Managing Contractors Effectively

The best way to keep control of the project is to deal with all of the contractors in a fair, professional and slightly distant manner.

You want to make sure ‘friendship’ does not get in the way of your ability to manage contractor(s), so resist the temptation to make them your friend. Otherwise, you could end up completely dissatisfied with the project and have to live with the result or worse, pay someone else to correct it.

You can always choose to continue your friendship with the contractor when the job is complete, if you are so inclined.

If the selected contractor is a friend, the friend of a friend or related to a friend, tread cautiously, the pitfalls can include the erosion and/or complete loss of your friendship.

Make no mistake, construction can be a rough business. If you want to maintain control, you must be prepared to assert your position forcefully, as it will be required if the contractor tries to bully you. The section Construction – Contractors Can Browbeat Owners talks more about how contractors bully owners and why.

The best way to deal with each contractor is by responding in the manner he/she acts toward you, while at the same time being true to yourself. The more authoritarian they try to be, the more authoritarian you must be. That does not mean that you must be disrespectful, rude or even cuss. That said, there are times when a well-placed F-bomb is shockingly effective at getting your point across, especially if such words are not normally in your vocabulary.