Choosing a contractor for building a house. How to choose a contractor for general construction

11.08.2023

How to choose a construction team and contractor, and how to organize the process of building a cottage so that, with minimal time and effort, you get exactly the house you wanted.

Stage one: experience, services, prices

The first recommendation when choosing a contractor is to consider only experienced companies with a good reputation. Of course, a company without experience is a definite gamble. However, you shouldn’t immediately run away from a newcomer to the market: a startup can offer very good conditions, since it is in its interests to develop a portfolio, reviews and receive some working capital. Therefore, it is quite possible that such a company will try to earn a reputation by building well and agreeing to significant discounts. However, this should only be done if you have the time, energy and knowledge to completely control the process; in other cases, it is better to choose a company with extensive experience and a good reputation.

In addition to experience, you need to pay attention to the volume of construction. Experience is a very important component. Therefore, at the stage of studying the site, look at the completed projects. The higher the price segment in which the company operates, the fewer projects it will probably implement, since each of these houses is a one-piece exclusive product. In the “economy” segment, it is logical if there are really a lot of implemented projects - up to several dozen per year.

In addition, you need to pay attention to how many construction technologies the company uses. If there are many of them, this is a reason for doubt. As a rule, reliable companies specialize in one or two technologies in which they achieve high skill, train staff, prescribe regulations and monitor new products. If you are offered aerated concrete, laminated timber, and frame houses, such a company probably works with subcontractors, and can itself guarantee little.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the prices. The price tags stated on the website may often not reflect the whole picture. So, if one company offers to build the same house for two million, and the second for five, this may mean that the first marketing interest did not voice the entire amount. For example, this is how much a house costs without a foundation, floors and the cost of work, but you will find out about this at best in the office, so at this stage it is better to focus not on the price, but on other indicators.

And, of course, at the first stage we should take advantage of the advantage of our time - the availability of information. Having chosen several companies with interesting offers, you need to take the time to study reviews about them. However, on the company’s own website they will probably only be positive, so it is advisable to look at reviews on several specialized sites, and also look for them on social networks. Don’t be too lazy to create a new topic yourself and ask people to talk about their experience of working with this or that company - this way you will get an objective picture.

Second stage: negotiations and personnel intelligence

When meeting with a manager in the office, you should not hesitate to ask more questions. The first indicator for you is how “on topic” he is. A good, reliable company will have trained and competent staff. If the manager begins to “float”, if your questions baffle him, then this should be alarming. Secondly, be sure to ask if you can go and look at the facilities under construction. The best option is if you suggested it yourself and gave many addresses.

Pay attention to whether there is a big difference between the initial conditions stated on the site and what the manager says. Of course, many use tricks to attract a buyer, but the more serious the discrepancy, the more reason to suspect that this is not the only liberties that are allowed here.

It makes sense to ask about the company's employees. For example, what teams build houses? Are they subcontractors or are they full-time employees? The second option is preferable. In a normal company, all business processes will be established, that is, there will not be teams from the open market taken for the project, but permanent employees. It will also be significant if the company has one or more architects on staff - this demonstrates a willingness to work with the client, with his preferences, and will also serve as indirect evidence that the company has a lot of orders, since an outsourcer would be hired for one-time work. Also, the presence of a full-time designer or an entire design department can be regarded as an additional guarantee of the quality of constructed houses, since specialists will be able to optimally select materials, engineering systems and calculate all the nuances of the building’s design.

Third stage: going to the construction site

Construction is the main litmus test that will help make the final decision. Even if you are not very well versed in the intricacies of the construction process, just look at how the site is maintained. Is trash scattered? Are the materials piled up haphazardly? Are the workers dressed in what they wear, smoking and lounging around? So it’s better to look for another company. If everything is folded neatly, there is no dirt, all the craftsmen are at work and dressed in a company uniform - this is already a marker of responsibility and organization.

You can also take a closer look at the construction process itself. Of course, it is difficult for a non-professional to understand the technological subtleties, but there are still quite obvious things. For example, if your roof is insulated not from below, but from above, and even in the rain, then it is logical that it will get wet and become like wet cotton wool. This is a gross violation of technology, no matter what the workers tell you.

If something has alerted you, but you are not sure whether it is right or wrong, then simply ask what the workers are doing right now and why? At the same time, ask how long they have been with this company, whether they are on staff or not. You can also take a few photos, and then look for matches on the Internet or find out on specialized sites (forums), say, whether the insulation or insulation is installed on the right side, or whether the sequence of actions is not broken.

Stage four: transparency of the contract

The contract is your reservation for the entire time until the completion of construction, as well as after it. The easiest (but most expensive) way is to bring with you a lawyer who is knowledgeable in real estate contract law. If you want to do it yourself, you will have to be careful. There may be one or several agreements. For example, the customer himself, for some reason, can break it down into stages, for example, separately conclude a contract for the construction of the “box” of the house, separately for utility networks and separately for finishing.

All necessary items - estimates, design, and so on are drawn up as appendices to the contract. That is, you should not indicate that under the contract the company undertakes to build a house six by six meters, without explaining what kind of house it is. You also need to specify where and how the house is located on the site.

Sometimes there are anecdotal formulations, for example, the estimate states: “the foundation is one piece; the walls are four pieces.” It is not right. Therefore, you should be wary if the entire contract for the construction of a house fits on two pages. In fact, it is accompanied by a fairly large package of documents: construction schedules, payment schedules, design, estimates, technical conditions, and so on.

