What to know about repairing the customer Today's repair - business complex. Qualified professionals, using modern materials, technologies and equipment can solve almost any problem. Like a mighty Genie of Aladdin's magic lamp, they are able to erect a fairy palace in the place of the dilapidated huts, if not overnight, then at least a few months. However, the implementation of more or less complex construction projects (such as major repairs of the apartment, or office renovation) must take into account several important factors. To let a significant but reasonable investments do not become unmanageable squandering your money, but the end result did not disappoint expectations and match expended in its efforts to obtain. Repairs - a thin process, consisting from the set of interrelated transactions, each of which affects the final result and, in turn, contains a number of important details.
Correct choice of technology for a particular work, selection, purchase and delivery of materials for its implementation, literacy sequence of works and interaction between experts in the exact observance of the technological cycle - all of it is rather difficult, and without having to spend time, money and effort eliminate errors and endless rework. In this article we want to talk about some important rules of planning and carrying out repairs and the most common errors.
1. Stage of thinking and planning
Contrary to popular belief, the stage of thinking about and planning for future repairs is critical role in that and at what price you get in the end. At this stage you should answer the many questions that will determine the further course of the entire work. Here it is better not to hurry and not to proceed with the implementation of subsequent phases, while you will not have a clear and a clear idea of: what, why and how you're doing. Than less you will have uncertainties "about" and various "blind spots", the sensible and correct, you can spend your time and money. By end of this stage you should have a holistic view on the future of the interior, rather than fragmented mosaic of the prettiest of its fragments. Of course, This does not mean that we can neglect the study of details, but it is important to ensure their harmonious combination within a single concept.
At this point you can go in two ways: entirely rely on their strength and flavor or to recruit an interior designer. If you chose the first way, then, without consulting experts you still can not do. Rather, you yourself have become a specialist. Take your time and effort - walk around the building exhibitions, find out in detail from sellers properties of the material has interested you, please call the repair and construction firms and professionals to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of all technologies that are you going to use, buy magazines and study them carefully (especially recommend the magazine "Ideas For Your Home"). If you decide to hire an interior designer, it is important to do it right.
First, a person must be a practitioner, not a freelance artist. He must be able not only to generate highly images, but also be clear - both technologically implement this or that idea. Necessary knowledge of the properties of materials and processes, at least in general terms.
Secondly, it should offer you a holistic concept of the interior, rather than focus attention to its individual elements. Remember that you will live and work in the created space, but not be visitors to the museum of architectural innovations. The interior should be functional and aesthetic needs to be part of this function, not vice versa. Precede the designer practical, everyday tasks and seek their solutions.
Thirdly, it is important not only to get from the designer thought out and complete the project but also to attract him to cooperate at all for work. Covenant with him on field supervision. If you are sure that you have chosen a good person - trust him. As a professional, he can better imagine the results of the implementation of an idea in your decor and help you avoid many mistakes, and thus save you money. Eventually you will win, and with the right approach, more than justify the cost of paying a specialist interior designer.
Regardless of whether what path you choose for yourself, it is important before starting to have researched the project in detail. You must have not only the architectural solution and an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat material will be finished with your premise, but also have the scheme of placement of furniture, household equipment, with reference to them Electric communications, water, etc. If the kitchen is installed dishwasher, so in the appropriate place should be electric socket, there should be supplied water and provided for drainage. Where will be the TV, should be concluded television antenna and power outlets for videos. It is these little things and create a real quality of repair, save your time, nerves and money.
2. Contractor selection
Now, when you have a full-fledged project the future of the interior, you have to choose someone who make it a reality. It is obvious that the correctness of this choice depends on a lot. There are so You can go several ways: hiring individuals and to serve as superintendent and suppliers, "strike hands with a comprehensive free-lance brigade, or to contract with repair and construction company.
first option seems initially quite attractive, since some promise saving money - you do not have to pay for the superintendent, suppliers and other professionals to ensure and control the entire process. Yes and his own watchful eye, supervise the progress of work should ensure the proper quality of their performance.
Allow once to assure you of illusion such representations. Even if you're ready for a few months to quit my job and devote himself exclusively to repair, you are unlikely to succeed in saving and quality. Building materials market is vast and varied. Understand him as a man ignorant extremely difficult. To buy a really high-quality product at a truly reasonable price, you need to do this all the time, feel the market dynamics, have appropriate communication and deliverables, to know the features properties of similar materials made by different manufacturers. In short, there must be a professional. Otherwise, buying plasterboard Kuban instead of Krasnogorsk, or Podolsk dry mix instead Biruliovsky, you risk to buy material intended for entirely different purposes than you planned. About personal control over the progress and quality of work, too, can make a lot of doubts. Modern manufacturing processes require a truly deep expertise, and you will just have to hope for competence and integrity you have hired workers to repair the end does not start down from the walls of cracked plaster and shift swollen parquet. Over the course of construction works should be competent engineering controls. Field supervision of the artist's interior there will be enough if your designer, of course, is both a qualified builder and is not ready to be present at the site permanently.
