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#007
​Avoid These Common Mistakes Onboarding Tradespeople with These 5 Simple Steps….​​
It Should Be Simple Right?
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In the April issue of YPN magazine, I discussed how to onboard a main contractor for your project, going through the important steps to find that one contractor who will take care of everything and complete all works on your refurbishment
So for this edition I thought I’d follow up with another option available to you - splitting the project down into individual trades and managing / sequencing the project yourself..
The main reason you’d opt to do this is to save money; and, as long as you have the time, appetite & some good knowledge, it can be successful.​ However like a lot of things, what may seem simple, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy! I’ve been involved in property and construction for over 20 years and have dealt with literally hundreds of tradespeople in this time; so follow my tried & tested method recommended below to avoid costly mistakes…
Step 1 – The Initial Contact & Conversation
The first conversation you have (usually on the phone) with your tradesperson is important – this is where they are going to form an initial opinion on whether they want to work with you (or not!). This may appear harsh; however, it is a harsh truth. A good tradesperson will no-doubt be very busy, so your first job is to present yourself as someone they want to work with.
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Be polite, explain who you are, give a brief explanation of the works you require and then ask if they have availability for your expected start date. You should know what date you need the works, because you should have already thought about your schedule of works and sequenced each correctly.
If this isn’t something you are confident doing, you have two options: find someone who can help & advise on a schedule of works; or think about using a main contractor instead. It will most likely get harder and more stressful from this point, so it’s worth considering these two options beforehand.​ In asking the question about availability you are saving yourself wasted time at the outset - if the tradesperson is booked up for the next 10 weeks for example, they are probably not going to be the trade for you. The other advantage is that you have shown yourself as a well-planned project manager and set off on the right foot.
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Assuming the availability is there, you can now arrange when to meet at the project and I’d also recommended sending a quick message to reconfirm the day before - step 1 complete.
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Step 2 – First Meeting Onsite
If you’ve read any of my previous articles you will know by now I consistently bang-on about knowing what you want by “frontloading” your project – i.e. before you start any works onsite (other than strip out), you have identified and made all the decisions about how you are going to complete your new project. And to do this, you are going to need drawings & specification.
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Depending on the size & scope of the project these drawings can be neatly hand drawn items. Yes, that’s right - if you are not doing much structural work and/or changing internal layouts, you do not necessarily need an architect (for my own smaller projects for example, my own hand drawn drawings have worked fine).
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And ‘specification’ essentially just means knowing what type of doors, handles, skirting boards etc you want. Let’s assume you’re meeting with an electrician, for example – meet them onsite and walk the job. You have the electrical drawing that you’ve put together and you simply walk the project with this in hand, pointing out where you want each socket & switch. The electrician will no doubt make suggestions; listen to them, but make sure to stick to your plan if it makes sense to do so. Finally at the end of the site meeting, ask for their email address and tell them that you will send an email with all the details so they can send a price back. That’s step 2 complete.
Step 3 – Email the Contractor in Order to Obtain a Price
At this point, it may seem like we’re sucking eggs and this is all quite obvious – but please bear with me, there is method in this.
The reason you need to email them is because you want to remain in control of the process; also, you’re avoiding any delays waiting for them to contact you. And the reason you need to use email is because this is the basis of the written contract you are beginning to form. There’s a very important note here – legally, a contract does not need to be a formal, lengthy document stating it’s a contract; you are in contract with a tradesperson as long as the following points are written down and agreed:
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The scope of works and associated cost
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The proposed start date & duration of works
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Who is supplying the materials
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The payment structure (i.e. when & how they are paid)
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How waste is cleared and who is removing it.​
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Include your drawings & specification with your email, confirm the points above and ask for them to reply with a quotation. And with that, step 3 is complete and you can move onto the below.
NB: for smaller, less complicated jobs it is worth noting here that this can be done via Whatsapp (as a minimum) again, as long as it’s written down, agreed and can be referred back to.
Step 4 – Approval & Go Ahead
So by now, you should have received the above quotation and are looking to onboard the contractor. I would at this point strongly recommend that you ask whether the contractor is not quoting for any element of their related works (to use an electrician again as an example, their quote might include your sockets and switches, but not your feature light fittings). This seemingly-simple question is a final-check to make sure you are both on the same page and there are no surprises for either of you down the line.
Once you’ve asked the above, your quote looks good, you can accept and confirm the start date – step 4 done.
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Step 5 – Starting Onsite
The time between agreeing the quotation and the tradesperson starting onsite can be weeks, sometimes months. And a crucial step often missed here is not meeting onsite on day 1 to run through everything – it’s VERY important that you do this! It doesn’t need to be a lengthy meeting, just a quick walk of the job to confirm the works will be done as intended and agreed. As a trainee construction manager, one thing that was drummed into me by my “old school” boss was to never let a trade start onsite without having a run through first of the works to be done!
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BUT, be mindful of how you position yourself here. Some trades will resist an initial walk around; they will feel you are interfering or trying to tell them how to do their job. So make sure to inform them (preferably in a light-hearted way) that this is not the case and you just want to avoid any confusion, or that work doesn’t end up getting done twice.
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Final Thoughts
Don’t perceive these 5 steps as overwhelming, or equally, gloss over them as overcomplicated. Unfortunately things do go wrong on refurbishment & new build projects, it’s just the nature of the game!
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In my experience, these disputes often arise from what work is to be done, or the cost of completing the works. So by forming the habit of following these 5 steps with every trade, not only will you avoid stressful disputes, but you’ll gain increased respect from the trades, who will want to work with you again and again.
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