Depending on how big and extensive your home renovation project is, you will have more or less interaction with the professionals that you hire for a certain job. If it is a smaller project, you might even manage to do everything by yourself. If it is a huge remodel, you will most probably be talking to a few teams of professionals and you will need to be able to work together with them. We want to provide you with some tips on how to get the most out of your hired professionals.
Be clear with what you want
The first step in having the perfect relationship with your professionals is to be clear about what you want and need them to do. If you want to knock out a wall and put in a new one that will be an inch shorter, tell them that it needs to be exactly an inch shorter. If you want to put in a new skylight, make sure you have agreed on the design, the place, everything. If you are not sure that you have told them something, tell it again. Always make sure you have pointed out everything that is important.
Listen to their advice
Not everything can be done, no matter what pushy life-coaches want to tell you. Sometimes you are limited by the layout of your home, by what is scientifically possible, by any other factor that is unchangeable. The people you have hired will tell you when this is the case or when they believe that a certain work can be done another way, the better way. Also, bear in mind that these people have more useful information than you can presume, so they might point you to a store where you can find cheaper tiles or even get free insulation. They are the professionals and they know what they are talking about. Hear them out.
Let them do their job
We have talked to expert renovators and they have told us that there is nothing worse for them than when a client spends every single moment of their life hovering over them and questioning every single thing that they do. And really, try and imagine if someone did this to you at your job. You would not be able to do the best job you can, would you? You need to understand that these people know how to do their job and that they have their way of doing it. Let them do it.
Help out when you can
There are always jobs that you can do yourself, like cleaning up after painters or bringing in stuff from the truck or the van. If you have the time, get involved and help out your hired pros. This will help them do the job more quickly and you might even get a discount if you do some serious work. This does not mean that you should butt in when you are not sure about what needs to be done or think that you can do their job. Still, if you can help, then do it.
Be friendly
Being a nice person goes a long way, every professional will tell you this. Brew some coffee for the people working on your project, perhaps go out and bring a meal for everyone from time to time. Treat them like real people and you will be surprised as to how much more pleasant the environment will be. This will have a positive effect on the work they do and the time in which they do it. Do not overdo it however and do not bore them when they are hard at work.