G.A. Porter Construction, Inc.

G.A. Porter Construction, Inc.

G.A. Porter Construction, Inc.
Resources - What to expect

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~ Our work speaks for itself ~ Our customers speak for us ~

What Will Happen During Your Project

At best, remodeling is a difficult period for a homeowner to endure. Remodeling is not redecorating, where you bring in a new piece of furniture and take away the old one. It is an activity that can take days or weeks to complete. During this time, there will be inconveniences such as noise, dust, and the storage of materials and trash. These elements are simply unavoidable. If you know what to expect, it becomes easier to adjust to the stress that will develop. That is what this booklet is about.

Gary A. Porter, CR, President

JOB SUPERVISION

The management of G. A. PORTER CONSTRUCTION INC. is organized to insure that your job runs smoothly and effectively. This is accomplished by having a site supervisor who will coordinate the activities on your project.

Your salesman knows your contract better than anyone else. Once the job is in progress he will work with the site supervisor to insure that the project is completed according to the contract specifications.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH G. A. PORTER CONST. , INC.

As soon as the project starts, all the communications with G. A. PORTER CONSTRUCTION, INC. should be directed through the site supervisor. The tradesmen have a general idea of your project but they do not have all the information about your project that the site supervisor does. So, please do not ask questions of the tradesmen for this reason (unless a situation arises as outlined under "What to do if/when you see a problem" below).

HOW THE JOB WILL PROCEED

Your job will be completed as quickly as possible. Please do not be alarmed if you fail to see any workers for a few days at a time. This is normal due to waiting for inspections, the drying of plaster and paint, and the coordination of the various craftsmen that will be used on your project. The length of the job that is stated in your contract has taken these factors into account.

MISTAKES WILL HAPPEN

We ask for your understanding if an error in coordination or workmanship does occur. Our crews are good (excellent, in fact) but they are human and they do make mistakes. We expect that a mistake or two will occur on your project, but we also want you to know that we will correct them! When your job is completed, we want both you and G.A. PORTER CONSTRUCTION, INC. to be proud of the finished product.

WHAT TO DO IF/WHEN YOU SEE A PROBLEM

When you see a problem or if you see something you find unacceptable, there are three ways for you to help us deal with what you have found:

1. Show it to the site supervisor so that he can be sure it is taken care of.
2. If the site supervisor is not available, contact us at the office and we will have the site supervisor contact you so that you can tell him what you have seen.
3. If you see something being done that you feel is not correct, you can talk to the craftsman doing the work. If he is unable to give you a satisfactory answer, tell him to stop until the problem can be addressed by the site supervisor. All of your tradesmen and subcontractors are instructed to follow your directions in this kind of situation.

CHANGES AND ADDITIONAL WORK

It often occurs that there is additional work that is asked of us during the project, or that during the work things are uncovered that need attention. When this occurs, there are two ways to deal with the extra work:

1. Define the work that needs to be done and have a change order with a fixed price prepared for your approval. This is essentially a second contract and will be treated as such.
2. Define the work that needs to be done. Do the work and charge you at the normal billing rate for each employee's time and the direct cost of materials plus 35% of the materials. There will still be a change order signed.
Any change in the scope of the work will cause the project to take longer to complete. Work which is not specified in the contract will not be done until a change order is signed authorizing that work to be done.

YOU AS AN ON-SITE INSPECTOR

As this project is underway, you are going to be very interested in every aspect of it and will look at it closely on a daily basis. If this were my home, I would be looking in every nook and cranny to make sure everything was being done right, and I expect you will do the same. This means you will probably find a mistake or two that has been missed by us in our regular inspections.

When this occurs, just inform the site supervisor and they will take care of it. But, you also need to realize that the work is not completed until the job is done, and that in the end, all will be right.

YOUR HOME AS A CONSTRUCTION SITE

Your home is going to become a construction site. This means that there will be a lot of traffic in and out of the property and your house. There will be dust and dirt that will get into the rest of your home, and you will probably have to clean your house after we are finished. You can plan for this by placing drop cloths or sheets over the furniture in adjacent rooms. It would also be advisable to move furniture, artwork, breakables, etc. from any traffic areas our people will be using and from the other side of any walls we will be working on. We will take every reasonable precaution to see that as little as possible wear and tear takes place to your home.

GETTING READY FOR THE INSTALLERS

If you are doing the demolition, please be sure that your work is finished and the work area is ready for us to start our work. If you are supplying some of the materials, please have them there for us to inspect the morning we start your job. Please remove all personal belongings from the room(s) we will be working in, as well as the thruway that our tradesmen will have to walk to get to these rooms.

Have an area set aside for use to store the materials and debris for your project. You may need to make arrangements for cooking and washing in other parts of your home while we are doing some of our work. Inform your insurance agent of the remodeling. Once materials are delivered to your home, they are covered by your household insurance policy. You may need to change your coverage so that the new work is insured.

SAFETY

Plan to have the area we are working in put out of bounds to children, guests, and yourself as much as possible. We ask this with your safety in mind. This is a construction site. There will be materials, trash, loose wires, wet plaster, and other things on the job site that you are not accustomed to dealing with and could therefore pose a safety hazard.

THE INSTALLERS

Our craftsmen are experienced and have received specialized training. They are professionals who take pride in their workand in their ability to satisfy our customers.

FIRST DRAW AND KEYS

Please have a check in the amount specified on the contract ready for us to pick up the first morning we start your project. You can give it to the site supervisor when he is there that day getting things started. Also, we will need a key from you put in the lock box that will be put on one of your doors. This key is to allow us to secure your house if we have to leave during the day and give us access to your house so that the work can proceed smoothly.

THINGS TO EXPECT

Depending on the nature of your project, there may be interruptions in the water, electric, and heating systems during the course of the job. Every effort will be made to ensure that at the end of each day your house is fully functional, but there may be one or two days of inconvienience for you.

IF YOU DO THE PAINTING

Many of our customers like to do their own painting as a cost savings. If you are going to do your own painting, there are several things you should realize:

1. Caulking around trim and at the trim is normally done by the painters.
2. After the primer is applied, small imperfections in new drywall or plaster that have been missed in other inspections usually comes back after the primer is applied to deal with these imperfectons.
3. Painters are who putty the nail holes after the nails have been countersunk by the carpenter.
4. Paintings usually have some sandpaper to deal with minor imperfections or rough spots they come across while painting.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

The finished product is something that is not seen until the end of the job. Many things get adjusted after their installation, and that is just part of how things are normally done. This is your project, and we want you to be delighted with it. So, if you do see something you have a question about, just ask the site supervisor about it.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

There will actually be two final inspections. The first will be at a point of substantial completion. The site supervisor and you will review the job and the contract to be sure that everything that has not been done is put on a "Punch list" so that everything will be done to your satisfacton. The second will be done after the items on the "Punch list" have been taken care of. This inspection is to allow us to look at your job with you and have you tell us that everything is to your satisfacton.
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Company info | Awards/honors | N.A.R.I. | Our team | History | Job photos | Resources

Created by Yvonne Porter © 1998
Last revised on 1999/05/14
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