ike wrote:One question that has constantly boggled me is how to tie money paid to the amount of work done... usually construction workers are paid per day, which leads to excuses to prolong the number of stipulated days and thus more of your money.
I suggest you use either one of the following:
1. Agree a lump sum amount for each task before work starts based on the fundi's quote. If the fundi quotes, say 16k, as the labour cost for walling, then that ought to be the fixed amount for that task. All you need to do is benchmark with nearby projects to ensure that you are getting a good deal. You can even get two other quotes and compare.
2. Pay per unit of measurement. For the walling example, you could agree on the cost per square metre. So, whether the guy does 5 or 10 square meters the cost per unit wouldn't change. Still, you'd need to monitor the pace of progress but the good news is that you'd achieve cost certainty.
Hope this helps.