A few weeks ago we got a phone call from our painter. He was clearly angry about the state of the walls on the job he was starting to prep for paint: “If you guys make us follow that sheetrock company again, we’re outta here.” It sounded like serious stuff, so I called the drywall folks and arranged to meet with both subcontractors out on the job that afternoon.

As it turned out, the taping work wasn’t that great – there were dimpled screw holes still showing in the kitchen ceiling, and some of the vertical taped joints in one long hallway weren’t that smooth either. It was nothing that couldn’t be fixed, however, and once the drywall people came back in and took care of the problems, the painter calmed down.

But this is fairly typical of a day in the life of an actual remodeling project: subs pointing the finger at each other, and you as the designer or contractor having to come in to referee the game.

Can you avoid this kind of thing? Probably not altogether, but there may be some procedures you can put in place that can help to minimize problems when you’re trying to get the job built efficiently.

Before Work Starts

If you’re considering hiring a new subcontractor – perhaps you got a great price from a new plumber, you’ve checked their references, seen their work and you’d like to try them out – it’s probably wise to do a face-to-face interview with the principal of the firm before you sign the new contract.

With this owner you should be clear about the way you want things to go: what the scope and schedule of the project is, what you expect and when. You can go over the contract you’d like the new sub to sign, and make it your agreement, not theirs. You can explain how extra work gets performed, if any – and perhaps more importantly, how any additional work has to be signed off before it’s done. You can also discuss the paperwork – invoicing, payments, retentions – and any special rules, such as no late billing, no duplicates by fax and e-mail, and so on.

Meeting with the owner of the subcontracting company may also be a good chance to ask about financial solvency, their insurance and licensing. You can mention that you’re no longer giving deposits before the work starts, and see how that pill gets swallowed.