do it. And of course, there are those who perform badly on all accounts, and the rare ones that excel on every measure.
The best way to assess quality and the ability to honour estimates is to follow up on references. If possible, get the names of a couple of past clients and architects whom the contractor has worked with. It’s your opportunity to interrogate the qualitative characteristics that are important to you. After all, when selecting a contractor, it will be your judgment that counts most.
