A job built on respect

REMODELING can feel like a game in which both homeowner and contractor are betting on a stranger.

While consumers lose sleep over stretched timelines and skyrocketing budgets, contractors toss and turn over clients who don’t pay on time, expect something for nothing or keep changing their minds, according to a recent survey conducted for Kimberly-Clark, whose Professional Do-It-Yourself business provides solutions for home-improvement projects.

The experience is a lot like surgery, said David Lupberger, author of “Managing the Emotional Homeowner” and a spokesman for Service Magic, an online service that pairs homeowners with pre-screened and customer-rated professionals. “It’s invasive.”

To make the relationship work, he said, the contractor needs to help the consumer understand what’s going to happen and find common ground.

Even with a unifying goal in mind -- as with partners in any business relationship -- problems are going to surface, said Steve Gonzalez, a Florida-based residential contractor and author of “Before You Hire a Contractor: A Construction Guidebook for Consumers.” Still, thorny issues such as shoddy workmanship, which topped the list of homeowner nightmares in the Kimberly-Clark study, can be avoided by hiring a contractor whose idea of quality and integrity matches yours, Gonzalez said. “Most problems arise when consumers select the lowest price bid, which often means a contractor has underbid the project.”

Homeowners who subcontract portions of the work or attempt some of it themselves sometimes inadvertently derail the consumer-contractor relationship by disrupting the primary contractor’s schedule and causing costly delays, Gonzalez said. “When a contractor pulls a permit or is otherwise legally responsible for a project, he or she is unlikely to want unknown subcontractors on the project due to liability issues. Also, subcontractors generally provide services to contractors more readily than homeowners because contractors are the source of additional work, so homeowners may find they are not a priority on subcontractors’ schedules.”

Indecisive owners who don’t meet deadlines for selecting materials or change their mind midstream and clients who don’t or can’t pay on time also can cripple a contractor, said Karen Zieba, vice president for Zieba Builders Inc. in Long Beach.

Despite inherent tensions, experts say, homeowners and contractors who treat each other with respect have the best chance of making the partnership work. “It’s key in any relationship, and construction is no different,” Gonzalez said. “A ‘my way or no way’ attitude won’t work from either side. Contractors need to allow consumers the time to express what they want. Consumers, on the other hand, need to do their homework.”

Develop a plan

Whether clipping magazine photos, choosing materials, exchanging ideas with a spouse or friend or learning about current costs, consumers should educate themselves, Gonzalez said. Define a goal and develop a plan before hiring a contractor, he added. “Consumers who don’t plan ahead and leave decisions to the contractor set the stage for problems.”

In 2005, Wally Milatz, a district sales manager for General Motors Corp.’s ACDelco division, set the stage for success when adding a master bedroom, walk-in closet and luxury bathroom above the garage of his North Hills home. He planned ahead, worked with an architect, stayed involved and available daily and took the addition from dream to reality in three months. And, most important, he hired right.

When checking references and interviewing the four contractors bidding for the work, Milatz listened for solid answers to his probative questions and looked for sincerity and a proactive approach. Homework complete, he settled on Larry Jones, owner of Roadrunner Construction Inc. in Van Nuys.

“Larry was a participant in the job,” Milatz said, adding that the contractor outworked all of his employees.

When a contractor and a homeowner become partners, said Jones, who has worked in construction since 1982, they can accomplish great things.

“That same project could have taken six months,” Jones said. But Milatz “knew exactly what he wanted. He was decisive.”

To find a contractor who cares about your project and his reputation, talk with friends, family or acquaintances. Check with a local realty agent or home-improvement store. Or post a remodeling request with an online referral service such as ImproveNet, at www.improvenet.com, or Service Magic, at www.servicemagic.com, which charge service professionals a fee to be listed and matched with consumers looking for home-repair work and then allows them to provide a post-service rating and review.

Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com) also lets members rate service providers and contractors based on response times, price and quality of work. Service providers can’t pay to be on it, however. They are added to the online database by Angie’s List subscribers, consumers reporting on firms they have hired.

Experts say you should get three or four referrals for people skilled in the trade you need. And check the contractor’s references with current clients and those from several years back to see how previous work has held up over time.

Check references

When calling references, Zieba said, ask if the homeowner feels comfortable with the way the contractor handled changes on the job, if the site was clean, if the owner feels that he or she received good value for the investment and if he or she would use the same remodeler again. If possible, Zieba recommended, visit one of the contractor’s current job sites to see if there is debris everywhere. Look at the trucks to see if they are well maintained. And check the professional appearance of workers.

“Talk to their suppliers,” she said. “And find out if the contractor has good relationships with their vendors.”

Ultimately, get involved. Keep a file with documentation, copies of building permits, bills and invoices, canceled checks and photos of the job in process. Be present during building inspections. Schedule regular meetings with the contractor, and make notes outlining discussions, timelines, change orders and expectations on both sides regarding payments, decisions, materials and labor in advance.

State laws give homeowners the right to pay no more than 10% of the project price, or $1,000, in advance, whichever is less. Some contractors might request a little more down, the bulk of the payment before the job ends and 10% upon or within 30 days after completion.

Whatever the payment schedule, said Thomas A. Ramsey, a Long Beach business lawyer who specializes in business and construction law, make sure you’re comfortable, and don’t pay in cash or ahead of schedule. Gonzalez suggested consumers finance large-scale jobs and let the lender handle the payment schedule.

Regardless of the size of the job, project changes or additions, commonly known as scope creep, can be costly for both sides, Zieba said. Scope creep not only increases the price of a job but also can have a ripple effect and put the builder behind on other jobs.

Price increases are not uncommon. Gonzalez said consumers can expect a reasonable budget increase of about 5% to 10% on bigger jobs. Milatz’s $175,000 addition included a $15,000 budget increase when he opted to make some quality improvements. It didn’t diminish his satisfaction with the process.

Owners think that when they get into these contracts, they can talk the contractor into change, he said, “and it’s not going to cost more. But that’s a fallacy. Everything has a price. And in most cases, you get what you pay for.”

Michelle Hofmann is a Los Angeles freelance writer. She can be reached at michelle hofmann@earthlink.net.