Working with an integrated team depends largely on the quality of its composition and competence of the foreman. Here important to determine the number of significant moments. Typically, the complex consists of a team of 4-5 people.
Ask what the construction professions has each of its members and what specific work brigade intends to commission a particular employee. Stroll through the entire list of proposed works and a clear understanding for themselves who and what you will do. Combination of such specialties as a carpenter and parquet layer, painter, tiler and plasterer, electrician and plumber. If you will be notified that the brigade all are able to do everything - it is better to abstain from such services. Miracles of nature do not happen.
Find out which tool has a team, do everything you need. Pay attention to the ratio of men and women in the brigade. Construction work - hard, physical work related including material handling and transport of other heavy objects.
sure to talk with the foreman of the intricacies of various technologies (Pre-prepared and to understand them myself). Do not hesitate to arrange a test - do you trust these people to serious work, and expensive materials. If you use a designer on field supervision, making it a choice of teams.
strongly recommended to request the brigadier software object "draft" materials (giving him the money under the account) and to agree with him about his involvement in the choice of finishing. In any case, this option require you to vigilant monitoring of the work and spend your money.
If you are unable to frequent the facility, ask the foreman daily telephone report on the state of affairs. When working with individual professionals, and working with integrated team, the important question may be security. Be sure to take in your work and home telephone numbers before being allowed them to work, call and make sure - who and under what conditions lives there. If you're dealing with a team from out of town, living in a rented apartment, be sure to talk to the landlord. Feel free to collect from your employees passport data.
If you chose to work with the repair and construction company, you can relax a little. Of course, there also important not to make the wrong choice and not to let the process take its course. However, the main difference between the construction company from individuals and labor collectives lies in the fact that its administrative and management personnel assume the solution of problems associated with your repairs. You do not have to wrestle with what material, where to buy, delve into the intricacies of technological nuances, to engage more thousands of big and small issues. You simply pay your money and get expected result. Provided, of course, that you have chosen a decent contractor.
There are several important criteria for selection of repair and construction firm.
First, if your intention is repairs of the apartment or office, rather than reconstruction of the building, I choose not too big a company with bloated management staff and lots of orders. This guarantees you enough attention to your object at all levels of the management structure of the organization. It should not, of course, involve small organizations to implement large-scale projects. Firm size should correspond to the volume of your order.
Secondly, we should pay attention to the quality of training your contractor for design and construction documents, but at this point we discuss in detail in the next chapter of our article.
Thirdly, it is best to seek advice from the company and ask them to demonstrate a number of projects have already implemented it. If (As might be the case with private apartments) to visit the facilities put into operation will be hard to, you should get acquainted with the objects that is currently in operation. With some of even this option is preferable, because allows you to directly acquainted with the work of the organization. Pay attention to the technologies, equipment, materials, working on-site specialists, as far as scope of work is maintained in order. All this will give you a more accurate picture of the company, rather than ready-made object, where everything is sleek and concealed finish, and unshaven, and not quite sober workers has long served in the remotest corners of the CIS. Be sure to check - who would be directly involved in the organization of work at your facility and talk with this man personally.
3. Prices and terms
should immediately make clear that each repair can be accomplished in a specified period and for a certain amount. Like Just as the car is capable to drive a certain distance, at a cost of required amount of time and fuel. You will hardly believe, if you promise transport from Moscow to Vladivostok on the machine for a couple of hours expended with 10 liters of gasoline? It is not necessary to believe and what, if you are told that major repairs your two-bedroom apartment will take three weeks and will cost you $ 5000, including all materials. How would you not want to believe it is simply impossible. Repairs - the same process as the movement of the car. It has a speed limit, and in order to accomplish each volume of work required spend the necessary amount of funds. The question is, how to invest enough money and not pay more than they should. One of the most common Customer errors of construction works - the deal on inherently unrealistic conditions. This ultimately leads to cost overruns and Delays, sometimes quite significantly.
course, that any contractor before beginning work should give you a price. This is one of the key moments. By the way, in what form and how much you called it is important to determine not only the correctness of generated estimates and the reality of planned expenditures, but and the very ability of the contractor accomplish its work.
