5 Challenges of Working With Contractors and How to Solve Them
For renovation pros, skilled contractors can turn a good project into a great one. Here’s how to work well together
Whether you’re hiring a builder, tiler, carpenter or any other contractor, their skills will be invaluable to the finished outcome of a renovation project. But how do you ensure everyone is on the same page and the process is a smooth one?
Three professionals share the common challenges they come up against when working with tradespeople and their tried-and-tested tips for keeping everything on track.
Contributing professionals: Sam Patience of Patience Designs; Sophie Utley of Ellen Utley Interiors; Naomi Starr of Naomi Starr Interior Design & Property Stylist
Three professionals share the common challenges they come up against when working with tradespeople and their tried-and-tested tips for keeping everything on track.
Contributing professionals: Sam Patience of Patience Designs; Sophie Utley of Ellen Utley Interiors; Naomi Starr of Naomi Starr Interior Design & Property Stylist
Challenge 2: Misunderstandings
There are times when even a detailed plan can go awry, leading to jobs not being carried out as you’d hoped.
“Even with the most extensive technical plans, with every detail covered, the best contractors can sometimes miss important details, requests and requirements,” Sophie Utley says. “For example, when installing a kitchen, we may ask a contractor to cut the kickboards and ensure the plinth runs through. We may then turn up on site and this has not been actioned.”
The solution “I’ve found this is easily overcome when we run through the plans in person with the contractors,” Sophie says. “People communicate in different ways and when we run through a plan, not only are we engaging them, we’re working as a team with a much better combined effort towards fantastic results.
“When we project manage a job, we aim to turn up on site regularly, perhaps once a week, at important points to support people,” she adds, and says this also opens up opportunities to ask questions.
“Be on hand or on site as early as possible if there are any problems,” Naomi Starr says. “And always be present when any trades contractors are finishing their agreed work to run through snagging items or things you as a designer or your client aren’t happy with.”
There are times when even a detailed plan can go awry, leading to jobs not being carried out as you’d hoped.
“Even with the most extensive technical plans, with every detail covered, the best contractors can sometimes miss important details, requests and requirements,” Sophie Utley says. “For example, when installing a kitchen, we may ask a contractor to cut the kickboards and ensure the plinth runs through. We may then turn up on site and this has not been actioned.”
The solution “I’ve found this is easily overcome when we run through the plans in person with the contractors,” Sophie says. “People communicate in different ways and when we run through a plan, not only are we engaging them, we’re working as a team with a much better combined effort towards fantastic results.
“When we project manage a job, we aim to turn up on site regularly, perhaps once a week, at important points to support people,” she adds, and says this also opens up opportunities to ask questions.
“Be on hand or on site as early as possible if there are any problems,” Naomi Starr says. “And always be present when any trades contractors are finishing their agreed work to run through snagging items or things you as a designer or your client aren’t happy with.”
Challenge 3: Clashing schedules
If you and your contractor are working to different timelines, it can make things a lot more complicated. “Builders and contractors usually work to their own project timelines, and very often this is fitted in-between other jobs that they’ll run simultaneously,” Naomi explains. “This can cause knock-on delays if other projects are experiencing unforeseen problems.”
The solution “To overcome this, I have a clear brief and timeline. which I run through with the builders and tradespeople before the project starts,” Naomi says. “We agree a specific date, start time and finish time, and a “time contingency” in case we come across any unforeseen problems or works take longer than anticipated.
“This actually happens a lot, particularly when coordinating many different trades,” she adds, “so the more you can anticipate and plan for this, the better.”
If you and your contractor are working to different timelines, it can make things a lot more complicated. “Builders and contractors usually work to their own project timelines, and very often this is fitted in-between other jobs that they’ll run simultaneously,” Naomi explains. “This can cause knock-on delays if other projects are experiencing unforeseen problems.”
The solution “To overcome this, I have a clear brief and timeline. which I run through with the builders and tradespeople before the project starts,” Naomi says. “We agree a specific date, start time and finish time, and a “time contingency” in case we come across any unforeseen problems or works take longer than anticipated.
