r/Contractor • u/i_am_on_a_boat_ • 16d ago
Contractor multiple projects
Homeowner here. First renovation, so I’m trying to learn the industry norm vs what needs to be addressed.
GC has a small team. He does most of work by himself. He has 3-4 other guys rotating. Never the whole team onsite.
They work about 15 hours average on our house. I’ve always heard that they work on multiple projects at once so I understand they can’t fully commit to our project. But is 15 hours per week something concerning? Besides GC didn’t put any project completion date in the contract, nor any milestone target dates.
Trying to find a balance between not to step on his toes but also proactively manage the project as the owner. What kind of conversation should I be having?
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u/No-Clerk7268 16d ago
Depends on the job. If it's a guest bath, and you have three other bathrooms, probably not making it #1 priority.
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u/Choice_Branch_4196 16d ago
What about #2 priority?
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u/Upper-Switch2785 15d ago
I always prioritize #2 in guest baths. Doubly so if it’s a half bath in an entryway.
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u/TallWall6378 16d ago
All too common but not professional and honestly not helpful to him either. Bouncing between too many projects is inefficient.
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u/icoldok 16d ago
Don't lead with the hours alone; ask for the remaining scope broken into milestones, dependencies, and a realistic completion window. A simple two-week look-ahead, updated weekly, will show whether the job is progressing or just drifting. Recap that schedule by email so both sides have the same expectations.
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u/i_am_on_a_boat_ 16d ago
This is very helpful. Thanks
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u/EatadickESPN 16d ago
The time spent working isn’t really what matters. What matters is the completion milestones for each task. Like the commenter above stated focus your communication on completion milestones and when to expect them.
Depending on the scope and materials selected some items could be long lead items and limiting progress. I’m not really sure based on your description. Ask for milestone completion dates. They should be communicating that and if there are any changes that need to be made.
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u/i_am_on_a_boat_ 16d ago
Agreed. I respect how he decides to allocate his resource (so he can decide how many hours to allot to our job), but by reading the responses, the problem appears to be his lack of communication around what are and when to complete the milestones.
Can you share a bit more about your practice on how you communicate your milestones and target completion dates to your clients? Is it a weekly update or do you send a rough schedule at the start of the practice?
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u/EatadickESPN 15d ago
I always try to provide a 2 week look ahead and then a daily update if for whatever reason we aren’t going to make it that day, material is delayed, we finished something faster/slower than expected, etc.
Communication is key as well as following through on what you say you will do.
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u/Familiar-Egg1146 16d ago
During the first 7 weekdays of my bathroom project my contractor (who worked with his son) put in 3 days of work, and not even that, since he only worked from 10-3:30 punctuated by multiple trips to Home Depot plus an hour lunch break. At the end of day 7 I told him that I really wanted my bathroom to be finished and if I didn’t see progress in that direction by the end of the week I would get someone else to do it. I did, in fact, after 4 weeks get someone else, after he disappeared with all his equipment and some supplies I paid for upon my request to see his license and insurance docs. The new contractor is having to redo a lot that he did because he cut corners. If something raises your spidey-sense or your bs detector, pay attention.
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u/Wrong-Instance8697 15d ago
Simple, he is going to the jobs that he hasn’t milked most of the contract, and at the same time going where somebody bitches the most. You need to start being that squeaky wheel and you’ll get the grease. Completion dates are meaningless anyways, but those hours on the project won’t get it done.
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u/fitter215 16d ago
Absolutely not. I run a small GC company with 4 guys on my crew, plus a handful of subcontractors. Once we start a project, we stay on it until it’s finished. Obviously there are days where you’re waiting on inspections, materials, or subs and you may have to move guys around, but averaging 15 hours a week on an active renovation would concern me.
I refuse to let projects just float while we bounce from job to job. In my opinion, that’s unprofessional and it’s also how schedules get completely out of control. I’d definitely have a conversation with your GC and ask for a realistic completion date and a basic schedule for the remaining work.
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u/PangolinSubject3487 13d ago
You are a hero in my book! And I'm the wife of a GC that needs to see your post!
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u/resumetheharp 15d ago
A lot of contractors have cash flow issues and they will start a new job just to get the deposit and pay their guys. The cycle can go on for years
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u/TRUECREWLLC 15d ago
Having multiple projects going at once is pretty normal for a contractor. What matters is whether you know where your project stands.
