Hire a contractor or manage the subs ourselves....

This may open up a whole can of worms, but I have to ask. We're looking at remodeling a guest bath and a bath in our bonus room (the guest bath is 9' x 5'. The bathroom in the bonus room is 7' x 5').

We're going to have the popcorn ceiling scraped and skimmed, repaint the ceiling and walls, replace the cabinet and vanity, have the linoleum taken up and new tile put down, and re-use the toilets (for both bathrooms). There's also some thin plywood on the subfloor in the bonus bath that we'll probably have taken up before cement board (or similar product) for the tiles.

We've gotten a few quotes so far, and they range from $7000 to $14000. Since these are pretty small projects, does it make sense to hire a contractor, or would we be better off hiring individual companies ourselves and manage these two projects on our own? It just seems like a lot of money for the size and scope of work. We've never remodeled before, so maybe that's part of the issue to. We weren't sure what to expect.

I removed the baseboard, linoleum, cabinet and vanity in the bonus bath, as well as scraped the popcorn off the ceiling. I can do a lot of the "demo" myself. Any thoughts or opinions are welcome.

 

General contractors have their preferred subcontractors and because the GC can usually offer more-or-less continuous work the sub is more likely to cater to a GC's scheduling. On the other hand, since the homeowner will rarely have enough work to keep a sub busy more than a couple of days at a time the sub is often going to be less available to the homeowner and might even walk from a partially completed job.

Doing your own demo and clean up can save significantly but when hiring subcontractors be sure to specify in writing (a legal contract) start times, finish times and penalties for non-performance. Many subs will walk when you confront them with such a contract but it is the only way to protect yourself.

 

In addition, unless you are free to be available all the time on site, things may not go as you plan. Materials will need to be scheduled at time sensitive event happenings. You don't want a sub waiting on materials, and you don't want them damaging materials you ordered too early.

 

Chandler and Furd speak the truth. For the size if these mods it would be more economical to do it yourself. But if that can't be done I would contract each section on an individual basis as needed. For instance, have all the plumbing roughed in before hiring a carpenter to install cabinetry. All electrical would need to be done prior to most other things. The trick is to put each type of work in an order that can be completed without interfering with the other projects.

The pricing your being quoted is not out of line. I would be wary of the $7000 bid. That would the do it yourself cost.

 

A lot depends on how much time you have to devote to the project and a little on how knowledgeable you are about the work being done. It is cheaper to hire the subs on your own but it does leave you vulnerable to subs that have their main contractors jobs taking precedent over your job and shady subs from taking advantage of you. Hiring a GC transfers all that responsibility to him but you have to pay for that convenience.

 

Even hiring a GC can have its issues and detailing a contract for protection when you are not completely knowledgeable about the sequence and work required can be difficult. That is where selecting an experienced GC who has a local reputation to protect is important.

Ditto on the issues of a home owner hiring their own subs. When times get busy the will go to the contractor who is putting the most food on the table.

If you do the hiring, don't forget requiring the proper certificates of insurance for ALL workers on site, even the suppliers making deliveries.

Learning how to manage subs is as important as learning how to do the work and both are reasonable steps towards a long life of DIY.

Bud

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. Hadn't thought about the possibility of subs walking off the job (or delaying work) in preference to working for a GC.

I'm leaning more towards hiring the different tradesman independently, but now the trick is convincing my wife I think for the scope of this project, it's mangageable. I can work from home, so I could be around while they're on site. Thanks again for all the replies!

 

Just be careful paying up front. Once they have the money they loose the incentive to finish the job. If you can arrange to pay into an escrow account with disbursements based upon pre established thresholds so that the work stays ahead of the contractor.

Also, watch out for mechanics liens and materials that are liened against your house that the contractor was supposed to pay for and didn't. Prior to each disbursement the list of liens needs to be checked to be sure it is clear.

There is also the issue of insurance where a contractor will say some of his workers are subs and they can opt out of workers comp being self employed. In reality they should be classified as employees and he is required to carry WC and prove to you (certificate of insurance) that they are covered. When you start getting detailed about requiring insurance and proof of same, many will disappear because they don't have the insurances. Others will try to talk you out of it. Very slippery slope to hire uninsured workers. One accident and someone else may be living in your home.

Have all contracts signed and dated with performance and penalties. One of the catch 22 issues is once one contractor walks off a job, many others will not want to get involved in the mess they left behind. Like who is responsible for what part of the job.

Know who is supposed to pull the permits and check city hall yourself to be sure what is needed.

Not trying to discourage you, but prepare you.

Bud

 

Over the years I've taken on jobs that involved finishing up another contractor's work. It always costs the customer more than if I had done the job from the start! It's rarely a matter of picking up where the previous contractor left off. I've almost always had to redo stuff that wasn't up to my standards ..... and it's my name/reputation on the finished product.

Be sure to check the references of anyone you hire to work on your house!

IMO there usually isn't a need to pay up front on small jobs. Any established contractor should have an account at his trade's supply store. As a paint contractor I've never asked for or taken any money up front although some trades have a bigger material bill than I typically do. Unless you are totally confident with the contractor it might be wise to make a material payment directly to the supplier.