“This actually happens a lot, particularly when coordinating many different trades,” she adds, “so the more you can anticipate and plan for this, the better.”
Challenge 4: Opposing communication styles
Sometimes, frustration can arise when the communication styles of a contractor and a client are different.
“Our clients are often from a professional background, in jobs that are often focused around high levels of communication, be it through emails, messaging or phone conversations,” Sam says. “The pandemic has particularly highlighted those levels of communication, with video calls seeing a surge in activity.”
The solution A balance is key when it comes to communication expectations, Sam advises. “Encourage contractors to communicate as quickly as possible while understanding no contractor worth his salt has time to be constantly on their computer or phone,” he says. “Also try to relay the information to the contractor in such a manner that they’re not being bombarded with information and requests.
“I hugely enjoy the personable aspects of our job, and love being the go-between, ensuring a smooth project, communicated effectively and successfully,” he adds.
Sometimes, frustration can arise when the communication styles of a contractor and a client are different.
“Our clients are often from a professional background, in jobs that are often focused around high levels of communication, be it through emails, messaging or phone conversations,” Sam says. “The pandemic has particularly highlighted those levels of communication, with video calls seeing a surge in activity.”
The solution A balance is key when it comes to communication expectations, Sam advises. “Encourage contractors to communicate as quickly as possible while understanding no contractor worth his salt has time to be constantly on their computer or phone,” he says. “Also try to relay the information to the contractor in such a manner that they’re not being bombarded with information and requests.
“I hugely enjoy the personable aspects of our job, and love being the go-between, ensuring a smooth project, communicated effectively and successfully,” he adds.
Challenge 5: Finding the right pro
It’s of course vital to consider whether a contractor’s work is right for the project you’re managing.
“Different contractors, tradespeople and specialist trades all have different levels of quality and ways in which they finish their work,” Naomi says.
The solution She recommends you check out a contractor’s work beforehand by viewing photos of previous work, having conversations with existing clients and even doing site visits.
“Different contractors vary in their capabilities. They all have their place in the market and it’s important to select accordingly,” Sophie says. “You can’t expect to get all three of the following – good quality, quick results and low price. So it’s worth being patient and taking the time to find the right person.
“I’ve worked with some fabulously talented individuals who are open to new ideas,” she adds. “My favourite quality in a contractor is a person or team always looking to improve, learn and move with the times.”
Tell us…
Did you find these tips useful and do you have any additional advice for working with contractors? Share your ideas in the Comments.
It’s of course vital to consider whether a contractor’s work is right for the project you’re managing.
“Different contractors, tradespeople and specialist trades all have different levels of quality and ways in which they finish their work,” Naomi says.
The solution She recommends you check out a contractor’s work beforehand by viewing photos of previous work, having conversations with existing clients and even doing site visits.
“Different contractors vary in their capabilities. They all have their place in the market and it’s important to select accordingly,” Sophie says. “You can’t expect to get all three of the following – good quality, quick results and low price. So it’s worth being patient and taking the time to find the right person.
“I’ve worked with some fabulously talented individuals who are open to new ideas,” she adds. “My favourite quality in a contractor is a person or team always looking to improve, learn and move with the times.”
Tell us…
Did you find these tips useful and do you have any additional advice for working with contractors? Share your ideas in the Comments.
Hold-ups can be time-consuming and expensive, and often arise when unforeseen changes disrupt a project’s timeline. According to Sam Patience, one major cause of this can be a lack of detail when it comes to communicating a plan.
“While it might seem that choosing particular furniture or lighting will be the cause of expense, it can often be a miscommunication with a contractor leading to an exhausting and dreaded ‘extra’,” Sam says. “Over the past 10 years, we’ve realised the very basics are just as important as the more glamorous elements of a renovation.”
The solution “We’ve developed really detailed tender documents and cloud-based sheets. These allow us and our clients to ensure everything we set out to achieve is done with maximum efficiency,” Sam says. “Although we may come across something totally unforeseen during a construction project, we’ve found our level of detail in these early stages to be invaluable.”
A management tool such as Houzz Pro can help here, as it will allow you to create detailed plans, schedules and even 3D floorplans that you can easily share with your contractors and edit as you go along.