CHAPTER 13What to Ask Your Architect and Contractors

WHEN YOU ARE borrowing money, paying a mortgage, or paying a lease, time becomes a significant amount of money. It's important to know what's going on at your property and it's important to prevent as many delays as possible.

I'm going to clue you in on the world's worst secret. You are going to get delayed on something. Probably multiple things. If you never got delayed and your construction or renovation finished on time and under budget, please allow me to congratulate you for being the first brewery ever to accomplish this feat.

Photograph of a man in front of an old printing shop, which was to be turned into a craft brewery shortly.
This is me smiling before I knew how much work I had in front of us to turn this old print shop into a craft brewery.
Photograph of a man in front of the same old shop being converted into a craft brewery, supervising the work in progress.
A in progress.

Again, while it's easy to point fingers during these delays, doing your homework and understanding your property, your project, and your relationships with your contractor (if needed) and vendors will inevitably save you time and money. Here are my nine keys to maximizing your time and effort to save you a ton in the long run.

  1. Set deadlines up front. Anyone who has been through a construction or renovation project knows the old saying “twice as expensive, twice as long.” While there can be unforeseen delays out of their control (e.g. permitting, inspections), if ...

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