Whether you're building a new home or renovating, the construction process can sometimes be a long, and quite frankly confusing process. But don't worry, below are some great tips to get you started. For those of you who may be considering taking on a construction project, we've put together a little something to give you an idea of what you can expect throughout the process, along with some pro tips to help you get the best results! Keep in mind that all contractors, plumbers, and electricians operate differently and may complete each phase in a slightly different order. However, these steps are a good rule of thumb to base your project timeline off of.
For my master bath remodel, I decided to act as the general contractor which means I hold the sole responsibility for the project and handle all items such as scheduling subs, reviewing bids, drafting project schedule and so much more. The most important piece to this is you need to be physically present to manage the job. You need to be around in order to oversee the work and ensure the subs that say they are there working - are in fact there working. Since I work from home, this seemed like something I could take on. And since I am in the industry and would have been watching over the project regardless - I decided to take on the role of GC in order to save cost (and hopefully time)!
Do I really need to hire a General Contractor or can I just do it myself?
We get this question so often and the answer is yes - with a big BUT in there. You can absolutely be your own general contractor in fact taking on this job can save you anywhere between 10-20% of project cost. The BUT is that it requires a lot of time and more importantly a lot of knowledge. If you're considering spearheading your renovation process, you want to make sure you have a good understanding of project scope, schedule and what subcontractors will be needed. If you have a smaller project coming up, this may be a good time to test out if this process works for you. But sometimes it's the smallest projects that bring the biggest headaches.
Organization is key here! Before you even start the process, create a timeline of how long the each process should take to ensure that you can start each step right after the other. Being in charge of the schedule means it's now your responsibility to make sure things run as smoothly as possible in order to avoid unforeseen costs or hiccups.
Be available! Since you'll be in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly and on time, you'll need to be available to check in on the project or go to the site if an issue arises. If you are able to work from home, this approach is totally doable. However, if you have a 9-5 job that's a 20 minute commute from your home, being your own general contractor isn't very practical. In this case, hiring someone else to manage the job will save you a lot of time, stress, and unforseen hiccups that could delay the schedule or cost you more money in the long run.
Well, how do I know how much things should cost?!
Whether you decide to hire or do the general contractor work yourself, it's essential to have a good grasp on what to expect when it comes to projected cost and timeline. When getting bids, one simple way to look at them is to break the bid price down by labor hours. Let's say you get a plumbing bid for $6,800 for labor. If it takes them two 7 hour days to complete all the necessary work, then you can divide the total bid price by the amount of hours. For this example, a $6,800 bid for 2 days, works out to about $485/hour. A pretty outrageous amount of money - right?! If you see a red flag like thism brign it up to the GC or your sub and question the amount of work required. A few things to keep in mind when reviewing bids:
- Remember that there is both materials and labor involved in a bid. Always ask the contractor to break these out to gauge the time vs. the material cost.
- Going with the less expensive bid isn't always the right answer. Every contractor has varying levels of skill and experience and this is generally reflected in the quality of work. Be mindful of who you are wanting to work with and more importantly - who you would trust in your home!
THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS:
*can vary!
DEMO
"It looks worse before it looks better right?" aka the words I tell myself every other day. The first step of this process should be talking with your general contractor about the design of the new project and what items need torn out and which ones stay. Remember that drywall, flooring, or ceilings will need to be removed in order to acces plumbing and electrical changes. As messy as it can get, this is probably one of my favorite steps because it's when you forget what it looked like before and can start to visualize the new design!
FRAMING
Next up, framing! Framing is the process of locating new walls, ceiling soffits, and ceiling heights to fit your design. During this phase, it's important to coordinate with plumbing, electrical, and HVAC in case they need more than a typical 4 inch wall cavity to run their items. For instance, most exhaust for dryers are 6 inches in diameter, which requires a wall to be framed out a little deeper.
PLUMBING/HVAC/ELECTRICAL/ROUGH-INS
During this step, all outlets, vents, plumbing, and rough-ins are created. What's a rough-in you may ask? Rough-ins are created in the areas where any plumbing or electrical work will be going and don't already exist. For example, if you're renovating a laundry room, the rough-ins would include electrical locations for washer and dryer units, HVAC venting, and plumbing locations for the washer and sink.
DRYWALL
Getting drywall in is the step where you really start to see the design come alive. Pro tip: make sure you look over all the electrical, plumbing, and any measurements in the renovation before carrying on with this step. Drywall is not something you want to have to pay to redo. In order to save yourself some pain and money, it's always best to double check everything before carrying on! If you're planning on installing tile, those areas should get tile backer panels instead of drywall. This backer panel is installed the same time drywall goes in but is typically installed by tile sub.
CABINETS
For this phase, I always have the cabinets put in before the painters come to do the painting. I prefer this route because I would rather my painter to be able to get all the painting done at once, rather than coming to the job-site twice! Most painters prefer this as well. Keep in mind that if you're staining your cabinets on-site, your painter will also handle this work.
TRIM
Whether you and your painter have decided to put your cabinets in before or after painting the walls, you ALWAYS want to do the trim after you've placed your cabinets into place.
This phase includes all wall base, quarter-round for hard surfaces, door casings, and window casings. If you're doing any specialty finishes such as shiplap, wall paneling, or even a built-in bench, your trim carpenter will be able to bid that work. Cabinets need to be in place prior to trim work to ensure that all the trim can be fit around your cabinets. Most cabinets are put in without base toe-kicks, so your trim carpenter will handle this work as well. Pro Tip: Most framers do trim carpentry work, so you could use the same framer you used earlier to complete your trim work too!
PAINT
Paint is pretty straight- forward, but there are a couple things that you should ask when getting paint bids:
- All cabinetry and trim work should be sprayed. This results in a more durable finish
and eliminates brush strokes.
- When painting cabinets, the interior of your cabinets are most likely melamine,
which don't need painted and should remain white. Melamine is a glossy surface and
doesn't accept paint well.
- If you're installing new trim and planning on painting it, make sure you specify MDF
pre-primed trim in lieu of solid wood. This material results in a smoother surface and
is much more cost effective.
- Wondering about what sheens to use? Check out my blog post here where I
outline everything you need to know!
COUNTERTOPS
After the paint process is complete, the countertops are the next thing to go in! Countertops can be templated the second your cabinets are installed. Lead times for countertop fabrication can be anywhere from 1 week to 6 weeks, so it's crucial to get the templaters in the mintue your cabinets get set. They can then work on fabricating your tops, while painting is being done.
FLOORING
The last major step of your construction project is getting the flooring installed. Flooring goes in last in order to fit around cabinetry, islands, built-ins, etc. This is also to ensure that your flooring is protected and not damaged throughout the construction process. Note that there are some flooring types, such as hardwood that require trim work to go in after the flooring is installed.
FINISH WORK
You did it! You made it to the final step! During this phase, your plumber and electrician will need to come back to the site in order to install all faucets, specialty lighting, outlet coverings, and toilets. In addition, there are final details such as door hardware, window treatments, and of course decor!
I told you - the construction process is easy! 😂 If you have a small or large project coming up, keep this in your back pocket! Want to make the process easier and your project turn out awesome? Have us help! 😊