Learned It From Experience: L.I.F.E. Lesson #18: When the contractor says your design won’t work
As designers, we spend hours on the design we want for our client’s space. This could be drawings, floor plans, cabinet layouts, tile designs, lighting, all the things! You know how it goes, we present the designs to the client, they love them and we move forward.
BUT you get a call from your client that the contractor is making a different suggestion… what do you do?
I don’t get this call much anymore, as I now pretty much insist that the client use one of my contractors, but there was a time I did get this call.
What to do?
First, do you know your design will work? Knowledge is power and paper is different than real life. You need to know that what you have designed WILL WORK. If you are 100% sure of this, then let’s look at why the contractor would tell you or the client that it won’t work, and how to handle it. I have found that usually, the design you want and are asking them to execute, maybe more work than they have quoted or anticipated in time or it may be something they haven’t done before and are uncomfortable with it.
Expectations and communication are the only way around this problem.
- Make sure you discuss the design in depth with the contractor and or person executing it (ie: laying the tile) before you have the client sign off, order, and install. A good contractor will talk through the design and implementation with you. He may bring up why he thinks it won’t work and you can either answer with why you think it will, or pivot to something else.
- Give the contractor more info that you think they will need. This includes drawings, dimensions, the thickness of tiles, fillers, heights, etc.. the more information the better, and make sure they sign off on the drawings and designs you have provided.
- If the contractor goes to the client without your knowledge… If you have presented your design to the client and they loved it, but then the contractor tried to talk them into something else. This is never a fun situation, but your client trusts you- and it’s time to bring all parties together. Let the contractor explain their reasons, and then you explain yours and come to a decision all are happy with.
- Not to say problems with known contractors don’t come up, but I do suggest finding a few contractors you have a good working relationship with and insist on working with them on your projects. We know problems always come up and if you and the contractor are on the same page, imagine how much easier it makes the problem-solving process.
If you have to work with a contractor you haven’t before, know that information ahead of signing the client if possible, or as early as possible in the process. Given that the entire process will take longer, you should work that into your fee and make sure the client understands that it will cost more if you are working with an unknown contractor. Communicating to the client, why it will take longer is important, not that you are purely trying to work with yours.
Ultimately, there are more than the designer and client on any project, and having someone in your corner is priceless and will definitely make the process smoother for all involved so you can get onto the next one.
If you do a lot of design work that requires a contractor to be involved, I highly recommended finding those that you can trust. Ask other designers, and ask your vendors or suppliers, they will want to build that relationship as much as you do if you are bringing them projects as well.
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