Hendersonville Construction Contractor: How to Set Expectations for the Construction Process and Cost

Even a small construction project may give you restless nights due to the amount of effort, time and cost involved. Most people feel overwhelmed, and a certain amount of despair when it comes to planning the construction project as the construction process and costs involved need to be carefully thought out before initiating the project. In this article, we explain how you can set expectations for the construction process and the costs involved by doing some planning beforehand. Before hiring a Hendersonville construction contractor, make sure to learn how to set expectations for construction process and cost.

Setting the Budget

You need to set up a budget for the construction project either by allocating funds from the existing money which you or your business have or by taking a construction loan. You can also use a combination of your funds and a construction loan to meet any shortfall. Most construction loans require some down payment usually in the range of 20% – 40%.  

Once you have calculated how much money you can set aside for the project, you can calculate the total floor area by dividing the budget amount by the average rate per square feet for your type of construction project.

Design Development

After setting up the budget, you can move on to the design phase of the project. You need to hire an architect who could translate your vision of the finished building into a feasible design. Once the architect has prepared the drawings for the construction project, you may consult with other experts involved in the project for the civil, mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects.

Permits

Almost all municipalities and local government bodies have stringent requirements and laws in place for carrying out any construction work, and you need to take the required building/construction permits from the concerned authorities before starting any work on the project. Usually, an architect deals with all the documentation needed for getting a construction permit and the owner has a negligible role at this stage.

Identifying or Pre-Qualifying the right Contractors

Before hiring a contractor, you should pre-qualify them by conducting thorough background checks, asking them about their expertise, past work experience and whether they are licensed to practice within your state. Most states in the U.S. have online databases of licensed contractors and you can quickly check whether the contractor bidding for your project is licensed in your state or not.

After screening the contractors, you can solicit bids from them for the design prepared by your architect and compare the bids with each other to see what is included in the proposals. Always make sure you’re comparing apples-to-apples. Make sure you ask your bidding contractors to provide an in-depth proposal that includes all labor and material costs broken down into sub-sections. Once you have selected a contractor and have discussed the payment schedule and terms, you are ready to start the construction work on your project.

Construction

Construction is perhaps the most crucial phase of any construction project unforeseen circumstances can crop up all too commonly. You may run out of funds, or the material which you wanted to use may not be available or may be too costly to use. Be ready to improvise at this stage as you may have to cut your expenditure in some areas or spend more than planned on other areas. A good plan is a flexible plan. The expertise of your contractor can help you be better prepared in this stage of the game.

Hire the Best Hendersonville Construction Contractor

Dunlap Construction is the most highly rated Hendersonville Construction Contractor. We have helped several individuals and businesses in constructing a building as they desired. We hope that you will contact us for a customized quote on your next project.

Tags: Construction Process and Cost, Expectations for the Construction Process and Cost, Hendersonville Construction Contractor

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