Causes of Construction Projects Failure
Posted on

Causes of Construction Projects Failure

For any contractor, a successful construction project is the one completed within the set budget and schedule. Clients are happy with completed projects and a contractor can walk away with clean profit. Essentially, a successful construction project is the one where both the contractor and the client win.

But, a failed construction project causes issues and conflict. It is associated with schedule delays and cost overruns. If a construction project is not managed properly, it leads to overstretching of the budget and extension of the completion deadline. Going over the set budget eats into the profit of the contractor in addition to causing conflicts. It also affects other projects because the equipment and workers of a contractor are tied up as they try to finish up the failed project.

So, what makes a construction project fail? Well, here are some of the major reasons why a construction project can fail.

Inadequate Planning

Poor or inadequate planning can cause poor execution. When more effort and time is spent on planning out a construction project, everybody is better off when getting the actual work underway. Therefore, start by reviewing and understanding the construction plan, specifications, client’s expectations, and work scope. Careful planning of a construction project entails working closely with the architect, client, suppliers and subcontractors in order to complete construction project’s milestones within the set schedules.

Poor or Lack of Communication

Effective communication is important in ensuring successful completion of a construction project. Poor or lack of communication causes costly rework, accidents, delays and eventually an unhappy client. Ensuring that everyone is always updated on the client’s needs, schedules, and progress of the project is important in preventing problems that can lead to failure. Therefore, have a communication plan with a designated communication point to ensure that every stakeholder is constantly updated on what needs to be done.

Changes in the Scope of the Project

Continuous changes or expansion of the initial scope of the project beyond the initial plan can also cause failure of the project. This can be due to a poor definition of the scope, incomplete specifications and plans, mismanagement of changes, and poor communication of the changes.

Productivity Issues

Delays in the completion of a construction project can be due to natural disasters that are uncontrollable by the involved parties. For instance, unfavorable weather can make completion of a construction project on schedule challenging. Shortage of labor or having few workers available can also lead to delays in completion of a construction project.

These are some of the factors that can lead to the failure of a construction project. Nevertheless, a good contractor can overcome these challenges with quick thinking, careful planning, and effective decision making to ensure successful completion of a construction project.…

Red Flags to Make You Fire a Contractor Immediately
Posted on

Red Flags to Make You Fire a Contractor Immediately

Red Flags to Make You Fire a Contractor Immediately

You hire a contractor because they seem competent and civilized. However, working with a contractor that seems competent at first can turn out to be a nightmare. That’s because they are not whom they pretend to be. But, how do you know that you should fire a contractor? Here are some of the red flags to make you fire a contractor immediately.

Too Much Upfront Payment Request

Obviously, a contractor should not ask you to pay an unreasonable amount of money upfront.  A contractor needs some money to start working on your project. However, asking you to pay over 15% upfront is a red flag. In some cases, a contractor can ask up to 33% upfront payment. But, a good contractor has sufficient credit to cater for upfront costs. If the contractor doesn’t have enough credit, it’s possible that they messed up in their previous job. Thus, their credits may have been revoked. This is not a good contractor.

Strange Hours Appointments

Visit the job site at 10am, 2pm, and Monday morning. How does their jobsite look like? If the jobsite is always quiet, re-evaluate the contractor. A good contractor sets their working hours. These hours determine the efficiency with which your project will be completed. It also reflects the overall professionalism of a contractor. If you notice that the contractor is absent most of the times when you visit your jobsite, ask them about it and fire them if you don’t get a satisfying answer.

Uses Drugs on the Job

What a contractor does at night on Fridays is not your business. However, if a contractor comes to your jobsite drunk or high on drugs is your business. Don’t tolerate a contractor that uses drugs or alcohol at your construction site.

Poor Communication Skills

You want to be updated on the progress of your construction project. Therefore, a contractor should communicate with you efficiently. For instance, if a contractor finds your missed call, they should call you back. If a contractor has vague communication, they are ill tempered, and not understanding your need, it means they won’t deliver your desired results. Therefore, consider firing them.

In addition to these red flags, fire a contractor if they don’t want to work with a written contract or follow the guidelines of the contract. Also fire a contractor that tries to steal building materials from you.

Check out this website for last hire for contractors.…

Things to consider when you hire a construction contractor
Posted on

Things to consider when you hire a construction contractor

When you are hiring a construction contractor, there are a couple of things that you should consider. This is to make sure that you are going to hire the best contractor and that your construction project is going to be a success. These are the most important things to remember. Things that many are forgetting about.

The contractors need to be local

People are forgetting about this fact. That it is better to hire a contractor that is local. This is just much easier to get hold of the contractors if you need to. And, they can’t just disappear without you knowing where to find them.

It is just so much better to use a construction contractor that is local and that you can visit at their store or office.

The warranty that they are giving on the construction

Yes, even building projects should come with a warranty. And, for sure not just for a month or two. You are paying a lot of money for the building project. Therefore, you should make sure that you are getting a warranty of at least 2 years.

If the quality of the building was low, you will only see it after a couple of months. And, this is why you should make sure that you are going to get a good warranty from the contractor.

They need to have their own construction insurance

This is really something important that people forget about. The fact that the need to have their own construction insurance. If a worker is getting injured during the project, and while they are working in your home or office, you are reliable for their safety if they don’t have insurance.

This is why it is important to make sure that they have construction insurance and that it is updated and paid in full.

Always have a contract between you and the contractor

If a contractor is saying that you don’t need to have a contract between the two of you, you should run away, really fast. This is the most important part of using a construction contractor. The signed contract between the two of you. There the amount that he estimated should be on, and the time estimate of the whole project.

The moment that you consider these things about construction, you will not have any problems while you are building a property. These things are making it a great experience to build and you will get the results you were looking for. In fact, these are the top things that you should know about construction before you can start looking for a contractor.  

…