Warranty obligations should be examined separately. The warranty must separate the load-bearing structures of the house and other components. By law, the customer building a house has five years to discover deficiencies. If the warranty period is shorter, this is a warning sign. However, a very long warranty will also look strange and meaningless, as if the company is trying to pull the wool over your eyes and convince you of its coolness and reliability. In fact, an anecdotal situation may arise when the warranty is still valid, but the company has been gone for a long time. So you need to look at the company comprehensively: if it is experienced and well-known, then it does not need reputational risks, which means it will do everything to prevent defects during construction or to correct as quickly as possible any problems discovered afterward.

Ideally, before starting construction, it would not hurt to sign a special act of acceptance and transfer of the construction site, according to which everything that happens on the construction site is transferred under the responsibility of the contractor. That is, compliance with safety regulations, safety of materials, order at a construction site - all this should become his, and not your, area of responsibility, and this needs to be recorded.

Stage five: control during construction

If your contractor allows it, you can hire your own engineer to supervise it. However, it also happens that the contractor does not allow this, then you need to be especially careful during acceptance. It's difficult to understand without construction knowledge, but you can understand something if you know what to look for.

You can also insist on taking the work in stages. Separately the foundation, separately the walls and so on. Most companies have internal quality control - you can and should ask how it happens, who is responsible for it. If suddenly they tell you, “We have experienced teams, we don’t need to supervise them,” this is again a dangerous moment.

For example, we have multi-stage control: directly in the team, the foreman monitors the work, compliance with all instructions and technologies, and the next level is our internal technical supervision, which can stop all work at any time if something was done in violation. At the same time, the foremen have their own - monetary - motivation so that the work does not stop, so they are interested in doing the work correctly.

But there are companies that are reluctant to do this. As a rule, they have the task of completing as many stages as possible quickly and unnoticed, for example, burying, pouring concrete, walling up everything that could reveal a defect or violation of technology. Here, too, it wouldn’t hurt to invite a specialist to perform the inspection - it will cost less and save you from unpleasant hassle if the flaws show up after a year or two.

However, the main thing to remember is: the more attentive you were in the first stages, the less worries you will have later. A good, responsible contractor will truly save you headaches and unplanned expenses for years to come.

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Develop a construction organization plan.

To do this, on the site plan they think in advance and mark out the places for storing materials, placing construction mechanisms, access for vehicles and construction machines, routes for supplying a temporary electrical network and water supply.

There are two options for storing materials on site:

Contractors or material suppliers may bring them up gradually, as necessary for this stage of work. In this case, the size of the areas for storing materials is minimal.
It can be profitable to purchase and deliver materials in advance when suppliers provide seasonal discounts. It is already more difficult to place a large amount of materials on a site in a development-free zone. The plot size may not be sufficient. It is not uncommon to look for backup sites outside the site.

At the construction site it is necessary to provide place to place a concrete mixer. Nearby there should be areas for storing sand, crushed stone, as well as a warehouse with cement and dry mixes. Electricity and water must be supplied to the concrete mixer.

Wall materials (bricks, blocks, timber, logs, etc.), which are used in large quantities at a construction site, are stored closer to the house under construction so that they do not have to be carried far.

It is convenient to have a canopy at a construction site— a workplace for preparing materials and manufacturing structures used at a construction site. For example, such training is required when working with fittings, wooden parts, as well as plumbers and roofers.

A large number of materials must be protected from moisture or sun during storage. These are lumber and other wood parts, mineral wool products, dry mixes, drywall, roofing felt, etc. Other materials are easily damaged or easily lost or carried away. Storage of such materials requires the construction or presence of closed warehouses.

When purchasing materials and equipment for future use, evaluate the cost of organizing their storage. It is possible that purchasing materials in advance will not be profitable.

Construction usually begins with the construction of an entrance to the site. Taking into account the fact that the drive will be used by multi-ton trucks to deliver sand, gravel, concrete and other building materials to the site, the arrangement must be approached thoroughly and done well and for a long time. It is advantageous to place the entrance to the construction site at the site of the future permanent entrance to the house.

Think about the question in advance drainage of rain and melt water from the construction site. The foundation pit and trenches under the foundation should not be flooded. You cannot place a foundation on soil that has become soggy from water. To drain water, drainage ditches are dug before work begins.

We bring and we install a trailer on the site, where builders can hide from the rain and store tools. For this purpose, some build a temporary shed out of boards on the site.

If possible, we will electricity supply work from the power supply to the cabin. If not, then we purchase and install a generator to supply electricity to power tools, water pumps and other devices. The generator will also come in handy after connecting to the power grid as a backup source of power supply in the house. The recommended electrical power of the generator is at least 5-7 kW.

The next step could be to install a fence around the site to ensure the safety of materials and other property during construction.

To protect against theft I recommend installing a video surveillance system with cloud storage, since the choice is huge. Hang the first camera openly and clearly. On a pole at the edge of the property overlooking the house and outbuildings. But hang the second one on the other side towards the neighbor, so that she can see both the house and the first camera. But the builders should not say anything about it. And additionally install a couple of infrared lights for night mode.

The hired builders are told that there is video surveillance, and there will be strict sanctions for theft and so on. Everyone must sign a liability agreement. Install cameras, it's profitable. :)

We are solving the issue of providing construction with water. It is beneficial to immediately build a permanent source of water supply provided for by the project - a well or a well, or connect to the central water supply network of the village. But this process takes time. To speed things up, install a container on the site and fill it with imported water.

