Industries
Hiring contractors and planning projects.
How to choose · Renovation and building work
Choose a contractor on evidence of comparable finished work, verifiable licensing and insurance where your jurisdiction requires them, a written scope that you can compare line by line across bidders, and a clear answer on who supervises the site day to day. A persuasive salesperson matters less than a stable site manager, named subcontractors and a payment schedule tied to completed work.
Comparison · Renovation and building work
A general contractor sells coordination, accountability and access to reliable trades; managing yourself sells control and saves the management fee but moves scheduling, sequencing, compliance and defect risk onto you. It suits people with time on weekdays, a simple scope and tolerance for disruption, and rarely suits structural, multi-trade or tight-deadline work.
Problems & fixes · Renovation and building work
Overruns mostly come from hidden conditions found once walls and floors are opened, design decisions made after work starts, late-ordered materials, and trades booked in the wrong order. You cannot remove the uncertainty, but you can shrink it through investigation before commencement, firm selections, a sensible contingency and a written variation process.
Requirements · Renovation and building work
Rules differ by country, region and municipality, but permission is commonly required for structural alterations, changes to external appearance or footprint, new or altered electrical, gas and drainage work, and sometimes window replacement or change of use. Check with your local building and planning authority before starting, and keep completion documents, because missing approvals tend to surface at sale or insurance claim.