Communicating with your bathroom contractor

When you choose a contractor to do your bathroom makeover, there are several things you should ask before you agree to the work. Taking it as read that you have your design agreed and they’ve quoted a price for all the work. So, the sorts of things you will need to know are:

 

How will invoices be presented?

Will the contractor present one invoice at the end of the job, or will they want to invoice in stages? It’s important that you know so that funds can be available when necessary.

 

Have you agreed a completion date?

It’s often possible to add a clause that affects the price you pay if the work is delayed.

 

Who will project manage the job?

It needs to be someone that you feel comfortable with and have confidence in.

 

Who will communicate with you?

Presumably this will be the project manager, which makes the points above even more important. It’s also important you know who to speak to if you have any questions or see anything that you’re not happy with. Equally if the there is an unforeseen glitch in the project, you need to know who will be responsible for discussing this with you.

 

Details about the scheduling

Ask your contractor the order of the work to be undertaken. This may seem unnecessary at first, but it will keep you in the loop and help you to estimate how everything is progressing. If it’s the only bathroom in your house then it’s useful for all those who live there too!

 

Which parts of the project will be sub-contracted?

For instance, does the contractor sub-out electrical work? Do they bring in a tiler from elsewhere? Unless you are using a large firm, this is very probable. Try to clarify who is responsible for communication with the sub-contractors and ask for reassurance that they are reliable.

 

How many projects is the contractor working on?

Will the contractor be juggling your job with others, and how will this affect progress? Again this depends on the size of the company, but you may need to emphasise how quickly you need the job completed. This might be a time to reconsider that completion date inclusion.

 

Feasibility

Ask if the contractor has any problems with what you are asking them to do. Do they think it is feasible?

 

Last but not least

You may want to choose your own fixtures for your new contemporary bathroom. If this is the case, check that the contractor is happy with this  – and also check for estimated delivery dates of when the bath, basin, toilet, and other items should be on the premises. This is particularly important if you don’t have storage space.

 

If there are any other materials that you particularly want to source yourself, check that this is OK and again check the lead times.