What choices are we responsible for?

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Q. We consider ourselves smart consumers and really check out everything before making a final decision, but faced with construction, we’re trying to understand what things should be our responsibility and which should be provided by our contractor without our having to go driving around looking for things. Shouldn’t our plans cover all these things, or shouldn’t the contractor include all the things we need, like tile and shower doors, etc.? It seems like we have to do a lot of shopping or get an interior designer. What should be our expectations?

A. Do you want to be stuck with whatever somebody else chooses for you? As any smart consumer should know, your selections, especially for finishes, cabinets, plumbing, and even your house numbers, are personal choices. Expecting your architect or contractor to just know these things is naive and very trusting, and you’re setting yourself up for disappointment by not doing your homework. You should select any and all items you want.

If you need help, mainly because, like most people, you don’t have the time, an interior designer can help, although I expect that you’ll spend more to have someone bring their choices to you for your review or approval. Some clients need someone to make decisions for them. As long as a client is willing to pay for the time it takes to keep selecting choices and bringing them to the client, it pays to follow this process. But I’ve seen many times when the hired designer selected items, colors, textures, etc., only to have the client take those ideas, not pay the designer, and try to get the item or a similar choice. Not paying for services, but using the time and ideas of someone you agreed to pay either for their services or a commission on the product and/or installation, is a form of theft.

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