Finding a contractor

Five Guidelines for Dealing with Contractors

Do you have residents thinking about remodeling their kitchen, building an addition, or embarking on some other construction project that will require the services of a contractor? With the help of SmartArchitecturals, we have made submitting arch requests fast and easy with our online portal!  

Once a resident has completed an arch request through our SmartArchitecturals software and, it’s approved, they are ready to break ground! Help them keep their project nailed down with five simple guidelines:

  1. Reconcile your contractors’ objectives with your own. You want your project to be completed on time and within budget. Contractors want to maximize their compensation. Design a compensation plan that maximizes your contractors’ profits when they achieve your objectives at each stage of the project.
  2. Nothing drives down prices like competition. Any price you obtain without competition will be higher than the price you receive with it.
  3. Write down everything you expect. Effective competition requires a complete, accurate, and final definition of the goods and services involved in the project.
  4. Use standard forms for your contracts. The American Institute of Architects offers a variety of sample documents at www.aia.org/docs_default. Just realize there’s no such thing as a standard project and customize your contracts accordingly.
  5. There is no substitute for professionalism. An architect, contractor, or other participants in your project who has a track record of character and professionalism will likely demonstrate those qualities on your project. Conversely, a participant with the opposite track record will probably remain true to form.

Contractors can be tough to work with, so finding the right one is important. Ask your friends who they have used in the past and ask your contractor for references. But most importantly, have fun with your project and get ready for the big reveal! Ready to give SmartArchitecturals a try? Visit smartwebs.com/smartarchitecturals/ for a FREE 5-Minute demo.