Important Tips for Construction Projects & Landscaping Projects
If you are planning a construction or landscaping project, there is important advice in this discussion below. This article is the result of decades of experience and research from both sides of construction/ landscaping projects, and thus offers a unique perspective and insight.
We help a number of clients who know that they have issues with memory/ recall, or with understanding what they read or hear. Typical diagnoses include mercury toxicity, CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome), ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), Lyme & Co, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), etc. These issues wax and wane, as everyone’s health does.
However, when you are planning or in the midst of a construction project- big or small, whether it’s landscaping, mold mitigation, new construction, or remodeling, you really need to be firing on all cylinders, so to speak- or, you need someone to help manage the project for you. Otherwise, you will find yourself dealing with various issues as a result, including being left with no contractor in the middle of a construction project. This happens more than one might think in the construction business, where construction is halted in the middle due to various problems that could have been averted by the customer.
(Though, let me be clear- contractors can be at fault as well, but this article is aimed towards customer and what you can do on your end to ensure a successful project.)
This is some very important advice that I feel strongly led to share.
Please heed these words. Ponder them.
Special note:If you are unable to make it through reading these tips, that could indicate that you need the extra help we can provide, both via in-person services and remote consultations. You are always welcome to print out articles to read them at your leisure as well.
And now for the legal mumbo-jumbo: This is not professional information or advice and is provided for information purposes only. This is not legal advice, and any actions you take is at your own risk.
Know that there will be surprises.
We always recommend budgeting above any estimates. Estimates are just that- estimates. They cannot account for any and all surprise issues. It’s simply impossible to know the future, and to expect otherwise is both unreasonable and unkind to the contractor.
For mainstream projects, we often recommend a 25% additional budget, as building material pricing can (and does) change overnight. Contractors have no control over that, assuming they are not marking up the materials. Some contractors mark up material pricing. We don’t. Ever.
For specialized (MCS/ healthy home) construction or remodeling, I actually recommend doubling the initial estimate. Truly. Most people say they want a healthy home, but aren’t prepared for what lies beyond the pretty surface. What lies beyond costs money to address properly, and most homeowners and contractors don’t actually understand the health implications of the home itself, nor basic building biology/ building science.
The construction industry today is all about speed- not health. Thus, the epidemic of moldy, decaying buildings all around us. If you’re remodeling, expect surprises. Anything out of the contractor’s control can lead to additional expenses. Don’t play the blame game here. Life is messy, and so is construction/ landscaping. No one can anticipate every possible issue that may arise.
Surprises mean money, plain and simple. Plan for it. Expect it.
Respect others’ time.
This is of extreme import. Estimates and initial meetings may not cost you anything, but it costs the contractor both their time and expenses for travel. If you aren’t seriously prepared to spend money, then please don’t waste others’ precious time, energy, and resources.
With that said, know that estimates can take hours upon hours of unpaid time to develop depending on the scope of the project. How many hours a week do you work for free? If you aren’t serious, don’t ask for an estimate. Asking for estimates repeatedly but never hiring someone to do the work will guarantee that the contractor will eventually stop wasting their time and may ghost you or otherwise move on.
We’ve had contractors ghost us when we’ve been extremely kind and respectful.
Please, exhibit basic human decency here. Yes, some contractors are terrible. But not all are, and if you treat good contractors poorly, you will run them off. The Golden Rule applies here. Everyone has a breaking point.
Know that travel time is never, ever free.
Business models vary, but someone is paying for travel time, somehow. Someone is paying for the hourly rate, gas, wear and tear on vehicles, and insurance costs. You don’t know the contractor’s business model, so don’t try to tell them whether or not they charge for travel time. If you don’t own the business, then you don’t know how everything is factored in, and where.
Don’t try to state that you’ve never been charged for travel time by other contractors.
You have. Those contractors just weren’t honest and transparent with you. You paid for travel time and expenses, whether it was via “other fees,” a call-out fee, minimum visit charge, it was reflected in an overall quote, or the contractor inflates their hourly rates to account for the time and expense.
You paid for travel time.
Don’t assume the worst.
There’s a good chance that – if he/she is a good one- your contractor did not, in fact, charge you for every screw or every piece of wire, and if they clearly are informing you of how they are trying to do the right thing in a difficult situation, that’s something to take note of.
