Remodel Series, Part 3: How We Work With Our Trade Partners

Anyone who has run their own remodel knows the morning. The tile setter is standing in the kitchen, the plumber hasn’t been back to finish, and nobody can start until somebody makes a phone call.

A kitchen remodel needs four or five separate trades, each at the right point in the job. Hire them yourself and you schedule them, check their licenses and sort it out when one trade’s work blocks the next. Each of those trades is usually its own company.

That’s more than two thousand businesses in two counties, in the seven trade groups above. Somebody has to choose among them and put them in order.

Which trades are ours

Our crew does the painting, finish carpentry, drywall, cabinetry and tile, and we run the schedule. Plumbing, electrical and HVAC go to licensed subcontractors, and a re-roof to a licensed roofer we bring in. Anything load-bearing is designed by an engineer and built by an appropriately licensed contractor.

The license sets that split. McDermaid holds CSLB license #803672, C-33 Painting and Decorating and B-2 Residential Remodeling. California created the B-2 for multi-trade work on existing homes. A B-2 contract has to include at least three unrelated trades, done by the contractor or by appropriately licensed subcontractors. A B-2 contractor can’t change the load-bearing parts of a house, like foundations, load-bearing walls and roof structures, and installing or substantially changing electrical, plumbing or mechanical systems goes to the appropriately licensed trade. Our B-2 page has the details.

Running the trades

The partners we bring in are licensed trades we work with regularly. We vet them, schedule them and oversee them, and you deal with one company.

First, the license. Every partner has to hold the CSLB classification for the work they do. You can check that yourself, and our post on how to read a CSLB license shows how.

Second, the order. Rough plumbing and electrical pass inspection before the walls close. Cabinets go in before the counters are measured. Paint comes last. We hold every trade to that sequence and to the standard of the work.

Third, the paper. Scopes, change orders, budget updates and project records stay in writing, the same as on the design side in Part 2.

What California expects of any contractor

These rules apply to every home improvement contractor in California, us included. Read them before you sign anything.

The same guide says any change to the contract price needs a written change order, and payments can’t run ahead of the work performed. Our written proposals tie the payment schedule to milestones for that reason.

That ends the series. Our remodeling and project management pages show more of the work. When you’re ready, request an estimate or call us at (650) 961-7415.