Options assess the cost of repair "for square meter" we seriously consider will not dwell on the discussion of this form of representation "of design and estimate documentation" will not. A competent specialist should begin drafting estimates without making exact measurements of the future project without further study of the project and not listening to your wishes. If the price is said to you over the phone, after a ten- conversation - this should alert you. Competent specialist would not talk about the cost, without seeing the front of work and not spend a few days to develop and a thorough reconciliation of the budget documentation.
second important aspect is the presentation of your estimates. The present construction cost estimates should include popozitsionny list of all operations performed (preferably - separately for each room) and a similar list of materials required to perform these operations. Each item is assessed separately, with an indication of this operation and its specific value. This not only accurately assess whether all the necessary included in the estimates, but also help in solving any disputes. Immediately evident: what and how much is done, what to do and how much it costs. If as you stretch the budget tetrad leaf on which is written in pencil "Plaster - $ 200; Malyarka - $ 150, Tile - $ 250; Plumbing - $ 300 "... It is better not to focus on the final amount as to something quite significant. Before you, the estimates should be explored extremely carefully.
general should be aware that a potential contractor for the benefit initially underestimate the cost of repairs - to gain an advantage over competitors and persuade you to a deal. Each repair is worth the money, and if you offer to make him suspiciously cheap, it is likely you just cheat, hoping to squeeze "of you additional funds already in progress. Or you will not receive the expected level of quality, because each Specialist is also worth the money and will not perform work at a price below its real value. And probably - and then, and more. So do not take the time to make sure that the estimate does include all the necessary work and materials.
If the fixed cost estimates for each operation challenge the impossible and the contractor is obliged to perform it for that amount, you get free to make "forgotten" in the estimates of work or purchase materials you nobody can. As a result, in the process of repairing the initial price may be "unexpected" increase in the number of times. Even if you refuse to work with an unscrupulous contractor, and hire to complete the work of another - you still lose time and money. Builders reluctantly take up the debugging someone else's work and ask for it more expensive than repair "from scratch".
Returning to the statement, taken as an epigraph to this article, I want to say that what be careful not been preparing design estimates, one must always be prepared for some increase in the cost of repair and the timing of its implementation. In the construction and repair works sometimes have different and quite objective unforeseen circumstances and difficulties, the elimination of which requires both time and money. This applies particularly to repair old buildings, built on obsolete technologies and have a greater degree of cushioning wear. Here you can often encounter with the latent defects, to determine the presence of which was only possible in the process works. In any case, we do not advise you in advance appoint housewarming next day after putting the object of the treaty. Better define the date near the end of repair.
4. Current control and participation in
It goes without saying that no matter how competent was not your contractor and how thoroughly would not have been drafted, it is without your participate in the repair process do not succeed. Yes, and you yourself would not want to leave the investment completely unattended and completely withdraw from the formation of shape your future home.
It is important to correctly identify the nature and extent of your participation - on the one hand, "keep a finger on the pulse" On the other hand, does not encumber itself redundant by immersion in issues the opportunity to not delve into who you are, in fact, paid. If you are working with individual professionals, you have to go into literally everything. To publish a full list of problems and issues that you will encounter will require volume of several typed pages. You'll have to make a schedule and adhere to the schedule it supplies, to decide questions about the application a technology to allow the inevitable conflicts that arise at the junction of the interests of workers who perform various operations ... In short, you have to really manage the entire process of your repair and learn to practice at least two construction specialty - the superintendent and a supply. From your success in the development of these professions, and will ultimately depend on the quality and cost of your repairs. Here, we can not really tell you about something concrete, as any advice will not help you to avoid all possible errors. We can only advise not to use this option for an integrated repair and use it only when you are going to make cosmetic repairs or in part without too much difficulty. And yet. Try to hire really high quality and well-paid professionals - in this case, it only saves you money.
When working with an integrated team your circle of problems significantly shrink. Especially if the foreman agrees to serve as a supply. It was dominated by a fairly simple rule: one customer - one contractor. This means that, with your hand, and by the team, there must be one and only one authorized representative. In no way be directly, bypassing the foreman to give any instructions and tasks to the workers. Likewise, it is inconceivable that someone other than you personally, could give any instructions on repairs. We strongly recommend not limited to anything verbal agreement and commit everything on paper. Initially be composed of high-quality construction estimates, or accounting (see paragraph 3 of "The prices and terms) and a contract that specifies all the nuances your relationship with the team. In the repair process is very useful to keep at the facility overall notebook, which will be credited to all tasks, assignments and changes arising in progress. Even if these documents will not have a major legal force, they can significantly help you address various controversial issues will help avoid ambiguity and create a sense of responsibility of the contractor for compliance with your agreements.
