Coordinating contractors on your home building project

Building a new house, or renovating an existing home, involves a number of different processes and tasks requiring different skills. This  may range from carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting, roofing, tiling, block laying, and more. Usually no one person has the skill set to undertake all of these tasks, and some even require specific qualifications and licences.

Most building projects involve different contractors for the different tasks. It's essential that the tasks are done in the correct order - see Staging plumbing and electrical when building and renovating houses. So delays by one contractor can have a knock-on impact on other contractors.  

Image by John Dortmunder from Pixabay

If you’ve appointed a main contractor (general contractor) then usually they’ll manage and coordinate all their subcontractors. However, if you’ve elected to appoint some specific subcontractors, or appointed a number of different contractors, then you’re responsible to manage the contractors and ensure that they arrive when they’re required in terms of the construction schedule and that they complete their tasks within the timeframe allocated in the schedule. Failure of one of your contractors to deliver their portion of work could lead to project delays. Other contractors could be entitled to claim for the impact of these delays on them, as well as standing time for their resources who couldn’t work in the interim.

​Equally is important is to ensure that the contractors do not get in each others way, or damage work completed by other contractors. If you've arranged different contractors, then you need to manage them to avoid problems and conflicts.

It’s important to have an accurate construction schedule - see Will your home build project finish on time - so that all contractors are aware of when they’re required on site and the time available to complete their work.
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It should be noted that if the main contractor is ahead of the agreed construction schedule they can request that your contractor comes earlier to complete their work. However, they cannot claim that your contractor has delayed them if the contractor only arrives on the allotted day according to the approved construction schedule and completes their work in the time allocated. 

So it's important that all your contractors know when they can start their work, and by when their tasks must be completed. You need to manage your contractor to check that areas are ready for them, and to ensure they complete all their work in time for the follow on contractors. 

Delays must be conveyed to the following contractors as soon as possible. Good communication with your contractors is essential - see Good communication with your building contractors is vital.

Other Useful Articles:
​Purchasing Building Materials For Your Home Building Project
Understanding plumbing when planning a new home or renovation.
Levelling an area for your house

Want to learn more about designing, renovating and building houses?

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.