Reflections on the First Half

As we have hit this milestone of contract signing, I wanted to take a minute to post an entry that included some thoughts on the overall process so far.

When we started this project in July, there was a fleeting moment when we thought that we would be our own general contractors. Thank goodness that option was only considered for a moment. While we are highly involved with the details of this renovation project, it would have been very difficult to find the various tradespeople to get them to provide quotes, check references and then orchestrate the timing of the work they need to do. Not only is it about access to good people but it is about obtaining the right kind of advice and then the timing of everything.

Once it was decided that we needed some help, the next debate was what approach we would take. One option is to hire someone to prepare the design drawings and then tender out your drawings once they are done to general contractors to provide cost estimates. This has its advantages as you could be in the position to obtain competitive quotes. However, if we had gone with that option there would have been no one to contact to get advice and second options from other than the person doing the design drawings (the person being great, however, having more people on hand makes a big difference).

I also have to think that when it came time to get the different contractor’s quotes, your focus rightfully would be on trying to decide between the various companies. What we found is that we needed to focus on getting the price down from what was described on the drawings to something we could afford. I don’t know how that would have worked if we had three or four estimates in our hands. I guess that it would become the next step but then that has an impact on timing. If we had gone with this option, we would not be starting construction in the first week of February with an end date in mind. Not only does having a contractor lined up help with the timing pressure to get through the design stage but it means that you have someone with staff on hand, ready to go.

A big factor is timelines. The more time you have the better. However, when you buy a house and get possession of it one month later, you are either living in a dump or carrying a dump until the renovation project is over. This has a big impact on how fast you move through the process. It would have been great to have time to really think through each product selection but in the end, it comes down to moving through the project at an appropriate speed.

At this point, we are glad that we went with the Design-Build option. Having your design team and your construction team from day one has its benefits. This process can be so stressful that having the right people on your side makes a big difference.