We buy building materials

You can entrust the purchase of building materials to the contractor performing the work - you have less worries.

But if you want to save money, then take on this work yourself. Research the market, collect all possible information about the prices and quality of building materials in the construction region. It is safer to buy materials from well-known manufacturers, but it can be cheaper to find materials from less well-known brands, but not inferior in quality to the first ones.

Don't buy materials that are too cheap. Remember the basic rule of the market - quality costs money.

When purchasing large quantities of goods be sure to bargain with sellers. During periods of reduced demand (usually November to February), price discounts are often provided. Buy materials in advance during this time. Get discounts from sellers for purchasing wholesale quantities of goods, free delivery, unloading, and installment payments.

Agree or find out the conditions for the return of materials in case there are excess, unused materials left at the construction site.

Choosing a contractor to build a house

It is better to entrust the construction of a house to a construction organization. A conscientious, reputable contractor will save you from a lot of hassle in organizing construction, purchasing and delivering materials, from the need to search for and negotiate with construction teams, supervise them and resolve various controversial issues with them.

The construction organization will be responsible to you for the timing and quality of work, safety of materials and security of the construction site. But you will have to pay for all this.

In order to save money, many developers decide to take on part of the work of building a house themselves. The developer carries out some of the work using his family. To perform other work, it hires a team of builders - workers working under a contract, as individuals or as individual entrepreneurs.

When choosing a contractor, you should first of all focus on the recommendations of his previous customers. A conscientious contractor will have no difficulty in providing such recommendations. Recommendations can be either written or oral.

Recommendations should confirm your ability to perform the types of work and use the materials that will be used at your construction site. Try to look at the objects and communicate with customers for whom the contractor has already worked before you.

Before starting negotiations with the contractor, try to find out the cost range in the region for the construction work that will be performed at your construction site.

Good specialist, professional team:

Specializes in performing a certain type of work, one or two, no more.
Knows how and does not forget to read project drawings. Before concluding a contract, he will inspect the work site, familiarize himself with the project and the estimate (if any) in order to find out and evaluate the conditions, volume and nature of the work, as well as what materials will have to be dealt with. Only after this does the conversation start about the price of the work.
He doesn’t charge an amazingly low price for his work and doesn’t ask for an advance.
Knows his own worth, no more than +20% of the market price. A professional earns well because he works quickly. With a high price there will be few orders. Therefore, it is not beneficial for him.
I am ready to sign a written contract to perform work with payment according to the estimate (or other negotiated price) and do not start talking about “paying additional expenses.”
Has his own tools, including power tools and small construction machines used for work - a concrete mixer, welding machine, electric generator, etc. Not having the right tool slows down your work. That’s why the pros always have a lot of it, for all occasions.
Doesn't start work until all the material is purchased and delivered. And it doesn’t matter who buys it. Sitting and waiting is not for the pros.
Pros don't have a second/main job.

Unfortunately, the majority of contractors offering their services cannot be considered conscientious professionals.

Contractors you shouldn't deal with:

The same workers are ready to do everything from foundation to roofing to electrical work.
They don’t know how and don’t want to watch the project. They “know better how to do it” and do what is easier for them. As a result, the windows are in the wrong place, there are not enough ventilation ducts, and the opening for the stairs is small in size.
When concluding a contract, they are ready to perform any work without looking at the project, set a low price for their services, and then, in the process of work, use various ways to obtain additional money from the customer.
They ask for an advance, and after receiving the money they disappear. Good - if not forever. It often turns out that they have not yet finished work on a neighboring construction site and continue to work there.
They choose the moment and offer the customer, either pay more, or we're gone.
They state that the work turned out to be more difficult or more extensive than they thought and therefore they need to pay extra.
They claim they used more materials than planned. To confuse the developer, materials are delivered to the site in small batches, so that it is impossible to track the total amount of delivered material.
They inflate prices for materials purchased by the contractor.
They convince the customer to do something faster and easier than is accepted by the design and technology of work, as a rule, to the detriment of quality.
Under various pretexts, they try not to show the customer (technical supervision engineer) the results of the work, which will then be hidden. For example, they line a wall with plasterboard without showing how and how much insulation is laid underneath it.

The developer can hire a separate specialist - a foreman - to organize construction. The foreman is ready to take on the work of organizing construction, finding workers and concluding contracts with them, purchasing and delivering materials and other work. The services of a foreman free the developer from many worries, and are cheaper than if a construction company were involved in building the house.

Don’t fall for the “foreman-fraud” bait. Such a “boss” with a good mobile phone, a middle-class car, a loud, confident voice, ready to solve any construction issues without any problems, will try to get a good advance from you. After receiving an advance, at best, he will send random people just recruited from an advertisement in the newspaper to the construction site. After this, his phone will become inaccessible, and he himself will become elusive. Or the foreman may disappear after receiving the first payment for the work performed.

Everything described above dishonesty may occur, both from private specialists and teams, and from construction companies with a big name, an office and a secretary. An expensive contractor is not always the best, and cheap workers will force you to spend more.

