I had an interesting conversation with a friend last night who was doing some home remodeling. He mentioned that part of the hassle of any such project was that the general contractor (GC) with whom you are directly in contact, doesn’t really know the state of construction site (what has been done, who has stopped by to work, what it looks like, etc).
They are limited to three sources of information:
- their subcontractors
- the homeowner
- a site visit
The first source may or may not be reliable, depending on the relationship and how busy they are. Using the second leads to every homeowner’s nightmare (micromanaging the home improvement project), and also may have some reliability issues. The third may not be feasible, depending on the size of the project and the number of projects the GC is running.
However, there is now a fourth option that my friend mentioned. (I thought of drones, silly me.) My friend had anecdotal evidence that using these outdoor cameras was very helpful to some general contractors. They can review footage in much less time than driving to the site. They can send video around. They can text their subs and resolve any issues that may arise, or reschedule work if needed.
Using a camera system, like the nest outdoor camera, gives the GC an independent, truthful view into the construction site.