A question we’re faced with on construction job-sites on a pretty regular basis: Should we try to handle this ourselves, with the staff we have on hand, or should we hire someone who specializes in this sort of thing? For instance, almost anyone who’s been working in the industry for a little while probably knows how to install a sink without any help from a plumber, but good luck getting a new house hooked up to the sewer without someone on hand with extensive experience. The trick is knowing when a job can be handled by any capable hand on deck, saving money that you would otherwise spend on a specialist, and when it’s going to be a hassle, and perhaps a disaster, to skimp.
Here are instances where you should certainly hire a specialist:
License Required
If a license is required to operate a certain piece of equipment, or if you need a special permit, then maybe you can do the job just fine, but you’ll wish you’d let someone else handle it when the inspector starts asking questions. Better to hire the professional than risk the fines and penalties that come with skimping.
No Hands-on Experience
Electricians, plumbers and other professionals have apprenticeships for a reason: It’s just about impossible to learn on-the-job without an old hand showing you the ropes. Wiring a home isn’t like making a pizza, you can’t just put anyone on the job and expect them to figure it out. When dealing with a new challenge, you’ll save a lot of time and money letting a specialist handle it. Go ahead and peek over their shoulder while they do it, but don’t waste time, money and supplies guessing your way through a tricky task.
High-Risk Tasks
Mess up a piece of drywall? Big deal. Patch it up when you have time later in the week. Mess up the gas line? You might wind up out of a job, if not in jail. You can “figure it out” when you’re trying to do low-risk tasks on the job. You don’t want to trust your intuition when it comes to the tasks that you only get one shot at, or that might have some serious repercussions if you don’t get it right the first time.
An experienced person on a construction site typically has a little bit of knowledge about nearly every aspect of the job, just as a medical assistant knows a little bit about everything at the hospital. But you don’t trust the nurse to perform the heart transplant, and you don’t want your gofer installing the propane heating system.
