Leg Work

Here's my little cautionary tale of what can go wrong when contracting out work - mistakes will happen, but most can be avoided.

When I began renovating mi casa I hired a contractor, had a list a mile long, and requested that he complete all work in under 3 weeks. This contractor was paid by the day, so I expected him to work quickly.  Overall I loved the work he did in my home, but I have to say - I really don't like the tile work in my master bathroom.

The window should have been trimmed using bullnose tile - tile that has a rounded edge on one side. This allows you to cover the cut edges of your tile and creates a polished, clean border.

Pictures courtesy of Art On Tiles

Picture courtesy of Straight Edge Tile

The picture above is a perfect example of how to properly tile around a window. Sadly, I ended up with exposed, jagged cut edges.

It's not that this contractor was terrible at his job, but we lacked communication. I had a box of bullnose tile available, but I didn't quite order enough.

And since he knew I was in such a hurry, he worked with what he had. Now I know it's not the worst tile-job ever and life goes on, but it just bothers me knowing this mistake could have easily been avoided.

Here's a few tips I plan to follow for my upcoming guest bathroom renovation. Note: I'm hiring a different contractor this time around.

Do your homework. When hiring a contractor, check out his references. Has he done work in someone's home that you know? Does he have pictures of past projects readily available? Has he completed all previous projects. There are many horror stories of homeowners who pay in full but are left with unfinished spaces. Heck, HGTV created the show Holmes on Homes that rescues homeowners from renovation disasters. The contractor I hired did previous work on my parents' kitchen and bathroom so I know he's good.

Draft a contract. Paying a contractor hourly, daily, or weekly can be ok for small jobs, but from here on out I plan on negotiating the fee for each job as a whole. A contract should be drafted before any work begins. The contract should include an itemized list of all work to be done {see mine here}, materials supplied & the associated costs, an agreed upon payment schedule, and a detailed description of the work to be done. Determine the times of day the contractor will be working and an approximate completion date.

Be sure to have enough supplies on hand. This only applies if you plan on supplying the goods yourself. Some contractors prefer to buy the supplies and charge one lump sum for both labor & materials. And ofcourse if you're purchasing everything yourself at any point in the project the contractor can pick up anything you forgot. However, if you're like me, you probably want to have a final say on all items that go into your renovated space.

For my master bath renovation I measured and ordered enough tile to cover the exact space I was covering. The rule of thumb is to order 15% more than what you expect to use because when tile is cut,there will be some waste, especially when laying a diagonal pattern.

I'm constantly making a pass through my master bath to ensure that everything is on hand for the guest bathroom renovation. I've stacked up all items in one area of my garage. This allows me to quickly glance over all supplies and double check that nothing's missing. In addition, this makes everything easily accessible to the contractor.  

I've learned that unused tile can be returned with no problem. And sometimes fixtures don't fit properly, so save yourself the stress & money by holding on to those receipts.

Communicate Frequently. Had I communicated more with my previous contractor, the shower tile mistake may not have happened. Some people will only require a weekly or daily update depending on the scope of the project. My guest bathroom renovation will only take 3-4 days to complete so I expect daily updates and phone calls for all last minute decisions that need to be made. I've made this clear to my contractor.

Ensure that any special instructions are thoroughly covered & understood. This time around I've made sure to point out that I have bullnose tile for the shower window and separate bullnose tiles for my accent tile. And being the type-A person that I am, I plan on sticking around when the first tile goes up.

But I'm going to try not to be too much of a pain because you should try to maintain a friendly relationship with your contractor. If they do a fantastic job on a small project, you may want them to continue work in other areas of your home.

I think I have a good foundation laid for my upcoming renovation. Work starts next Monday, so stay tuned for my guest bathroom reveal. I can not wait to see and share the final results.

So tell me, have you worked with a contractor lately? Was it a good experience, or bad? My own experience with the shower wall tile has me on edge about that particular aspect of the renovation. Do you have a very specific issue that happened to you and I should be warned about. If you do, speak up. I could use some advice!

Source: http://casadecrystal.blogspot.com/2010/08/be-prepared-when-hiring-contractor-to.html