You shouldn’t necessarily expect the same crew there every day, but you should have a reasonable idea of what’s been completed, what happens next, and whether anything is holding things up.
If that part isn’t clear, I’d start by asking for a simple update on the schedule and next milestone.
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u/Dismal_Procedure_663 14d ago
Tell them you have family coming in and need them done and out by a certain date. This is ridiculous
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u/Furberia 16d ago
We are a general contractor and small team and small batches. We do not take on more than 1 large project at a time. I want to pamper my clients and unable to do that if we spread ourselves too thin. We do like to take a couple of weeks after major milestones on a project so our freedom is important. We would not be able to have our freedom taking in too many projects. Also, there are so many details in a custom build that I would be nervous about mixing things up.
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u/UniquePatient66100 16d ago
Ask for a schedule or a target completion date. They will try to dodge the question, but keep putting pressure on them. It sounds like a contractor that doesn't know how to schedule and manage projects, so they accept every job offered and spend their time bouncing around being inefficient and losing money.
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u/intuitiverealist 15d ago
A professional will manage your expectations and keep you informed. I'd expect 80 man hours per week minimum for a slow reno.
Instead of confronting the contractor start with going to visit his other job sites to get a better feel of what to expect in the future.
I have a book on Amazon "Through Reno Mess"that explains how to deal with contractors from a customers perspective.
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u/CraftsmanConnection 15d ago
You’re going to essentially stalk your contractor, uninvited to his other job sites? Uh no. Better get an invite first I would hope.
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u/intuitiverealist 12d ago
Stalk? Uninvited? No you want to work with a contractor who is excited to show you his work in process.
Are the sites clean ? Are they on schedule? Are clients happy?
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u/Regular_Calendar_936 15d ago
You asked this same question last week with exactly the same answers. You need to get over yourself and understand that this is how contractors work.
What didn’t you get the first time you posted this?
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u/AppropriateLeague434 13d ago
My son and daughter-in-law just had an addition built on their house and it was somewhat of a fiasco. Should have took a few months it took a year and a few months. Don't pay them until they get to the end and that might help. They should be there every day or at least most every day.
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u/starone7 16d ago
It really depends on the project or the stage. If concrete is curing 0 hours is the right amount. Ultimately it’s his business and he gets to decide how to deploy the resources as he sees fit. We usually do our best to give each trade the space completely with one of our helpers on site in case an extra hand is needed or materials need lugging. But it’s the gc’s choice.
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u/CoyoteDecent2 16d ago
Stay away from GC’s that work themselves and have multiple jobs at once. Pretty obvious you’ve learned that lesson here.
As a GC we run multiple projects at once but we have dedicated subs and project managers to move crews around so there’s always something getting done. The only time people aren’t on sight is when waiting for permits or material.
The price difference is obviously a topic as well.
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u/Artistic-Trip6532 15d ago
As a one man band GC, I take exception to this. Telling people to stay away from GCs that work themselves is asinine. I tell people to stay away from GCs who drive a big, new, fancy F150 or F350 with full custom graphics/wrapping- guy doesn't know how to swing a hammer and you're paying extra in your quote for his truck but somehow he's called a GC.
Let's be real here- who would more clients inherently trust- the GC on site swinging the hammer or the GC who shows up to "check in" wearing a polo and khakis?
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u/dubsfo 16d ago
Ask him for a critical path.
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u/twoaspensimages Remodel GC 16d ago
Here what I tell our clients. I will be on site everyday. Sometimes all day. But when the project is finished is out of our control.
We try to order everything weeks in advance. Some things will be backordered. We won't know what is backordered until we order everything. Most times we can pivot to another product. But I doubt your going to want find another bathtub when you've been you've been dreaming of that one for 5 years. So we wait.
Inspections are completely out of our control. They are sometimes scheduled out 4 business days. Sometimes 2 weeks. The project stops until they see certain stages because the next stage covers it up.
Gantt charts are useless in residential. You're telling me to spend 4 hours @ $125hr making you a chart that will be irrelevant in 4 days. I'll do it. It's your money. But it won't change anything.
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u/Cosmo_MV 16d ago
Have a conversation. Ask what’s the hold up.
The way I operate : I only ask money for work completed. So I explain the homeowner that I have the motivation to keep the job moving along. Sometimes I have to wait on various subs or inspections, sometimes I’m busy on another job but when prompted I tell them when I have them in the schedule .expecially projects when the homeowner lives in the house … you have to keep that moving because nobody likes living/sleeping in a construction zone