7 Major Causes for Residential Construction Delays

Whether you're a homeowner hiring a contractor or an architect partnering with a home builder, it's important to understand what causes residential construction delays. We’ve identified five common glitches that can slow down project completion. These insights will help you choose the right contractor to keep timelines on track and ensure a smoother, more satisfying experience.

1. Substandard First meeting

The first time you meet a contractor is crucial as you clear your expectations and gain feedback on your project. Suppose your contractor's first meeting does not discuss your project's critical elements and does not estimate the project's timeline, in that case, there will be misunderstandings that lead to project delays.

It is essential that your contractor lays out all the project details and answers your questions rightly in the first meeting.

To help you with your first meeting, we have compiled a shortlist of questions to ask your contractor:

• Ask your project manager questions like how do I avoid a change in the order?

• How will my project be managed?

• What does the payment process look like?

• How can I avoid delays in my project?

• Is the license holder involved in my project?

2. Blockers

A blocker is a task whose completion is necessary before the contractor can undertake other tasks. For example, not receiving the city permit on time or dealing with subcontractors who don't show up on time. A skillful project manager will how to identify and address each type of blocker. Delays in constructions occur when things don't go as per the plan, and since construction is often sequential, that's often unavoidable.

Careful planning is a must to avoid delays, and the expert contractor will identify blockers well in advance of the project to prevent them from being an obstacle.

3. Poor Management

Incompetent management is another primary reason for project failure. Managers are responsible for creating a project plan that includes all the customer's required elements and then delivering the completed project by the planned dates.

If there is no project manager appointed to manage your project, you will waste time, money, and resources coordinating with the company. At Green Bay Remodeling, we provide our customers with dedicated project managers for effective construction management. The project manager assigns roles and responsibilities within a project and coordinates labor and materials to the job site so work can get done in a timely fashion.

4. Lack of Planning and Standardization Leads to Residential Construction Delays

When it comes to keeping your project on time, nothing is more important than having a detailed project plan to work from. Newbie construction companies often face the challenges of not having enough experience needed to standardize a process.

As a homeowner or an architect, you should choose a contractor who has handled multiple projects like yours in the past and offers you a robust project plan that can easily be updated as the project moves forward. This also enables managers to quickly diagnose potential challenges and solve problems before they become costly delays.

5. Lack of Effective Communication

A residential construction project has many employees involved. Any failure to delineate what each party's responsibilities are in the project can result in critical tasks being ignored and create significant project delays. If the contractor is not responsive and does not communicate clearly about the project's whereabouts, there will be more change orders. Little problems can turn into significant delays because of poor communication between parties.

Also, when it comes to transferring design ideas, contractors need to ensure that the customer's needs and wants are accommodated in the project's design. Thus, it is vital to hire a contractor ready to listen to your idea and transform your vision into reality.

6. Labor challenges

A general contractor typically works with several specialists for each project. The contractor must hire the best in the field for each task of the project. For example: Hiring a professional plumber and not a painter for a plumbing-related task. If the contractor fails to effectively manage the team of specialists and their timelines and schedules, the project will be delayed. An experienced contractor will always have a designated crew for a specified job.

7. Changes in budgets and projects

Planning the project, contacting your contractor ahead of time, and communicating your checklist items accurately to your contractor can help you avoid changes in budgets and projects. An accomplished contractor knows how to estimate project costs and accurately predict the outcome at the beginning of the project. Change orders shift the budgets, and to ensure that there are fewer change orders, your first meeting should be implicit.

All delays in a construction schedule can impact the project, whether it be to the cost, to the plan, or the reputation of those involved. To help avoid delays, hire a contractor who ensures all the points mentioned are avoided.

We at Green Bay Remodeling Inc make it easier than ever to deliver real-time updates from the job site to all key stakeholders via our 100% responsive and dedicated project managers and cutting-edge technologies used to manage projects. Our rigorous practice over the years brings everyone onto the same page right away and produces the fastest resolutions in the form of directives for how work can continue.

Inc.com has ranked Green Bay Remodeling as the top 500 companies in the Bay Area. We help homeowners and architects like you build your dream homes every day.

You have questions about how to keep your project on track with your planned schedule. We have answers. Get in touch with us to know how Green Bay Remodeling can help you make your dream project successful without causing any delays.