5 Things I Look for When Hiring a Subcontractor

Developing relationships with quality subs takes time, and there’s risk….how do you know if the guy you’re hiring for your project is a diamond in the rough, or a huge pain in the butt?

There’s no way to know 100%, but years of experience have taught me a few things. This list is general enough that it could apply to hiring a plumber for some repairs on your house, to choosing a major outfit for a big multifamily project, though as you get more specialized [say, high end custom lighting installation, or sprinklers in ahistoric adaptive reuse project], and as you go up in scale, there will be fewer options to choose from.

You want to, first and foremost, make sure that the project scope aligns wth the type of work that sub does - so your first questions/vetting should happen even before you talk to the sub. No one will be happy if you end up with a sub whose scale/skills aren’t applicable…and while to the outside eye all plumbing [for example] might look the same, there is a world of difference between custom residential, multifamily, industrial, commercial, etc plumbing work.

You want the guy who does work like yours every day and has a proven track record.

One of our renovation projects under construction. See more here.

So, after you’ve made sure that the sub’s qualifications and typical project experience aligns with your project, you’re ready to start talking to subs!

Well…wait…let’s first talk about who hires subs.