Decide with the cost of major repairs.
After the people who will carry out repairs are finally selected, you need to decide on prices and terms. Both that and the other should correspond to reality as much as possible. Any repair cannot be made in an instant of an eye – this is a technological process that takes place according to certain rules, and observing many of them requires a time regulation. However, this does not mean that during the time that is supposed to dry or prepare some repair elements you need to pay. Therefore, you need to approach the cost of major repairs reasonably, and conclude an agreement, having previously thought over each of its items well. Otherwise, very unpleasant misunderstandings may occur, such, for example, as an overspending of funds and a breakdown of the time of repair.
The cost of work, first of all, you need to ask the contractor. This is also one of the right ways to check the reliability of employees. In the event that the cost is called immediately, without hesitation, and even without a preliminary inspection of the premises, you should be wary of. A professional is unlikely to act in a similar way. First of all, he will measure the premises, carefully appreciate the front of the upcoming work, calculate everything and only a few days later, having made an estimate, will report the cost of major repairs and provide estimated documentation.
The form of compiled documentation is not the last value. It must include a detailed alternate list of all repair work, a list of materials required for them and the cost of each component of these lists. Such a detailed list will not only make an accurate assessment of all the upcoming costs, but will also turn out to be invaluable documents in the event of some kind of controversial issue. In addition, the list will make it possible to navigate how much work has already been done and how much it remains to be done.
Therefore, the estimate that the contractor will provide must be studied very carefully, taking into account one nuance – the contractor who is eager to receive an order, it is more profitable to initially significantly reduce the formal cost of major repairs, hoping to get it to the desired amount. Therefore, if the price indicated in the estimate is somehow too loyal, it is also worthwhile to be alert-either the contractor is a bad specialist and is ready to work for a penny, or on top of the estimate you will have to pay a certain amount that will significantly surpass the specified in the document. Well, most likely, both together. Or not all the necessary work or materials, and, one way or another, all this will have to be paid during the repair, which will again lead to an exorbitant increase in the initially declared price. And it is difficult to refuse the services of this contractor, when the work has already been partially done, it is difficult – to find another, it will take time, and specialists are reluctant to take someone else’s work.
But even if the design estimate documentation was prepared very carefully, you always need to be prepared for the fact that real expenses will exceed the estimate, and the term of the repair will be more than the alleged. During the performance of work, unforeseen problems often arise, the elimination of which will require both time and money. This is especially true for old buildings of a large degree of wear. They have many hidden defects that are invisible during superficial inspection. Therefore, the approach to the upcoming reconstruction of the premises should be rational and most planned.
And it helps to organize such an approach and current control, and its own participation in the process of repairing the owner of the apartment. Within reason, of course. You should not stand over your head with workers – this is nervous and causes a desire to end the repair as quickly as possible. No need to try to delve into all the nuances of the work on the work – we will leave this to specialists.
You just need to draw up a schedule of work together with the materials supply schedule, take part in solving issues of using any technology and striving to extinguish conflict situations that may arise among workers. This is enough to ensure the quality and speed of the repair if the repair is cosmetic or partial. In the event that a major overhaul is carried out with the full reconstruction of the premises, it is quite difficult to take a direct part in the work throughout the entire repair process. Therefore, we must try to hire highly qualified specialists. Their services are expensive, but, in the end, these costs always pay off.
However, and when working with a complex team, the problem of control will not be so acute. In this case, the customer only gives orders in the instructions of what and how to repair. And the team leader is already distributing these works between the members of the brigade. It will be very advisable to record all the customer orders on paper so that there is no confusion and disputes. To do this, it is useful to keep a notebook or notebook on the facility, where all instructions, tasks and changes that appeared in the process are made.
In order for control over the quality of work to be productive, it is better to carry out it at the end of each operation. In this case, it is very careful about preparatory and hidden work – the final result depends on them. This is especially true for waterproofing if it is done at the facility, because subsequently it will not be able to check it – it will be completely hidden by the finish. In the case when the quality of brickwork, plaster or screed is checked, you must definitely use the plumb line and level. If something seems unclear, you need to demand clarification. This move, rather, psychological than the technical – sometimes, no matter how accessible they explained, it still cannot be understood. However, the builders, one way or another, is growing a sense of responsibility, which does not allow to hide marriage under an outwardly impeccable coating.
