When you’re ready to invest in a big project, one of your first concerns is likely to be price. Can you afford your entire project, and if not, where will you cut costs? Will you go with a cheaper contractor to get the whole project done, or will you shrink the project? Whether you’re looking to put an addition on your house or install a great pool in your backyard, quality matters – and quality doesn’t come cheap. Here’s why great work costs money, how to save on contracting, and why you should always remember that cheap work has hidden costs of its own – costs that are far greater than the price of good work!
The people
Sorry, there’s no way around it: good work costs money. You make more money now than when you started your career, and contractors with experience and great reputations will cost more money, too.
The good news is that many contractors own their own companies and can cut you a decent deal. The bad news is that great work is only one part of what makes contracting expensive.
The materials
Whatever you’re building, you have to build it out of something. And everything, from wood to concrete, comes in different qualities. Just as you have the choice of buying cheap stuff from Walmart or more expensive stuff from more reliable sources, contractors have choices on where to buy materials. And if you want materials that last – unlike those Walmart products – you’ll need to spend money.
The red tape
You’re not the only one involved in your construction project. And no, we’re not talking about the contractor.
We’re talking about the neighbors and the government. And these parties to the deal love to add red tape. Rules and regulations drive costs up, and governments sometimes even force contractors to take out bonds to insure that they’ll follow the laundry list of laws and regulations (whole companies, like this Meadowbrook contractor bonds company, exist solely to deliver these bonds – red tape is a big industry!).
Saving money on contracting
So what’s the best way to save money on contracting? Simple: try to hire the very best.
This may sound counter-intuitive. After all, we just established that the best cost more than the rest, and that high-quality materials cost more than their cheap counterparts. So why would you save money by choosing the best contractors? Well, for a few reason.
First, there’s that third factor: the red tape. Here’s where expertise really pays off, because nothing can derail a construction project like problems with the zoning board or the neighborhood association. Construction delays are immensely costly and incredibly wasteful, and the best contractors help you avoid them. So while their rates might seem higher, they’re more likely to come in at or under budget and on or ahead of schedule.
Then, there’s the fact that great contractors have great reputations. Good materials cost more than bad ones, but the costliest of are are bad materials priced as good ones. Are you paying a fair price?
And the cost of shady contractors and poor materials isn’t only high because of sneaky overpricing. It’s also high because you’ll deal with costs down the line. Poor work means higher maintenance costs and more frequent repair costs. In extreme cases, you may even end up having to pay two contractors: the bad one that you thought would be cheap, and the good one that you have to hire to fix the bad one’s work!
So rely on high-quality contractors with good reputations. They’ll give you honest options for reducing the price and will leave you with work that lasts, saving you money down the line.
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