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What Is a Site (Project) Manager?
A site manager, sometimes referred to as a project manager, is a person who has the necessary skills to be a general contractor but will act with limited responsibility in a construction project. A site manager can be hired either by the general contractor or by the homeowner. The site manager can even be hired instead of using a general contractor! The duties of the site manager will be decided between the site manager and the homeowner but one thing that will be certain is that the cost will be less than that of a full blown general contractor. The cost must be negotiated as either an hourly or fixed price fee.
Do I Need a Site Manager?
Most folks will use a site manager in lieu of a general contractor to save money. They will pay the site manager the reduced fee so that they have experienced support throughout various stages of the home construction process. However, some people who start out as an owner builder will decide to employ a site manager if they have difficulty getting their project in order.
When considering if you will hire a site manager you will be determining if there are facets of construction that you lack the confidence in doing yourself. You may find that you lack the time to oversee everything on your own or you may feel that you do not have enough construction knowledge to recognize problem areas during inspections of sub-contractor work. If you have any reason to feel like you simply can not do it on your own then you should consider hiring a site manager.
How Do I Choose a Site Manager?
Choosing a site manager will be basically the same procedure as if you were choosing a general contractor. You may wonder why this is so. It is because you need the same exact skills and experience from a site manager as you would from a general contractor. You must interview them, speak with references and verify their payment terms. Speaking with and interviewing about 3-5 site managers will be about the right amount to consider. You will first have to get to the group that you will want to consider. Many people do this by wading through phone books, looking on the internet, checking with local material suppliers, and most importantly, speaking with anyone that you know who has built a home recently. Once you narrow this group down you will want to have very consistent interviews.
Having a questionnaire (find a sample questionnaire by clicking here) to use is a great way to make sure that you ask every contractor the same questions. This is important so that you can verify which site manager/s are most likely answering questions in a way that satisfies you. We have assembled a sample list of things to look for in a contractor that you can find here. Make sure that your questionnaire includes a request for various references and if the site manager wants control of the payment or draw schedule.
Be sure that your questionnaire includes a request for various references and the draw schedule by which the contractor would want to work from.
If the General Contractor Uses a Site Manager, What Should I Know?
There are some contractors that will use a site manager that they employ to oversee most activity at your site. It is important to know as much about the site manager as you know about the general contractor in this case. You should know about their experience and work habits. You should know that you can communicate with him/her very well. You should know everything that you can since you have to assume that he/she will spend the most time overseeing the construction of your home.
Getting & Comparing Bids
You should get at least three competitive bids for your project. Bids will vary from contractor to contractor. Sometimes these bids will vary dramatically. Going for the lowest bid is the basic idea but, beware of the "low ball" bid. This can result in unsatisfactory work that will cost you more in the long run. Make sure that the bids include quality materials that are guaranteed by the supplier or manufacturer. Competitive bids are free of charge and will ensure you pay a competitive price for your project. Get three to five estimates on a major project, two to three for the smaller jobs. Fewer estimates won't properly compare products and prices, and anymore than that is unfair to the contractors that take the time to bid.
Selecting a contractor based on lowest price can lead to a catastrophe. The majority of problems that plague home contractors are usually a direct result of a contractor underbidding a job. If one bid is seriously lower than any other, ask that contractor why. It could have been a mistake. Most contractors purchase their building products at relatively the same price. Ask the bidding contractor to double check his specifications and his price. Ask the contractors that had higher bids why they charged more. Sometimes their reasons can make enough sense to sway your thinking. Often you will find many quality conscious contractors like to put more time and labor into a specific project, which can carry its own added value. Getting the lowest price on a contract is not worth the trouble it can cause.
Have 5-10 copies of your construction plans made. It's generally less expensive this way. You can also photocopy the prints if necessary. Always keep one print as your Master Red Line Prints. These are blueprints that reflect changes made during construction and that are marked with red pencil. They are used to update all other prints with red pencil so that new prints aren't constantly being made for each minor change.
Once the bids start coming in, you'll need to look at each one and compare them with one another. Each can look very different, but as long as they cover the same labor and materials, you'll be able to look for bids that are consistently lower in price. Often, a bid is lower due to cheaper materials. Check that all the bids include the same plan specifications. This way you'll know it's a fair comparison and be confident in going with the lower bid. Do not automatically accept the lowest bid in each area and build your house as cheaply as possible. For one thing, a small minority of subcontractors will provide "low ball" bids to get the job and then find a hundred extra things to charge you for. This is why you want the plans to be specific on what products and materials you want. To compare bids fairly, you need them to be the same.
Several work items like interior trim and exterior trim may overlap between subcontractors. Interior trim, for example, is often done by finish carpenters, but cabinet installation and countertop installation may be a separate contractor. You'll need to do some minor scrambling on bids for the overlapping and leftover jobs. But your subcontractors will usually take on these odd jobs if the price is right. You should check that what they'll charge for the job is reasonable.
Sometimes, the subcontractors you contact are too busy to fill out a detailed estimate. Instead, they'll give a price over the phone and promise to follow up with a hard copy bid later. It's not the ideal way to get a bid, but it does happen. You can start with the bid to get the loan process going and change it later if it's off — as long as the banker agrees. For remaining items you that you can't get a figure for, put in a realistic estimate and replace it with the exact figure later. It is important to use that estimate so that your whole budget isn't thrown off.
Ensure that you take a deposit from contractors that receive a blue print from you. $50 is standard. In this way, you will ensure that you get the blue prints back, even if the contractor doesn't bid your work.
Negotiation is a very difficult thing to do (for some people). Ok, you have three bids, and they are all real close. They have bid apples for apples. You like one of the contractors, and feel comfortable with him. But his bid is higher than the other two. What do you do? You call him up and ask him if he can meet a lower price. This is important! You don't want him to meet the other bids, but to be LOWER than the other two bids. Obviously, you don't tell him to beat the lowest price; you give him the price to meet. Wait and see what happens! If he can't meet the price, ask him what he can do. Most of the time he will lower his bid to get the job.
It is important that Contractors supply as much material for the job as possible. They can generally get a better price from suppliers than you can! Also, if the Interior Trim Carpenter has a door that is the wrong swing, HE must take care of it. You don't have time to get the wrong door from the home, go to the door shop and exchange it, and run it back to the home! Life's too short as it is. Ask that all contractors "Turn Key" the job. This means they will supply all labor and material to do their job. You should insist that when they bid the work, they include a material take-off for the job. You will need to compare the different take-offs to ensure they are close to one another.
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