Building Contractors for Project Management
In general building contractors are skilled tradesmen who have undergone theoretical training as well as the practical. This enables them to read and understand drawings and specifications. They are familiar with all the building codes and regulations for their trade.
Types of Building Contractors
Builder / Carpenter
The builder or carpenter contractor is responsible for the majority of building work on a construction site. Commencing at the foundations and finishing with the roof. They are often the main contractor on site, which means that they often organize the other “subcontractors”.
Plumber
This contractor is responsible for all the incoming water pipes, water tanks and all the internal piping, the waste pipes internally, the fittings and fixtures relating to their trade, basins, sinks, taps, baths, showerheads, hot water cylinders, sometimes heating (if water based) etc.
Drain Layer
This contractor is responsible for all the exterior removal of water and waste from the site. They dig the trenches, lay the drains, and connect them to the city’s drainage system. They are responsible for the removal of storm water from spouting and down pipes.
Electrician
This contractor is responsible for all the electrical work on the project. They organize the main power feed connection, lay and install all the electrical cabling required in the building, power outlets, switches, light fittings, extract fans, electric heating, connect the hot water cylinder, install the aerial points and sometimes do the data and phone outlets. They supply all the products required to do the job. They work indoors as well as outdoors.
Interior Plasterer
This contractor is responsible for plastering the internal plasterboard linings, walls and ceilings, joints and corners. They prepare the wall surface for the application of wall hangings or paint finish.
Painter / Paper Hanger / Decorator
This contractor is responsible for the painting/paperhanging to be done on the site. They are classed as a finishing trade as they come onto the project once most other subcontractors have completed their work. They can do anything from exterior painting, to applying varnish/polyurethane to timber doors and frames, hanging wallpaper, painting ceilings and walls. They are one of the trades that rely on you having done your job and providing a finishes schedule with all the products and colors to be used and where.
Aluminium Joiner
This contractor is responsible for the design and manufacture of aluminum joinery, usually windows and doors. These are made off site at their manufacturing plant and delivered for the builder/carpenter to install. Depending on the size of the windows they may or may not be delivered with glazing installed. This can be done on site by a glazier once the joinery frame is installed into the building.
Locksmith
This contractor is responsible for the installation of all the hardware to the doors, (the windows are generally delivered with the hardware installed). They are a finishing trade, they provide and install the handles, levers, back plates, escutcheons, faceplates, hold back hooks and locks, bolts, doorstops, strike plates, magnetic catches.
Window Treatments Installer
These contractors vary, as there are many forms of window treatments. They are also a finishing trade. In general, the company that has contracted the work will have their own installers who will go to the site and install their product to their standards. They can range from heavy drapery, requiring the installation of tracks or rods to timber shutters which requires a lot more complicated fixing procedures.