Advice for the developer - how to properly build a relationship with the contractor

Enter into a written contract with the contractor based on the design and estimate.
Conclude a contract for separate short stages of work so that you can quickly get rid of an unscrupulous contractor. A threat on your part to refuse to continue cooperation disciplines the contractor.
Hire specialized teams. One is for constructing foundations and laying walls, another is for installing a roof, a third is for installing windows, etc.
The contract clearly states what needs to be done, when, and the amount of payment.
In the contract, be sure to define penalties for the contractor for violating the deadlines for completing the work.
Everyone must sign an agreement on financial responsibility for construction materials, equipment and expensive tools.
Try to avoid paying an advance. Provide in the contract for stage-by-stage payment for work performed. Pay only in full done and accepted you stages of work. Unpaid money is your main tool of pressure on the contractor.
Upon completion of the work, pay the contractor no more than 90% of the agreed amount. You will pay the remaining 10%, for example, after three months, after eliminating hidden defects that can be identified during this time. Specify this condition in the contract.
Use the services of a professional technical supervision engineer or an experienced builder whom you trust. How a technical supervision engineer can help, see the beginning of the article. Contractors will often use your inexperience with construction to their advantage.
Try not to go beyond business relationships with contractors. This will discipline the contractor and will not allow him to manipulate you.
Decisively break off relations with an incompetent and unscrupulous contractor. If you follow his lead, believe his persuasion and promises to fix everything, you will lose even more time and money.
Think over and discuss with the contractor an algorithm for monitoring and accepting the work done. The technical supervision engineer or you yourself must inspect and accept the results of hidden work, which will then become invisible. If you have done the plaster, accept it. Then let them putty, accept it too, and only then wallpaper. Laminate flooring installed - accept it. Skirting boards later. Allow work to continue only after the defects have been corrected and re-inspected.
Do not accept the contractor’s proposals to change the design, replace materials, or do something faster and easier without discussion with the designer and/or technical supervision engineer.
If you give money for materials, then all the material must be purchased at once for the full amount. And lie in your place. But it’s not like that, they bought it for half the amount, and took the other half as an advance. The employee buys small items himself. You pay for it after the fact! once a week.

Payment for additional work. Here it is necessary to clearly distinguish between two options. The performer could not know. For example, they started digging a hole in the ground. But it turned out that there was an old foundation down there that needed to be hammered out. Here additional work is logical. The performer forgot, did not take into account, did not think. For example, I “forgot” to apply a primer under the putty. This is definitely at his expense. After all, he is the professional, not you.

Do not leave the design and construction of a house in the same hands- they must be different, independent specialists or organizations from each other. The competition of interests and opinions of these specialists will allow you to choose the optimal solution and avoid unjustified costs.

Scheme of work between the customer and contractors - designers and performers. Only this type of work will allow you to save money and get better results.

There are more than enough companies, teams, private owners offering themselves in the “all in one” format, who “design” themselves and do it themselves. It would seem that this is happiness. BUT…

In this case, a very bad phenomenon arises, called a conflict of interest.

What does the performer need?

Build as quickly as possible.
Minimum costs for yourself.
Earn as much money as possible from you.

What do you need?

Quality result
Reasonable prices

Agree, “reasonable prices” very much conflict with “earn as much as possible.” And “high-quality results” are not friendly with “faster and at minimal cost to yourself.”

Now imagine the temptation of the performer. After all, the customer is a “fool” and has little understanding. Deceiving him... well, no problem at all.

As a result of the conflict of interests of the customer and the contractor - when “all in one”, we have inflated prices for materials, unnecessary materials, and very expensive installation prices. Yes, of course, more than 3 times - this is rare, usually the overpayment is only 1.8-2 times.

Not all performers agree to work on someone else’s project. They know better how to do it. You will have to choose who to believe, the designer or the performer.

We are building a house

Only after receiving a building permit, you can start building a house.

The site is marked, guided by the drawing from the project, the location of the foundation of the house and the place where underground communications enter the house- water supply pipes, sewerage and ventilation systems.

Then they dig trenches and laying pipes(or cases for subsequent installation of pipes in them) underground communications under the foundation future home.

They begin to build the foundation. For a strip foundation, trenches of the required configuration and depth are dug. Sand is poured and compacted at the bottom of the trenches to create a cushion. Formwork is installed on the sand cushion, reinforcement is placed there and concrete is poured into the formwork.

The concrete poured into the formwork must set, harden and gain the necessary strength so that walls can be erected on it. To do this, the concrete is kept in the formwork for at least 20 days.

While the foundation concrete is gaining strength, you can carry out work on constructing a water intake well, The fact is that as a result of the construction of these objects, quite a lot of free soil remains, which needs to be disposed of somewhere.

The easiest way is this one lay the soil inside the foundation(if there is no basement) for . Or raise the ground level outside to ensure good drainage of stormwater away from the house.

Next, waterproof the foundation and plinth, They begin to build the walls and roof of the house. After that, windows are inserted and the front door is installed. Construction of the frame, box of the house can be considered completed.

At the final stage of construction, installation of communications inside the house is also carried out. They insulate the walls from the outside and finish the façade.

After this, you can obtain a house passport from the technical inventory office and register the property at the Registration Chamber.

How long does it take to build a house?

After the construction of the frame of the house (foundation, walls, roof), work is stopped for several, usually winter, months. During this time walls and other structures of the house must dry out. Due to water loss, many building materials shrink. For example, wood and foam concrete are particularly compressed.

The soil under the foundation is compacted and not always evenly. As a result of all these processes the house is shrinking. Small cracks appear on the walls, usually not dangerous to the strength of the house. If you finish the walls outside and inside the house immediately, without stopping for shrinkage, then cracks will appear on the finish.

During the next summer construction season, utilities are laid in the house, concrete screeds are made, walls are plastered and painted, and windows are installed. Construction and finishing work again introduces a lot of moisture into the house. And the water from the walls has not yet completely evaporated.

