How to Vet Your Masonry Subcontractor

Within the construction industry, relationships are everything. Whether it’s between the contractor and subcontractor or the subcontractors on the job. Great relationships with open communication can create partnerships for life and benefit a masonry subcontractor or any subcontractor. To make those relationships thrive, both parties benefit from vetting each other. Here are some easy tips on how to vet your masonry subcontractor.

Determining Type of Masonry Subcontractor

The first rule in vetting your masonry subcontractor is to determine the type of work they typically perform. They could specialize in repair and tuckpointing, or thin brick, or limestone, or more. It’s important to know what they’re known for and their reputation. While your project might be something they can handle, it might not be their specialty. And this is important when considering a masonry subcontractor. Getting the right person or team for the job is more important than who offers the lowest bid.

Safety Practices

Knowing a subcontractor’s safety practices is important, but it’s extremely important for masonry subcontractors. Within construction, there are many ways to end up injured and knowing how a masonry subcontractor mitigates those risks is crucial to building a positive relationship. There’s a lot of liability if they don’t follow regional guidelines which can impact the job site and other workers there. Other work might not be able to start or rework might need to be completed before the site is up to code. That’s why you should always ask about the safety practices of the masonry subcontractor.

Company Health

Company health is a large category that truly helps you get a better understanding of your potential masonry subcontractor. This encapsulates multiple aspects such as financial health, disputes, lawsuits, complaints, as well as licensing, insurance or bonding. Different states have different standards for licensing, insurance, and bonding. And in some areas, a masonry subcontractor might not need insurance or a bond. Regardless, this information can be helpful to you and your project, as it tells you more about the company and what protections or liabilities you have if you hire them.

The bigger issues in company health are the financial and legal health of the company. The financial health tells you whether or not they can pay their employees. If a company has a lot of debt or has recently had employees walk off the site due to nonpayment, they might be a risky partner. A quick check for bankruptcies, disputes, complaints, and lawsuits can also tell you more about the masonry subcontractor. Your project is safe with subcontractors with good company health.

Team History

A crucial factor in vetting a masonry subcontractor is their team history. If the company has a high employee turnover or mostly employs temporary workers it might be worth looking into. Because you need to know that they will have licensed professionals for your job. Some companies might have fewer licensed professionals and maybe more new or apprenticing workers. Depending on the company and their reputation this may or may not work in your favor, but it’s important to know about your masonry subcontractor.

Quality Control and Assurance

Asking your potential masonry subcontractor about their quality control and assurance practices can go a long way in vetting someone. Your masonry subcontractor must have quality control and assurance practice. Without a quality control and assurance process, you could be vulnerable to rework which causes delays. The exact quality control and assurance practices aren’t as important as knowing that the business has them. Masonry subcontractors that do not have a response to the question should be taken cautiously. Most subcontractors will have a quality control and assurance policy in place to ensure they aren’t liable for rework and to maintain their reputation.

It’s important to know who you’re doing business with. Whether you’re a general contractor, self-performing contractor, or a masonry subcontractor, who you work with impacts your business. A project that fails or succeeds impacts everyone who worked on it. And great working relationships between different levels of the construction industry benefits the field.