Questions worth asking before you appoint a contractor
A short list that separates a contractor who has thought about your job from one who has only priced it.
By the time quotations arrive, most of the useful information is not in them. These are the questions that produce it.
About the work itself
- How would you sequence this, and what does the sequence depend on?
- What do you need from us before you can start?
- What is most likely to go wrong, and what would you do about it?
- What have you assumed that we have not confirmed?
The last one is the most revealing. A contractor who can answer it has read the job; one who says nothing has been assumed has not.
About resourcing
- Who will be on site, and how many?
- Who supervises, and are they there full time?
- What is subcontracted, and to whom?
- What other work is running at the same time?
About evidence
Ask for comparable work and for permission to contact the client. Ask what documentation you will receive and when. Ask to see a sample of the reporting from a live contract, with commercial details removed.
About the relationship
Who is the point of contact, how are variations handled, and what is the escalation route when there is a disagreement. Every project has one; the question is whether there is a process or an argument.
A note on certifications
Where a certification or approval is relevant to your project, ask for the certificate, check the issuing body and check the expiry date. A claim on a website is not evidence, and a contractor confident in their position will not mind being asked.