Upon completion of the finishing work, it is necessary to dry the house for several months. Moving into and living in a damp, cold house is not comfortable.

Then the walls of the house are insulated from the outside and the façade is finished. The insulation layer makes it difficult for construction moisture to evaporate from the walls. If the insulation and finishing of the facade are done at the early stages of construction, then the moisture in the walls will linger for a long time and can ruin the finishing.

Housewarming parties are usually celebrated in the third year from the start of construction.

How to build a house in one year

If you don’t have the strength to wait three years to move in, then a house can be built in one year. But for this it is necessary to select the appropriate technologies and construction stages.

For example, the walls of a house are made of masonry blocks with glue. Walls made of large-format blocks are built quite quickly. Thin layer of adhesive solution 2 mm. adds a minimum of water to the wall masonry. Aerated concrete is an open-pore material that easily loses moisture. The wall dries out quickly.

Aerated concrete at all stages until it is under the roof of the house, protect from atmospheric moisture. During transportation, storage at a construction site, or when laying in a wall, they are covered with a film on top, leaving the side surfaces open to allow moisture to evaporate.

For flooring use or. From the inside. These technologies allow you to complete work quickly and with a minimum amount of solutions containing water.

Aerated concrete walls are warm enough to start living in the house without waiting for them to be insulated from the outside (if provided for by the project). For wall insulation It is better to use mineral wool, although it is more expensive, the walls will dry faster.

To speed up drying and reduce humidity in a new home, electric fans must be installed in the exhaust vents. They buy an electronic device - a thermohygrometer, to control the temperature and humidity of the air in the house. When the relative air humidity in the premises increases by more than 50-60%, turn on the electric fan in the exhaust ventilation duct.

The construction market also offers other technologies for the construction of quickly erected houses. For example, frame, from SIP panels, from laminated veneer lumber. But this at home, as they say, is not for everybody.

Three approaches to building a house - choose yours

In practice you can see three approaches people take to building their own home.

The first ones are building a house for living. They want to enjoy life in the comfort and coziness of a built home. Such owners clearly plan construction timeframes, sizes and sources of financing, attract contractors for construction at all stages of construction, and carry out the entire range of engineering and landscaping work at once. The house is built in one to three years.

The second ones live for construction. They start construction according to the principle: today I’ll pour the foundation, and then we’ll see. These are homemade craftsmen who get a thrill from the construction process. Construction amateurs who, nevertheless, study construction technologies to the best of their ability and try to do everything themselves. They have vague ideas about the completion date of their construction, the size and sources of money that are needed for construction. Their building hobby spans decades.

There is, of course, a golden mean, when reasonable participation in the construction of family members and relatives, study of the construction market and selection of construction technologies and materials that are effective specifically for your construction, as well as qualified control of the work of contractors, make it possible to significantly reduce the cost of construction without significantly extending its duration.

Calculate the construction budget based on the cost of construction of one square meter of usable area at 1000 USD (turnkey with landscaping). With active personal participation in construction, this amount can be reduced by 20-40%.

Determine the terms and sources of construction financing that are acceptable to you.

Remember, the most profitable investments are not in real estate, but in your own health and development, in the health, upbringing and development of children.

A healthy, friendly family, successful children are the best capital!

What size plot are you building a house on?

To perform high-quality construction work, it is important to choose the right reliable general contractor. But this is not enough, there are additional features that you need to know, and this will be the key to the correct execution of work and problem-free relationships between the customer and the contractor.

tender support

Customer and general contractor

Let's understand the terms, this will help to understand the rights and obligations of the customer and contractor.

Customer, by definition, is an individual or legal entity who approaches another person: a performer or contractor with an order for construction work. The customer can be a private person, the government, enterprises, government bodies and institutions, or an association of citizens.

General contractor is a legal entity, a socialized enterprise, which undertakes to carry out construction work on the instructions of the customer, in accordance with the contract, project, using the customer’s materials or its own materials for the fee specified in the estimate.

Based on this, relationships are built. The customer requires certain work to be performed, and the general contractor organizes and performs it. It is important that at the first stage the customer feels treated with respect; this may be an indicator of the company’s serious attitude towards completing the assigned tasks.

It is necessary for mutual trust to arise, and it is built on reliable information provided by the construction company acting as the general contractor.

But for relationships to be productive, trust alone is not enough, it is important to know the principles of choice.

Criteria for selecting a general contractor

In order not to make a mistake in choosing a contractor, it is not enough to focus only on one positive quality, for example, a long life of the company. Various factors need to be taken into account:

Is the organization multidisciplinary and performs the work independently or attracts a large number of subcontractors?
Do you have all the permits from the relevant government authorities to carry out the work: certificates, licenses that confirm the qualifications of specialists.
The age of the organization, so as not to fall into a fly-by-night company.
Pay attention to “live” reviews, not those that are stamped at the request of the company. To do this, it is enough to learn about completed projects and communicate with customers. If the contractor refuses to provide information, then there is something to hide.
The presence of uniforms among construction workers shows the correct attitude of management towards workers and safety precautions.
Go to one of the company's sites and pay attention to whether the builders are drunk or under the influence of alcohol or any drugs. How they approach work: responsibly or somehow.

Low prices for services cannot be decisive when choosing a contractor. On the one hand, reasonable prices can be an indicator of the construction organization’s sufficient workload and proper organization of work, thanks to which it is possible to optimize prices.

On the other hand, low prices can be a trap for unscrupulous performers to attract the largest number of clients. But in this case, there can be no confidence in the quality and timing of the order.