Don't behave as though your contractor is the enemy. Most are team-focused, and this includes you, the customer. Approach the project with a team mentality. Everyone wants a positive outcome. Treating as though a handyman, landscaper, or contractor is the enemy is a recipe for disaster.
Beware: people talk. If you treat contractors poorly, soon no one worthwhile will agree to work with you.
Know what you don’t know.
Don’t try to tell a contractor how long a task will take them. You don’t know. You aren’t them.
If you’ve never done it, or haven’t invested weeks/months/years into independent research into a topic, you probably don’t know much about it and thus have not yet formed a careful, accurate opinion.
Let’s not be prideful and act as though we are knowledgeable about a topic from a quick Google search, shall we? There’s a reason why almost every home in the United States is moldy and toxic. It’s not because Google pushes accurate content, and it’s not because proper mold mitigation/ building best practices are observed by the masses.
Know that this is already hard work!
Construction, remodeling, handyman services, and landscaping is very taxing work. Estimates are hard work. Running a small business is hard work. Gaining customers who don’t make you want to jump out a window is hard work. Dealing with constant emails/ texts/ phone calls from people who never follow through is unpaid work. Small business taxes are hard work. Invoicing is work, too, typically unbilled for in these industries.
Strive to make life easier for others, not harder. Once again, I invoke the Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated.
Read before you sign.
This is something that’s been indoctrinated into society via the television and movies, but please- read your contract before you sign it, for goodness sake! You are agreeing to the terms. Don’t try to complain about what you signed once the bill arrives.
With that said, sometimes long-term contracts need to be renegotiated, but that should come after you pay a bill in full.Don’t expect others to ever do work for you again if you refuse to behave honorably in this regard.
Gird up the loins of your mind!
I have to be blunt here… the things we have seen! Your contractor is not your personal emotional punching bag, marriage counselor, or therapist. We must all take responsibility for our own emotions, thoughts, and interpersonal issues.
If you and your spouse do not communicate effectively, you may need to put off projects and focus on your marriage. Especially when it comes to significant projects such as remodeling or new construction, additional stress on an already tenuous relationship can have serious consequences. Many a marriage has been pushed beyond its limits during a home build. Smaller projects come with their own unexpected surprises.
Expect problems. to arise. Be mentally and emotionally prepared for them, no matter the size of the project. That’s life!
The electrician we hired for our healthy home was fantastic, but nearly every time he called me, it was with a new problem. The third or fourth call, he hesistated- and I asked him what was wrong. He shared that he was concerned that every time he called, it was with bad news…. and some people don’t take that well.
Having taken hold of my sound mind, I understood that problems are part of any projects, and the larger the project, the more potential problems could arise. I knew he was doing his best. That’s what mattered, and that’s what I said.
I made his job (and thus, his life) easier, rather than harder. And as a result, I knew he was going to continue to treat me fairly.
My brain and my emotions are my responsibility. Your brain and your emotions are your responsibility.
Don’t ask questions repeatedly. (Don’t waste others’ time.)
There is an exception here, and that is for clients who are both in-person and consultation clients, who have been honest with themselves and admit that they are struggling with memory/ cognition. In that case, the time in answering questions multiple times is being billed for.
The problem here is that due to the world in which we are residing, memory and reading comprehension are a struggle for most people today. Asking a contractor the same question multiple times (again, unless one is paying for this extra energy expenditure) is disrespectful of their time.
Once again, I ask: how many unpaid hours a week do you work at your job?
Thus, I have recommendations to hedge against this, as solid contractors have limited time and will eventually walk away from those who might be referred to as time- and energy- sucks. (This is of extreme import for many of those we serve with environmental illness or mold illness, who need the best contractors they can find as they have been medically harmed by mainstream construction and associated practices.)
Before asking a question, do these things first:
1) Re-read the contract. You’d be surprised how many times the answer lies in the original contract.
2) Re-read the last email/ text, if it was confusing to you. Read it three times.
3) If you are still confused, give it a day. Maybe you’re having a bad brain day. It happens to us all. Almost all decisions and questions can wait a day.
4) If you still don’t know the answer, re-read previous emails and texts. Again, you’d be surprised how often the question has already been answered or the information already provided.
Know when you need help.
Sometimes things are just too much to handle. That’s OK. Admit it to yourself, and ask who can help. A spouse? Another trusted loved one? Perhaps you need someone else to help manage things- which is something we offer, both via email consultation and in-person.
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