How to Talk to Your Contractor

The first step is picking one that understands the value of communication.

Home renovations or new home builds are complicated projects and come with hundreds of decisions that need to be made. That’s stressful enough but combine difficult decision making with a huge financial commitment and you create a situation that a SWAT team negotiator would shy away from.

A major renovation or new home build are likely the single largest investment a person will make. So the only way to help ensure a smooth, successful experience?

Proper, direct communication!

Here are some tips on how to have direct communication with your contractor and why it is so important you do:

  1. Initial Planning
    Extensive planning upfront and communication from the start is vital. With the number of decisions that are required, and the possibility of details being missed or misunderstood around every corner, the method of communication and the consistency of it is essential to the overall success of the project and the relationship between client and contractor. Both sides have to commit to open dialogue.
  2. Specific Communication Topics
    So much goes into a project of this magnitude that it can seem overwhelming to even know what topics to discuss. Here are a few topics to make sure you bring up with your contractor:

    • Material selections and decisions
    • Timing of decisions made
    • Pricing, initially and how changes of scope/selections will be handled
    • Invoicing cycles and payment terms
    • Timelines and scheduling
  3. Best Forms of Communication
    It’s important for you both to understand how you like to be communicated with. Do you both prefer email? Texting? Phone calls? Face-to-face? It’s important to communicate in the format that works best for you both. If you talk to each other in a language that suits you both and in a format that works, then you have a chance to really communicate, not just exchange words.However, it’s important to remember that each form of communication has its place. Texts are great for quick responses, but email is important when an electronic trail is required. Phone or face-to-face are necessary when details need to be explained and discussed so that everyone understands what is being proposed, and to ensure everyone is on the same page. These phone and face-to-face conversations must be backed up with an email or paper trail as it’s easy to forget or even misunderstand the conclusion of the discussion. A formal accounting of the call with decisions and responsibilities outlined is not negotiable.
  4. Communicate Everything! The Good and the Bad
    Communicating both victories and setbacks as soon as possible when situations come up is essential. There is seldom anything that can’t be resolved and figured out. But uncommunicated surprises only undermine the relationship for both parties, which leads to distrust within the relationship. Remember, over communicating is better than under communicating!
  5. How to Communicate as the Client
    Renovations and home builds are a two-way street. The contractor has numerous responsibilities in the process, but so do you as the client. Timely responses to questions and timely decisions on product selections allows the contractor to do their job. It allows him to keep the job on schedule, and hopefully on budget.

Construction itself is a fairly calculated set of events for a qualified contractor. What separates a great contractor from a good contractor or a poor contractor is his ability to manage people, including his own staff, trades and clients alike. Communication skills are essential to all of this and without it there are too many ways for projects and relationships to go sideways… or worse.

The first step to creating a positive home renovation or home build experience is picking the contractor.  You’ll spend a lot of time working through issues so make sure from the outset that you have a strong connection.

From there, take the time to nail down communications expectations – right from the start – and you’ll have the opportunity to make this a smooth, enjoyable and overall great experience!