Selecting a general contractor for the project

The choice of a general contractor is, in fact, a preparatory stage for construction and the beginning of the relationship between the customer and the contractor. The next stage is drawing up, agreeing and signing an estimate, contract, work schedule.

And now what relates directly to your property, and more importantly to your finances:

Pay attention to the correctness of the drafting of the contract for contract work. If you are not confident in your abilities, the Internet can help. You can find standard contracts for construction work. In addition, the services of a lawyer at the first stage of drawing up a contract are cheaper than litigation in the event of a contractor’s dishonest attitude towards the performance of work.
We need a work schedule. The contract should stipulate penalties in case of violation. Otherwise, the construction will turn into an endless long-term construction.
What kind of advance payment is required? If it is within 20-25%, this is a completely acceptable amount, but in this case, reports on the use of funds should be required.
It is mandatory to stipulate the provision of sales receipts for payment for construction materials.

In addition, you should not simply take his word for it and hope that the contractor will responsibly fulfill all of his obligations. After signing the contract, a more important stage begins: construction itself.

Control on your part must be maintained throughout the entire construction period. This does not mean that you need to spend from morning to evening at a construction site. But it is desirable to gradually sign the acceptance and delivery of completed work, to control the funds for the purchase of building materials and their expenditure (the amount of materials must correspond to technological standards and estimates). This will stimulate the performer and encourage him to take his responsibilities more responsibly.

If subcontractors are involved in performing some work, the general contractor is responsible for monitoring the quality and timing of the work.

It is important to pay attention to the quality of work at all stages of production and do not be shy if a defect is noticed. It is easier to correct a mistake at the construction stage than to deal with the consequences or get involved in litigation. Agree, it is difficult to check the quality of sewerage installations or electrical wires embedded in floors or ceilings, so make sure to provide photos of complex or hidden work.

Thanks to these tips, as a rule, it is possible to avoid misunderstandings between the customer and the general contractor and unnecessary financial expenses.

Our specialists guarantee compliance with legal requirements at all stages of tender support. Resolving disputes with customers, appealing FAS decisions, working on all trading platforms.

Selecting a contractor for the construction and renovation of office premises, social and cultural facilities and the industrial sector

Maklakov V.N., Vice President of the group of companies, Deputy General Director of NPF Center for Economics and Pricing in Construction LLC

The article “Contractor: instructions for selection” was published in the magazine “Modern Office. Directory of ready-made solutions" (No. 10 for 2005). This publication, as can be seen from its name, does not specialize in construction topics, so the article for it is unlikely to help experienced estimators and managers of construction organizations, but will certainly be useful to beginners.

Renovating premises or even building new ones is an inevitable event in the life of any enterprise, large or small. The secretary and office manager will have to deal with this closely. Accordingly, it is necessary to delve into the peculiarities of organizing repair and construction work...

Your new role

Having started renovation or construction (extension) of new premises, your company, no matter what they do “in civilian life,” becomes a participant in the investment and construction process. Namely, an investor. In addition to the investor, the customer and the contractor participate in the process. The contractor is the one who undertakes to carry out the work you need; the customer is either you or a construction organization specially hired by you to represent your interests. In addition, there are also subcontractors, but relations with them are regulated by the contractor. Let's say your company ordered the finishing of the toilet rooms, but your contractor can only lay the tiles himself, and he installs plumbing and ventilation devices outsourced. But the contractor pays them on his own; his relationship with them is his problem. Your company pays the contractor for the entire range of work - laying tiles, installing plumbing and ventilation devices.

We will return to the problem of who exactly is the customer of the work.

Let's define other terms and concepts.

A little theory

Repair is just one type of construction work. In accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation, construction should be understood as the construction of new real estate objects, i.e. buildings and structures erected on the land plot allocated for this, and implementation on those already built, i.e. construction and installation works on real estate objects put into operation, which are divided depending on the purpose and source of financing into:

repair and restoration;
reconstruction work;
technical re-equipment work;
work to maintain existing production at a certain level;
major repair work;
current (preventive) repairs;
carrying out engineering surveys and developing design and estimate documentation.

Close to construction, but are not:

inspection of real estate for reliability and safety of operation;
repair and maintenance of equipment;
installation and dismantling of construction machines and mechanisms;
dismantling of equipment;
liquidation of a property;
production of non-standard equipment, building metal structures and pipe blanks on the construction site.

Construction is a very specific field of activity, for which legal and regulatory acts have been developed that regulate the rights, duties and responsibilities of all participants in investment activities (construction). Failure to comply with established rules - SNiP (building codes and regulations) - during construction and installation work and operation of constructed facilities can lead to negative consequences.

At the same time, during construction it is impossible to foresee everything in advance, and during the process of work, situations arise that require decisions to be made on the spot and changes to the approved construction project or the performance of certain types of work. Such changes can lead to either a reduction in the cost of work or a significant increase. However, the cost of repair work at the design or construction stage of a new facility is also determined approximately. The approximate cost should be 10-15 percent higher than the actual costs of the work contractor, taking into account the remuneration due to him.

Repairs begin with choosing a contractor. Russian legislation establishes that when performing construction work for state needs, i.e. When paying for work from budget funds, the choice of contractor should be made only on a competitive basis, i.e. through tenders or auctions (if the cost of work is more than 5,000 minimum wages at the current price level.

