Main contractor or Specialist?

[Anonymous]

having spent the past 2 years repairing bits of our house piece by piece, we may soon be in the lucky position of having a cash sum with which to speed repairs along.

Having already seen to the roof, gutters, drainage, plumbing & electrics...the priorities are now:

Window repairs
Lime plaster repairs
Clay lump & flintwork on outbuildings
Some fine plasterwork repairs (Cornice)

So the question is....should we seek a main contractor who works with historic buildings or seek specialists individually? Our initial estimates (based on individual specialist quotes) are £50-60k...obviously big enough for a main contractor to be interested....but are there any suitable ones in Norfolk???

All suggestions gratefully received

 

[Anonymous]

Over to you, Gareth.

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose my inexpert view would be that it depends on (a) how much time you've got, and (b) how knowledgeable you are.

If you have the time and knowledge to handle the thing yourself, you will have much tighter control of who does what, the credentials of tradesmen appointed to the project, and so on. You will also save money.

But if you feel too busy, or too uncertain about how to proceed, then a main contractor is probably your best plan. But do be sure to check up on him thoroughly, ask for references (and take them up), and ask to see examples of previous projects he has undertaken.

Most important of all, be sure that you give him a clear and detailed written brief on what you want - don't rely on vague verbal instructions. There's nothing more frustrating and pointless than an after-the-fact argument about what you told him and what you didn't. You need to be able to point to clear written evidence of your brief.

And don't sit back and let him run the job unsupervised. You need to ensure at every stage that he is passing on your wishes accurately to the trades that he appoints to the job.

I hope that is some help. Glad to hear that you're coming into some cash. You couldn't lend me a tenner could you? <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/wink.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">