There are several nuances regarding the payment of work that you should know in order to avoid unnecessary risk. Advance of workers, as a rule, is inevitable. However, it must be carried out reasonably. First of all, it is necessary to put the condition before the workers – before the start of work, no payments are made. Money is issued only for the purchase of materials. Another condition – the advance corresponds to the volume of work performed, and does not exceed a third of the total cost of major repairs. The advance payment should be no more than 80% of the cost of the already conducted operation. All remains are paid after the end of the repair.
And finally, the third condition – the advance payment is paid no more than one – twice. Because a very unpleasant situation may arise when a significant share of money is paid, and the workers simply disappear without completing the repair. Or some of the expensive materials are spoiled, and there is nothing to compensate for this damage, because the salary has almost been issued and is already wasted.
In the case when the reconstruction of the premises is carried out by the repair and construction company, the customer’s duties are mainly in the control of the financial situation. However, it will not hurt him to visit the facility once again, because it happens that the work for some reason is suspended or part. And no one informed the customer. Of course, in such situations it is necessary to immediately demand an explanation from the official responsible for the object of the official, which must be determined in the contract. Otherwise, repair work can drag on an indefinite time, and no material compensation will compensate for moral losses caused by prolonged discomfort, both external and internal.
But even in the case when all the problems are successfully resolved and the repair is completed, it is too early to sigh in relief. Work still needs to be accepted.
Acceptance is carried out only in a clean room. Garbage must be carried out, tools and equipment were taken out. The object is handed over to the person who directly managed the work in the repair process. Is it usually or the team leader of a complex brigade or a company representative controlled work. If a designer for copyright supervision was present during the work, he should also be upon delivery of the object.
At the time of this delivery to the contractor, it is advisable to draw up an act of alignment of mutual settlements. It indicates the volume of work performed, the number of materials spent on them and all other expenses. Such a document helps to summarize the final mutualization, so it should be compiled no less carefully than a preliminary estimate. It may contain records of additional works that were caused by the identification of hidden defects or were carried out during the repair process on behalf of the customer. It is unacceptable to increase the price of the cost of major repairs in the document, the price of which was clearly stipulated at the beginning of work, unless the process itself turned out to be much more complicated than it was assumed, however, it should be previously stipulated with the customer.
Direct checking the quality of the work performed is as follows: firstly, you need to carefully view how the surfaces are painted and wallpaper is glued. Paint and varnish coatings should lie evenly, there should not be any interspersed in them, and the joints of the wallpaper should not be visible from a distance of about two to three meters.
Secondly, it is necessary to carefully squeeze the tiles thoroughly to make sure that there are no voids under it. The seams between the tiles should be neatly wiped. Their width should be the same.
Thirdly, you need to check how sewer systems and plums work and make sure that shut -off cranes overlap all leading pipes.
In the fourth, the operation of electric networks is certainly checked. To do this, any device is taken and consistently connected to each of the sockets. The operation of the ground must demonstrate the contractor by connecting a tester to it, with which you can check the operation of low -current networks – antennas, phone. The room switches should work smoothly, without jerking.
Well, and finally, you need to check the doors and windows that should open freely and without creaking.
If the floor lies on the floor, it should not cry underfoot. If the floor covering is rolled, it should lie evenly, without bloating. False thresholds and skirting boards should fit tightly to the floor surface.
If remarks occur during the check, they must be fixed in writing, because according to the results of the initial audit, a defective statement is compiled, which is signed by the customer and the contractor. This document is needed to establish the deadlines in which the problems will be corrected, or if it is impossible to eliminate them, compensation will be accrued for poorly completed work.
These are the main recommendations on repair issues that significantly help to understand its aspects. Of course, telling about all the difficulties that may arise during this event is impossible. They relate to specific cases, therefore it can be said that the success of the repair depends on the quick wits and entrepreneurship of the owner of the premises, and – important – on its stress resistance. Because-everything once goes away, and it will also pass. Moreover, one way or another, but a reward for incredible efforts will serve as a clean, beautiful and comfortable apartment.