For those who build or carry out repair work using their own or borrowed funds, you can choose a contractor without a competition, but holding a competition, as a rule, leads to a reduction in the cost of work by 5-10% of the estimated cost, even in cases where The estimate is drawn up by an experienced specialist, taking into account reasonable savings on the cost of material resources, labor costs and limited costs.

When holding a competition, the cost of work is an important factor for the investor, but should not be the only or determining one, otherwise it is easy to become a victim of a swindler or swindler.

When preparing and conducting a competition (contract bidding), you should be guided by the “Methodological recommendations on the procedure for conducting competitions for the performance of work, provision of services in construction and housing and communal services in the Russian Federation” (MDS 80-17.01), which describes in detail the main procedures for preparing, conducting and summing up the results - choosing the winner and concluding an agreement with him.

Choosing a contractor: step-by-step instructions

So, let's look at the main steps of an investor.

In accordance with current legislation, the investor - the owner of the funds, must create a customer service (or find from existing and licensed firms), and after receiving the appropriate license, entrust it under a contract (agreement on the provision of paid services) with the construction of a new facility or the implementation of certain types of construction or repair and construction work. Customer service is a legal entity or individual endowed by the investor with the right to manage investment resources for the implementation of a specific investment project.

The contract must indicate: the object, its address, the area and boundaries of the construction site, the exact or approximate cost of construction or repairs, the start and end dates of the work and the source of financing.

The investor's next step is to determine what kind of construction (construction or repair) work he needs. Normative definitions of these works do not coincide with our everyday understanding of them.

For example, installing a steel door in an apartment is a renovation job. The installation of the same door in an office can be considered a major overhaul or reconstruction (if the room in which this door was installed subsequently changed its purpose: from a secretary’s room to a cash desk).

New construction, reconstruction or technical re-equipment of real estate must be financed from budget sources or the investor’s profit from the main activity. Major repairs must be carried out by the owner of the property and financed from its own sources, and when the owner uses the premises, the costs of current repairs are included in direct costs (for the main economic activity). Accordingly, if your company rents an office, then the installation of a steel door - a major overhaul - must be carried out at the expense of the office owner. And if the company owns office space, then the same door will be installed at the expense of the costs of the main business activities.

In accordance with clause 3.2. Methodological recommendations for determining the cost of construction products on the territory of the Russian Federation (MDS 81-35.2004) new construction should be understood as the construction of a real estate property, which, after commissioning, will be on an independent balance sheet. Consequently, the construction of a new separate building (warehouse, canteen) at an existing enterprise should be considered a continuation of construction and include in the estimate the increasing factors provided for in Appendix 1 to MDS 81-35.2004.

The customer service hired by the investor must find a design organization that has a license and enter into an agreement with it to develop a project and cost estimates.

If the nature of the work does not require the production of working drawings (replacement of the roof, windows, doors, facade repairs, etc.), financing of repair work is permitted, including from budget sources, according to approved estimates or assessed inventories of work.

During the construction of new real estate, during reconstruction, technical re-equipment, major repairs with the replacement or strengthening of load-bearing structures, the design documentation is sent for state examination and, after receiving a positive conclusion from the examination, is approved by the investor.

Design and estimate documentation for the renovation of buildings, developed in accordance with norms, rules, instructions and state standards (which must be certified by the corresponding record of the chief engineer of the project) is not subject to approval by state supervisory authorities (clause 5.7. MDS 13-1.99).

If the estimate for repair work is prepared by the contractor (if there is a license for this type of activity), it becomes a document after its consideration and approval by the customer (investor).

Conducting a competition to find a contractor can be entrusted to a specialized tender committee (if construction is financed from the budget), or to the customer’s service with the involvement of third-party specialists.

Before the competition, a preliminary selection can be carried out, i.e. inform everyone wishing to take part in the competition a set of mandatory requirements and not allow firms that do not meet these requirements to participate in the competition. Our legislation does not define a list of such criteria (requirements) for work performers, and this falls under the prerogative of the customer service. Such requirements could be:

availability of a license;
the period of existence of the company (for example, at least 5 years);
experience in construction (repair) of the same or similar objects;
no losses and profit for the last three years;
the presence of qualified workers and 50% of engineering personnel with higher specialized education;
confirmation of compliance with the deadlines for commissioning of already constructed facilities;
presence of positive feedback on the quality of work;
minimum number of comments (instructions) from supervisory authorities;
absence of injuries and fatal accidents at work;
minimum number of temporary and foreign workers;
availability of own lifting equipment, vehicles and basic construction machines and mechanisms necessary to perform the work;
experience of participation in construction abroad;
the presence of litigation over the past three years;
no debt to tax authorities;
construction risk insurance;
the presence of positive reviews about the construction managers of previous projects;
the volume of construction and installation work completed over the previous year is no less than three times greater than the volume of work proposed for execution;
the presence of permanent partners to perform special work;
availability of incoming quality control of building materials, products and structures;
positive experience of working under contracts with a fixed negotiated price;
availability of sureties or bank guarantee.

The main document during the competition should be a statement of quantities. You should not transfer estimates to the contractor - neither at the base price level nor at the current price level.

All applicants must know at what price level the estimate is drawn up, and what indices will be used to move from the base to the current price level, and how inflation for the calendar year will be taken into account when concluding an agreement with a fixed contract price.

Proposals with a proposed price 15 percent or more lower than the estimated cost of the property at the current price level should not be considered.

