C reating a construction schedule is the key to keeping control of your project. By getting an idea of how long each trade will take to complete, it is easier to move something that has already been scheduled than it is to ?rst get it on the books. Once you establish a rapport with your subcontractors, it will be easier for them to work with you and try to meet your needs.

In the beginning, be sure to ask and note how long it will take to get permits and how far in advance you must call to schedule any inspections. When you are getting the bids from each subcontractor and vendor, be sure to ask how long it will take for them to complete the work or get the product you need. Once you accept a bid or an estimate from a vendor or a subcontractor, note on the bid how long it will take for them to complete their work. This is important and they need to agree to this in any contract you sign with them. They also need to agree that once their crew begins your job, they will not leave your job until it is either completely ?nished or is as far as they can go until whatever else needs to be completed. Once you get to a point where people are standing around waiting, the  subcontractor will start losing money and will pull the crew for another job.

Then it becomes dif?cult to get them back until they are either ?nished with the other job or to a point where they can stop. This is the place where most builders and homeowners get into big trouble and lose time, which becomes quite costly.

What you don’t want to happen is for a subcontractor to give you a great bid, but he is extremely busy and cannot give you a full crew for a full day. In that case, he may give you one man for 1or 2 hours at a time. A job that is slated to take 1 week could take 3 or 4 weeks. This could cause every other subcontractor major problems while they wait for something to be completed before they can start their part of the project.