Anyone have any experience working with contractors in Europe on smaller projects? I ask not because I need one, but because the work in Europe seems to have many more unique details, experimentation, etc than American work. I'm wondering how contractors there respond to non-standard details.
I'm having trouble getting our (American) contractor to do even a custom door jamb, much less an interesting facade or flooring, etc.
How is it working with European contractors? Do they gripe as much as American ones do?
contractors always gripe, doesnt matter where you are.
my GF and recently did a single family house in NL, we had alot of trouble getting a contractor to do the work for a price that the client could afford. we were pretty worried that this would mean all half interesting details were lost, but in the end the contractor was still very ambitious and seemed to want the same thing we did - a nicely finished building.
not sure how that reflects the general contractor attitude here though.
Wow. Beautiful, P2an. The contractor I'm working with on a residence could never achieve that level of refinement—not because they're incapable of it, but they just don't see the need for it. Or they don't understand it.
Every client they've ever had has been satisfied with standard details. So they're really puzzled that we push them so hard for refinement. My argument is that they bid and took on a modern home (their first) without looking very carefully at the drawings. So now, every unique detail that comes up, they complain and complain.
I have to disappoint you and at the same time disagree with most comments here. Europe is very different. Yes, you do not have to doctor and treat contractors like K-12 subjects that need input about every friggin' screw or appropriate adhesive. Simply in Europe construction or elements of construction are considered trade. This means that concrete guy really knows everything he needs to know about concrete and inherently its technology, developments, construction methods and relationship to other systems and methods as well as materials. Same applies to woodwork, metalwork, insulation etc. So, in conclusion yes it’s much easer and legally speaking you have much less headaches when building in Europe especially if you have small project. And I am not talking it's a perfect world but it's much better than in New York, or LA for my part.
I moved from the Pacific Northwest to California, and I found that the quality of trades went down drastically. In the NW, when you worked with a steel guy, they somehow were more attuned to the craft of what they were doing. They even understood the architecture.
In California, the trades seem both more literal and more sloppy.
For instance, we had an entry canopy with a visible front on it that was welded together. I assumed they would know to have a continuous weld. But instead they spot-welded the thing together, totally haphazardly. Looks awful.
That probably wouldn't have happened with the steel guys I worked with in the NW—or I assume, in Europe either.
Farwest1 exactly. You have to tell these guys everything, something they woud know simply by experience in the trade.
In the end you are a babysitter and usually a looser.
Oct 8, 08 2:43 pm ·
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Contractors in Europe?
Anyone have any experience working with contractors in Europe on smaller projects? I ask not because I need one, but because the work in Europe seems to have many more unique details, experimentation, etc than American work. I'm wondering how contractors there respond to non-standard details.
I'm having trouble getting our (American) contractor to do even a custom door jamb, much less an interesting facade or flooring, etc.
How is it working with European contractors? Do they gripe as much as American ones do?
contractors always gripe, doesnt matter where you are.
my GF and recently did a single family house in NL, we had alot of trouble getting a contractor to do the work for a price that the client could afford. we were pretty worried that this would mean all half interesting details were lost, but in the end the contractor was still very ambitious and seemed to want the same thing we did - a nicely finished building.
not sure how that reflects the general contractor attitude here though.
in regards to the house i mentioned above, fotos are on my
flickr acct.
no close ups, but the craftsmanship wasnt too bad at all.
Wow. Beautiful, P2an. The contractor I'm working with on a residence could never achieve that level of refinement—not because they're incapable of it, but they just don't see the need for it. Or they don't understand it.
Every client they've ever had has been satisfied with standard details. So they're really puzzled that we push them so hard for refinement. My argument is that they bid and took on a modern home (their first) without looking very carefully at the drawings. So now, every unique detail that comes up, they complain and complain.
Just curious: are those solid wood treads on the stair, or do they have steel embedded in them?
I have to disappoint you and at the same time disagree with most comments here. Europe is very different. Yes, you do not have to doctor and treat contractors like K-12 subjects that need input about every friggin' screw or appropriate adhesive. Simply in Europe construction or elements of construction are considered trade. This means that concrete guy really knows everything he needs to know about concrete and inherently its technology, developments, construction methods and relationship to other systems and methods as well as materials. Same applies to woodwork, metalwork, insulation etc. So, in conclusion yes it’s much easer and legally speaking you have much less headaches when building in Europe especially if you have small project. And I am not talking it's a perfect world but it's much better than in New York, or LA for my part.
I moved from the Pacific Northwest to California, and I found that the quality of trades went down drastically. In the NW, when you worked with a steel guy, they somehow were more attuned to the craft of what they were doing. They even understood the architecture.
In California, the trades seem both more literal and more sloppy.
For instance, we had an entry canopy with a visible front on it that was welded together. I assumed they would know to have a continuous weld. But instead they spot-welded the thing together, totally haphazardly. Looks awful.
That probably wouldn't have happened with the steel guys I worked with in the NW—or I assume, in Europe either.
Farwest1 exactly. You have to tell these guys everything, something they woud know simply by experience in the trade.
In the end you are a babysitter and usually a looser.
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