QUALITY CONTRACTORS, PART 1: CHOOSING

Given the surge of repairs, upgrades and new construction in the New York City area over the past several years, finding available contractors who consistently perform high-quality workmanship can indeed seem impossible. But it's not — if you know the nuts and bolts of picking one, and keeping him on the level so you don't get screwed. Here's the drill-down....

First-String Theory

It may sounds elementary, but the first thing to know is that the quality of a contractor's work depends on the project manager, the foreman and the crew assigned to the project. You might not be aware, but contractors typically employ several teams of workers — and the successful project cited as a reference probably had the firm's A-team on it, while you could be stuck with the third-stringers. Similarly, a good crew will perform less than their best with a mediocre foreman — or with a project supervisor who's stretched thin over many projects and can't focus on any one of them.

Your engineer's or architect's project specifications should state that the contractor must assign an experienced, full-time project superintendent, sometimes called a project supervisor. (Smaller jobs may required only a working foreman.) Ideally, he or she is to be onsite full time, speak fluent English (as well as the workers' language if it is other than English) and have a complete set of specifications — including change-orders, project drawings and manufacturers' instructions.

The specs should also require that the superintendent maintain a daily log recording the number of workers at the site and the specific portions and locations of the work completed. The superintendent should call the engineer or architect daily throughout the construction period to report on that day's activities and the work planned for the following day.

Exper"tease"

A good contractor is still not the right contractor if he or she doesn't have expertise in your specific type of job. A firm that's done lots of waterproofing, for example, isn't necessarily qualified for a historical restoration project. Make sure firms under consideration can point to successfully having completed projects similar to yours.

In terms of bidding, conventional wisdom calls for throwing out the highest and lowest quotes. But doing so can hastily eliminate good firms on both ends of the spectrum. A contractor may submit the lowest bid because he has a lot of experience with that type of work and can perform it cost-effectively, while the highest bidder may foresee potential difficulties in the project that other firms don't.

So how do you know what to do? You take a two-fold approach. First, simply confirm that a contractor is licensed and insured and if any disciplinary actions have been taken against him or her. Secondly, ask the contractor's references very specific questions about:

• The scope of the work
• How recently the project was completed
• Who the project superintendents and crews were
• Whether the projects were completed on time and on budget
• How many change-orders there were, and
• What problems arose and how were they handled.

The bid selection should not be made without first interviewing the finalists. You will want to meet the project superintendents and ask them about their own experience with projects like yours and find out how long and on how many jobs they've worked with the crews that would be assigned to your project. Find out if they are currently supervising other jobs. A project superintendent with a full plate will probably not be able to devote much time and attention to your job.

Although good work is indeed sometimes hard to find, thoroughly vetting contractors and holding their feet to the fire during the construction phase (as we'll clue you into in Part 2) will go a long way toward making sure your projects get done in a high-quality manner.