Quality control is better to process operations. You should not crawl under a hand builders, when they do their job. By doing this you are unlikely posposobstvuete quality improvement - quite the contrary. Better agree in advance with the foreman of the end of each operation and check the quality of its performance in the final form. Particular attention should be the hidden and preparatory work - on the literacy of their performance in the most dependent outcome. If your site is waterproofing, - Be sure to check the quality of its performance before it will be hidden by subsequent studies. When checking the quality of performance of masonry, tie or plaster do not hesitate to use the level and plumb.
sure to ask questions if you need something clear and achieve clear answers. Even if you really can not control the quality of the work properly, everything is set up your work on a serious scale and will protect against the temptation hide the marriage. But remember: all of your questions should be addressed to the foreman and the only answers you should only receive from him.
Avoid prepayment works. Since working with teams is difficult to do without some advance should observe a few simple rules. First, prior to the actual work, no benefits (except for supplies) are not produced. Secondly, the advance should not exceed the cost of actually executed works and 30% of the total cost of operation. Third, pay at the end of each operation must not exceed 80% of its value - the remainder is paid only after passing the whole object. Always remember that at any moment you may find yourself in a situation where work and material is flawed, much of the money paid, and the workers have disappeared or are simply unable to pay you damages.
If the contractor you choose to repair and construction company, your job reduced, mainly to control your financial relationship. Of course, you should not miss the opportunity to visit the site and make sure everything goes as it should. Warning signs may be a work stoppage or reduction in the number of workers involved in the repair. In this case, you should immediately request explanation from the contractor. It is worth of operational and quality control, but in the absence of you have enough time to implement it is not so required. It should also strictly observe the rule of one client - one contractor. Originally defined, with any of the officials you will solve all the problems and solve them only and only with him. Of course, should provide and what the customer once you have the authority to make decisions. Since repair and construction companies are free to decide questions of ensuring their facilities general building materials, here you will not have No problems. With regard to selection of finishing materials, it is reasonable to take this advice from your contractor or designer.
5. Acceptance of work
's long-awaited moment. All work is completed and the contractor tells you that he is ready for commissioning. How to take the job? What to look for?
First of all, acceptance of works should be undertaken only in a clean, adorned the room. The object must be released from building debris. Tools and equipment builders should be removed. You must pass an object the one who directly supervised the repair process - foreman integrated brigades or engineer, who oversaw work on behalf of a construction organization. If you used the services of an interior designer on Copyright supervision, then he too should be present at the handover.
By the time of acceptance of work the contractor can make an act of reconciliation of settlements in which The actual amount of work performed, costs of materials and other costs. This document will serve as the basis for final settlements, and requires no less attention than the original estimate. Are allowed in this act of extra work caused by the need eliminate hidden defects or executed directly on your behalf. If the act of reconciliation unexpectedly found "neglected" in the original osmechivanii work, you are quite right to demand explanations from the contractor about this. Of course, totally unacceptable is to increase contractor unit prices for an operation if it is not dictated by its increased complexity, and not previously agreed with you.
We will not stop on finishing works, quality assessment which is done visually. Here everything is quite obvious and requires no special comment. We note only that All painted surfaces must be painted evenly, joints wallpaper should not clearly visible from a distance of 3 steps, paint coatings should be based on smoothly and do not have foreign matter. When prostukivanii tiles under it should not be detected voids (especially the floor tiles) joints between the tiles should have the same thickness and have been carefully erased. Necessary to test the water and sink, make sure that the shut-off cranes, cover all the highways. You should also check the electrical networks. Make it easy, using any electrical appliance, which sequentially connected to each outlet. Particular attention should be paid to the work of earth - this is you must show the contractor with tester. Job type mains (TV aerial and telephone numbers) can also check with a tester or by connecting the appropriate devices. Switches lighting must work gently (with finishing works in the mechanism can get dust). Doors and windows should open and close easily without squeaks. Parquet the same should not squeak when walking. Roll flooring should lie flat, while walking should not feel bumps and swellings. Overhead Nut, connecting disparate floor coverings must be tight and are attracted not "pop" when they attack.
All your comments must be in writing recorded. According to the results of initial delivery and acceptance of work shall be in a defective statement, signed by both customer and contractor. Based on this document are defined terms of removing all comments, and if you can not eliminate them - and how the compensation for the observed defects.
Conclusion In this article we have tried to touch all the highlights of the organization of construction works by the customer, reflect the most typical mistakes and talk about how to prevent them. We hope that our recommendations are based on long experience in organizing such works can help you save your money, time, and will save your nerves.
Source article http://Pro-Remont.com
main items for costing repairs in the apartment. All information is provided by repair and construction activities Rembrigada.ru and site of apartment renovation 
