Builders & Renovation Contractors

So you need to get some work done on your house. Regardless of what kind of work you want to do, - building, renovation, remodelling, interior design etc, finding the right people to do your job, be it big or small, is important not only for your wallet but also for minimising the risk of heartache and damage to your sanity.

About Thai Contractors

Thai builders and contractors are capable of good quality work (just look at the buildings and skyscrapers in Bangkok). However, like car mechanics, a honest, dependable, and competent building contractor is hard to find. This is especially so if you are living in the provinces and rural areas. This is because the good ones would probably have gone to work in Bangkok or at other places where the money is.

But no matter where you are, here are some things to look out for when engaging a contractor.

Finding a Contractor

Online

These days, the easiest way of doing so is going online, especially in forums such as Thaivisa and Teakdoor. You have the benefit of tapping on the experience of others, so you already know what to expect before you proceed (I have engaged the services of a lawyer as well as visited car workshops through online recommendations and they were pretty accurate and good, like what the reviews said). 

Look Around Your Neighbourhood

If online information is not available for your area, another method you can try is to look around your neighbourhood or apartment block. See if there are any contractors that are currently doing some work. Better still, if they are working on a few places in the same neighbourhood at the same time (besides being a rough testament to their workmanship or prices, this also makes it easier to get them to do rectification works later on). If you like what you see, simply go up to the contractor and ask him to drop by your place and offer a quote.

At the same time, beware if the contractor is working on too many jobs in your area at the same time. Some contractors work on many jobs concurrently as, rather than having potential customers wait and run the risk of losing a job, they will take on all jobs that come along. However, this means that his work is likely to be slow if he has a small setup and has only a limited number of workers helping him.

Look at the Houses Around Your Neighbourhood

If online information is not available for your area and there are no contractors working in your neighbourhood currently, you can try looking for houses here that have had work done on them. If you like what you see, talk to the owner. Most Thais will be happy to give you the contact while sharing with you about their experience with the contractor and the cost involved.

Random Searches

This includes listings online, in newspapers, and through word of mouth. Getting a good contractor can be hit and miss, even if they have a registered company and office.

So if you are going with these sources, ask for references if possible.

Beware of Empty Promises

To get the job, many contractors will promise you anything initially and then give you shoddy work later on, hoping that it is acceptable to you. If it is not, they may rectify the mistakes until:

• A minimum standard acceptable to you is reached. 
• You get so worn out and worn down by the entire process that at a certain point, you give up and accept whatever has been achieved.
• You make them rectify the mistakes until the contractor gets pissed and an argument ensues. This sours the working relationship such that they may either down tools and walk off the job or if not, you run the risk of encountering even shoddier work for the rest of the job.

To avoid all of these issues, think carefully whether the contractor is capable of keeping his promises (look to his past work for an idea). If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Comprehensive Paperwork

Does the contractor provide proper paperwork? E.g. list of works to be done, drawings, timetable for each task, list of materials to be used etc?

Note that not every contractor will have these (especially in the rural areas) but even if these are not available, it will be good to ask them to verbally specify all of these in detail so that everyone has a common understanding of what is involved and is in agreement.

I have also prevented mistakes before, right at the beginning, by simply asking the contractor to do a simply handwritten drawing of what he was going to do. It turned out that his understanding of the job was different from that of mine.

Cost

Always ask for the cost before allowing the contractor to commence a job. This is to prevent misunderstandings and inflated costs later on.

Be reasonable and pay for what you want. If you want luxury, pay for it. If you pay peanuts, do not expect too much.

Do not make a decision solely on cost. Reliability and workmanship is equally important for good work to be done. Bargaining too hard may get you a good price and the contractor might accept the job if he is desperate but you can be sure he will cut corners to save time/effort/materials used in order to justify the amount of money he gets. At the same time, beware of quotes that are too low or too good to be true. If the price is too low, the contractor will find themselves running at a loss later on and they will not be able to complete the job as promised. At this point, it is very likely that they are going to ask you for more money before they will continue.  

While it is often unavoidable that you suddenly think of new things that need to be done in the course of the job, do not expect that the contractor will do all of these for free. If it is minor or a small job (e.g. installing a mirror, changing a light), yes they may do it FOC but if they think that the extra work incurs additional charges and you think that it is reasonable, pay it.

Payment

The contractor will probably need to get an advance from you for buying materials and for paying his workers before starting on each stage of the job. So work out the payment stages with them before work commences. See if the sums to be paid out at each stage is reasonable – some dishonest contractors have been known to disappear after receiving advances. Typically, you will only pay in full when the job is finished and has been inspected to your satisfaction.

Pay on time. The contractor needs to pay his workers and expenses and if you delay payment, he can pack up and leave. However, do not pay if the contractor is unprofessional, slow, or does shoddy work. Do so only when the job has been completed to your satisfaction.

Communication

As what most people know when dealing with contractors, the end result they produce is often different from what you had mind, even if the contractor is a local in your home country and they speak the same language as you. This is going to get worse in Thailand with communication and cultural issues coming into play.

For best results, it is vital that your contractor and his workers can understand you throughout the job. So if you are a foreigner who cannot speak Thai and your contractor has a limited grasp of English, it is important that you have someone close by, who can translate for you, as and when needed.

Supervise Closely

For best results, find time to be around and supervise the work closely. This will help to minimise problems arising from incorrect understanding and miscommunication.

This is also helpful in times when the contractor is unsure of something and he needs to check with you. Otherwise, he may just proceed based on what he thinks you want and the end result might be wrong.

Quality

This concerns two areas, workmanship and the quality of materials used.

Generally, Thais and foreigners have different standards of workmanship. What is deemed acceptable to Thais is often viewed as shoddy by foreign standards. And poor workmanship in Thailand is often due to the lack of attention to detail. Many of the newly built houses I have seen in Chiangmai (even those costing several millions of baht) have poor finishing.

So if you want work to be done to Western standards in the provinces or in rural areas, be prepared to do a longer search for a suitable contractor or even bring in workmen from places such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket etc, where they are used to foreign standards of work.

Regarding the quality of materials used, Thais know that if a contractor does a job for you with parts included in the quote, you are almost guaranteed of getting poor or sub-standard quality materials and items. This is because the cheaper the materials used, the more profits they will get. This is why Thais usually buy the materials themselves (the actual buying can be done on your own or you can ask the contractor to accompany you to the store so that you can get his advice on the spot) and ask the contractor to quote for labour only.

Lastly, it is always helpful to have some basic knowledge of what the job entails so that the contractor cannot hoodwink you. This is not difficult as there is a wealth of information available online.

Rectification Works

In any job, it is unavoidable that a certain amount of rectification work needs to be done. Depending on how professional they are, it can be difficult to get a contractor to come back to do rectification works after the job has been completed. This can be troublesome, especially for jobs with defects that show up only after a period of time.

Therefore, try to find contractors whose homes or offices are nearby or they are working on other jobs in the area. Generally, they will be more willing to come by if they are nearby.