You've found a plumber. A friend knows a good tiler, and the electrician can start next week. That feels like a renovation taking shape.
Then the tiler asks who is making the walls ready. The plasterboard installer needs the wiring finished. The plumber wants the specification for a shower you haven't chosen.
When an owner asks me whether to appoint one contractor or hire each trade separately, I start with a different question: who will keep the whole job moving? If nobody else has agreed to do it, that person will be you.
One contractor can still use subcontractors
A company offering to organise your renovation doesn't necessarily employ every trade in-house. It may use its own team for some work and specialist subcontractors for the rest.
That isn't a reason to reject it. Nor is a large payroll proof that your job will be organised properly. Ask who will manage your property, arrange attendance and check that each stage is ready for the next.
You also need a clear point of contact when you change your mind. Moving a basin affects more than the plumber's diary.
The awkward jobs fall between the quotes
Consider a bathroom with new plumbing, a plasterboard lining and new tiles. The plumber needs the position of the finished wall. The installer needs to know where fixings and services belong. The tiler needs the correct levels and a suitable substrate.
Each person can do their own work well and still leave you with a mismatch. A connection may end up in the wrong place because the finished lining wasn't allowed for. Sorting it out can mean opening a wall that has already been closed.
You don't need to become a building engineer. You do need to know who is checking those interfaces before they disappear behind the finishes.
Hiring the trades yourself means managing the sequence
A full renovation involves protection, strip-out, waste removal, work to walls and services, preparation, finishes and final installation. Some trades return more than once.
Giving everybody a start date isn't a programme. Before a wall is closed, the services behind it need the appropriate checks. Before flooring goes down, the substrate must be ready. Finished surfaces need protection while other work continues.
Ask who fills the chases after the electrician, prepares the tiler's walls and makes good after fitting. Those tasks still cost time and money when they are missing from a quotation.
When separate trades make sense
For a self-contained job, such as repainting a flat or replacing flooring in one room, appointing a specialist directly can be perfectly sensible.
It can also work on a larger renovation if you have reliable trades, enough time and the ability to coordinate them. You choose each person, agree each price and retain direct control over those appointments.
Include your own time in the decision. Can you answer a site question on a weekday morning? Can you arrange deliveries, inspect progress and reorganise the next trade if a stage slips? A cheaper starting figure needs an organisation you can sustain.
What you are paying a main contractor to do
For linked work across plumbing, electrics, walls and finishes, one responsible contact can make your life easier. You should receive a coherent picture of what is complete, what comes next and what needs your decision.
That matters when strip-out reveals a poor floor substrate. The repair may affect floor height, doors and several people's schedules. Someone needs to connect those consequences.
A main contractor's price may include coordination and obligations absent from individual trade quotes. You may have less say over its subcontractors. Ask how the job will actually be run: one contract alone doesn't make a well-managed renovation.
Compare the finished scope
Add up the separate quotes, then check what they leave out. Protection, waste disposal, preparation, materials, final fitting and making good all belong in the comparison.
Think about the consequences of a delay too. Extra visits, damage to completed work or longer temporary accommodation can change the overall cost. For a holiday apartment in Istria, late completion can affect bookings.
A main contractor is not automatically cheaper. Separate trades can deliver a good result at a lower cost when their work is properly coordinated. Compare the job you will receive, including the responsibilities you keep.
Decide who deals with defects
The tiler says the base was uneven. The person who prepared it disagrees. You are left looking at the floor and wanting it put right.
Before work starts, agree who prepares each substrate, who checks it and how the condition is recorded. With a main contractor, establish who receives a defect report and arranges a response within the agreed scope.
If you retain your own electrician or another specialist, say so before the quote is prepared. Their work still needs to fit the programme, and the division of responsibility needs to be understood.
Owning a property in Istria from abroad
Managing several independent appointments becomes harder when you can't pop in. Agree a reporting routine, photographs of important stages and written approval of changes.
A useful update says what has been done, what is next and what decision is needed from you. A photograph of a tiled bathroom doesn't tell you whether the work underneath was checked.
You need someone on site to carry out the necessary checks before work is concealed. You need to be available for the decisions you've agreed to make. Those are different roles.
Put the arrangement into words before accepting
Ask exactly what “complete renovation” includes. Windows, air conditioning, the kitchen and final cleaning should not be assumed simply because the offer sounds comprehensive.
Clarify the scope, materials, programme, named contact, change approvals and defect reporting. You can also appoint trades separately and engage someone to coordinate them, provided that person's obligations are defined.
At BUILD GRUPA, we start with what you want to achieve and what we are being asked to take on. Send us the location, photographs, any existing plans and a short description of the work. Tell us whether you'll be in Istria during the renovation.
We'll discuss the scope and organisation with you, including what needs checking before a detailed quote.