Surprises should never happen

By Herb Lagois

After watching two friends go through nasty construction surprises recently, I came back to what I always say: You have to ask the hard questions.

John and his wife, Susan, wanted a small building for their pharmacy in western Ontario. They asked me to read through the contract with the company they were hiring. 

I told them I found it to be vague and confusing. There was lots of “mutual mystification” ‒ which meant both sides had different understandings of what would and would not be done. 

All will be fine, right?

I suggested critical questions they needed to ask and advised them to tighten up the contract. I don’t think they did. Were they afraid to say something, or did they simply trust that all would be fine? 

The renovation was relatively “small”, about 1,000 sq ft. It was to be an open space with one little bathroom: not a major job. It should have been finished in three weeks or so, four weeks for sure.

But it took months and months and months. Not only that, but the site supervisor assigned to the project wasn’t doing his job. It meant John, who already had a busy full-time job, had to try to manage it himself, a task not within his expertise. 

Costs, lost revenue -- and something missing

Every time they turned around there was an extra, or a delay, or an excuse for things not happening. Those extras cost $100,000 more than they had budgeted, and that was on top of lost revenue because they couldn’t open their business on time. 

Imagine the stress. Imagine the worry. Imagine the toll on relationships with loved ones. No one needs an experience like that. This should never happen!

When the building was finally finished, there was something missing. There was no barrier-free access. Many of the pharmacy’s customers are older people with mobility issues who can’t get into the building. Wow! 

You need more than charm

John and Susan now have to hire someone to solve the problem by creating barrier-free access ‒ another big surprise, another big cost.

I understand how it goes. You’ve got this construction “expert” sitting in front of you. The expert is a good talker, friendly, and so a trust develops. “He’s a nice guy,” you say. “We like him.” 

Liking your contractor is important, of course, because you’ll be working together. But you have to do more than be charmed. You have to make sure she or he is a good fit. You have to ask questions, read everything over, get it in writing, and never, ever, make assumptions. You must make detailed decisions up front, before construction begins.

For example, if there’s final flooring written into the contract, that doesn’t mean anything. What kind of flooring is it? What colour? Is it commercial grade? Is it thick? Is it durable? Are trip hazards a concern? What’s the warranty on it? Every single decision has so many factors, and it’s essential to know them all.

Unreal from the start

Another friend, Sam, a doctor, wanted to build a small medical clinic in another province. He told me it could be done for $100,000. My eyebrows went up immediately.

“Sounds like it would be more like $200,000 to $300,000,” I said. Sam was sure I was wrong because he believed things were priced differently where he lives.

Coincidentally, the lease on Sam’s current office was over and he had to use a temporary setup. This meant time was short and the pressure was on.

Stress and decisions don’t mix

And that’s one of the worst times to be taking on a new project: when it needs to happen quickly, when you’re under pressure to get construction underway. You don’t make the best decisions under stress. 

When the prices came back to Sam, they were around $200,000 or $220,000. What was he to do? He was in the middle of it by now. He had to bite the bullet and do it. 

He found a company and signed an agreement. But he still had to get a building permit. And just like that, the project grew to $300,000. To make things worse, he was hit with a $30,000 change order before construction even started. That, to me, should have been foreseen.

How are you to know?

A change order with the wrong contractor could be anything. It could be, “I forgot to price this, and it’s going to cost you an extra 10 grand. Sorry.” Or it could be something found behind a wall ‒ mould, for instance. 

If you’re not educated about potential problems before you begin, how are you to know? A good contractor will undertake proper site inspections to find the mould, for example, and tell you what it will cost for remediation. In that case you can decide if it’s within your budget or if you will need to rethink your plans with a different solution somewhere else.

You shouldn’t have surprises in the end. You have to know what’s going to happen, how much it’s going to cost, and when it will be completed ‒ up front, before the project begins. 

What to expect from day one

Yes, there are still surprises behind walls that can’t be seen. Tip: A good question to ask is how these surprises will be communicated and dealt with. 

This is why at Lagois Design∙Build∙Renovate we educate our clients fully and clearly. We tell them what they might expect and whether it will fit their budget. We keep communicating all throughout the project about where we are with time and finances. It’s part of the process we have developed, starting with design and selections. It’s our first commitment to Perfecting the Art of Living.

Investing in a home or renovation is probably the biggest investment people ever make. So why do they rush to get a shovel in the ground when it all has to come crashing to a halt because something’s missing or all the decisions haven’t been made?

Ask and keep asking

Bottom line: You have to take your time, and you have to ask questions. Hard questions. You have to keep asking them until you get all the answers. 

Do this early in the process, not when you’ve started or halfway through or ‒ worst case of all ‒ at the end. 

Herb Lagois is the founder of Lagois Design∙Build∙Renovate and the author of “The Right Fit: How to Choose a Renovator”. Read or download a copy here.

There were no surprises in this Lagois project.