Interior Design – 10 Tips on Getting the Best From Your Contractor

It seems like this is the season for the two-month rush to complete all interior design projects. In certain areas like NYC’s 5th Ave, the municipality only permits major (and often noisy) construction activities during specific times of the year. In other locations, it’s more of a personal stampede to schedule interior projects around vacations or when the kids will be outside and out of the way. This might also mean a surge in demand for services from crane hire companies such as the experienced crane hire companies Perth, as large-scale projects gear up for completion.

The construction & remodeling season has begun.

Over the years I’ve found a few things which the homeowner can do to make a project go very smoothly which I would like to share.

1. Be a great customer. Make your environment a happy place for people to work.  Hire a professional and treat them as such.
2. Be positive. Creating a good working environment  starts with trust.  Trust the people hired to do their job and know what they are doing.  Contractor Ken Spears offers great ideas this.
3. Have realistic expectations. Good contractors know how long a project will take, let them lead you in determining the time frame.
4. Be up front about who you are. If you put tiny details under a microscope say so.  The more honest you are with the contractor about how you want things to turn out, the more likely you’ll get what you want.
5. Prepare a written scope of work including all details.  Specify the desired sink, do not just say “bathroom sink.”
6. Nail down all the details BEFORE the project is bid! This eases the mind of everyone and keeps the homeowner out of the low-bid trap.  Do I need to say never go with a bid significantly lower than the next highest one?
7. Sign a contract. Signing a contract and giving the contractor a deposit, gets you on their schedule and let’s them know you are serious.  Too often homeowners run contractors through the treadmill of pricing everything, telling them they are want to start on whatever date, only to do nothing.
8. Set a payment schedule and stick to it. The old holding payment until “whatever” is rude and undignified.
9. Set a weekly review schedule.  This is where the contractor and/or designer gives a progress report and addresses any issues.
10. Speak up. Be specific about how the work area needs to be cleaned at the end of each day if living in the home where work is being done.  This is a big deal to some and not others, let the contractor know your expectations.

I confess, I am also amazed by the program Holmes on Holmes where contractor Mike Holmes points out shoddy workmanship and crappy contractors.  But those are not the norm!  There are very good, respectable, licensed contractors who know what they are doing, offer valuable suggestions and charge a fair price for their work.  When in doubt, ask an interior designer – we know who does good work.