The customer prepares a draft contract with a fixed contract price. The contract should be called a construction contract, and not an investment contract or a contract for the provision of paid services. Warranty periods under the contract should be provided in the range of 24-60 months after commissioning of the facility. A period of at least 24 months is determined by clauses. 1, 2, 4 tbsp. 724 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, therefore, even if the contractor imposed a three-month warranty period on your company for the work performed (for example, ceiling plaster), and in the sixth month after completion of the work the plaster crumbled, your company has the right to sue: no clauses of the contract can contradict legislation of the Russian Federation. The court always recognizes the priority of legislation over contractual relations.

The selection of the winner should be made based on the proposals of the applicants who most fully meet the requirements of the customer’s service, taking into account the requirements of the preliminary selection.

The winner of the competition must provide the customer service with a complete breakdown of the contract price before signing the contract. The contract price proposed by the winner of the competition can be clarified after the work performers (including potential subcontractors) have reviewed the entire project and estimate, the parties, with the participation of the design organization, have reviewed the work performers’ comments and additionally agreed upon the suppliers of the main equipment and materials, and divided the list of supplied resources between the parties. .

How to choose a contracting organization that can carry out the construction of a country house with high quality, compliance with contractual deadlines and at real market prices? There are many attractive offers, however, they often hide unprofessional and dishonest people. Therefore, the search must be approached thoughtfully and slowly. Let's assume that you decide to build a three-level brick cottage, the design of which, adapted to the site, you already have. First of all, study everything you can find on this topic: starting with the construction of the foundation and ending with the roof. Russia is an amazing country, and a private developer must either be “savvy” himself or delegate the authority to select, supervise and accept work to an experienced foreman who has nothing to do with the contractors. If time and funds allow, it is better to hire both a foreman and a chief engineer, and not to go aside yourself, but to keep the process under control.

As a rule, the construction of a brick cottage takes three years. In the first year (from early April to early October), the development of underground space and the construction of a “zero” cycle take place. According to technology, the foundation must stand for six months. In the second season, the walls and roof are erected, and in the third year you can safely do the finishing work. Therefore, you can go in two ways: either entrust all three stages of construction to one company, or look for highly specialized specialists for each type of work. Each option has its pros and cons, but in any case, both the foreman and the chief engineer must conduct their supervision from the beginning to the end of construction, representing your interests. Therefore, decide on them first. The chief engineer, among other things, serves as a construction lawyer and can always be involved in controversial issues. In addition, its goal is to reduce your costs.

Now you can start searching for a contractor. Select several proposals that most interest you (from newspapers, magazines or the Internet) and send them your project, asking them to draw up a preliminary cost estimate. Get ready for the fact that someone will not answer at all, someone will list the cost of individual works, but without an overall result, and only two or three organizations will make an estimate more or less conscientiously. Those who promise fabulously low prices - immediately dismiss them. Introduce the received estimates to the foreman and chief engineer. All answers must be compared and analyzed in detail. Try to find out as much as possible about the experience of these firms, find customer reviews and arrange meetings with those of them whose calculations were the most convincing. Conduct interviews with potential contractors together with the foreman and chief engineer, as they will speak the same language and will be able to more accurately assess their capabilities and identify strengths and weaknesses than you. If you are holding a meeting without the support of professionals, then ask the candidate contractor to comment in detail on the estimate, dwelling on each item. Ask at what stage they think difficulties might arise, how to anticipate them, and whether they have encountered similar situations before. Find out what may cause an increase in estimates. Take an interest in the company's experience: ask to show you photographs of constructed objects (preferably at various stages of construction), go to one of the objects under construction. Ask if the company has a complaints service that deals with the elimination of deficiencies identified after acceptance of the object. Find out how competent the contractor's employees are in construction services, whether the company will hire subcontractors or perform all the work itself. The contractor must be able to “read blueprints,” know the nuances of modern technologies and competently use new building materials. If a potential contractor makes a number of design corrections and practical recommendations for your consideration, this is very good, since design today leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, there are many mistakes, including gross ones. And the advice of experienced construction practitioners is “worth a lot”: they can suggest the best option for using materials or technologies, in terms of price-quality ratio, and will also indicate the most correct solution that will lead to improved performance characteristics of the future home.

Please note that the weight of a brick house significantly exceeds the weight of houses made of aerated concrete or wood, so treat everything related to the “zero cycle” very responsibly. The foundation, on the strength of which the reliability of the house depends, must correspond to the load of the brick walls and roof. Do not be surprised that the cost of installing a powerful buried foundation for a brick house can reach a third of all general construction costs. This is fine. Now a few words about the “pitfalls” and why a construction site requires a foreman representing the interests of the developer. From practice we know a great many options for deception and theft on the part of contractors, as a result of which quality suffers irreparably. For example, when constructing a foundation, unscrupulous builders, for the purpose of profit, can use lighter (and cheaper) reinforcement, and instead of tying the reinforcement with steel wire, they can fasten it with spot welding. When pouring, they can use cheaper cement of a different brand, which has significantly lower strength, or even use expired material. There are many tricks and they need to be, if not eliminated, then at least minimized. Otherwise, the foundation may crack, settle, and the entire house will need to be saved.

When a contractor is selected, enter into a contract with him. At this stage, it would be a good idea to consult a lawyer. Pay special attention to the points “obligations of the parties” and “deadlines for completing work” - an honest contractor in the contract stipulates the responsibility of the parties in case of failure. It is necessary that the construction organization provides you with fairly serious guarantees of quality and deadlines. After all, building a house costs a lot of money and is of great importance in the life of a family. Especially if people are planning to build a reliable brick house, as they say, “for centuries.” Good luck!