Cheap, Fast or Good.

Chris, our architect, gave us some good advice when it came to choosing a General Contractor for our shop's buildout.  Here's a few pointers I wrote down in my notebook:

• Get everything spelled out in writing from the start
• G.C's take a huge cut & some are more greedy than others
• Plumbers & Electricians are really the only sub-contractors that you need
• Get creative to save $$$.  Help out with work where/when possible
• "Cost Effective" is the term you want to you when talking to G.C.'s 
• Get one cohesive bid set- it'll be a lot easier to get it stamped [approved by the city]
• Avoid Sprinklers, they are really expensive & a pain with the SDFD
• $30K is too much for an exhaust hood    
• Keep as much existing lights & switches as possible
• Cheap, Fast or Good: Choose 2 outta 3.

On the last one, Kate & I decided, "Cheap" & "Good" were the most important.  We were in it for the long haul & we could still work while the buildout would be going on.

At the library, I looked up as many area general contractors that I could find positive BBB & Yelp ratings for.  I came up with a list of 16 total to contact.  I made phone calls, sent emails & met in person with 10 of them at the shop between December & January 2018.  

I was able to narrow it down to around 5 that I thought would be the best fit for us.  The problem was that none of the G.C.'s would touch our project until we had stamped plans from the city.  

"You don't wanna break ground & then have to go back & make changes," Kenny told me when I met him in person.  He was only one on my list that lived in OB.  "It'll get real expensive, real fast.  That's why I won't take any project without stamped plans."

And, "Fast" was not the word that I would use to describe Chris' progress on getting our plans stamped.  It had been over 4 months since John got us approved with the health department.  But, with these kinds of things, you had to stay positive & be patient.