
Many contractors make it a habit to stop by the local home improvement store to pick up needed items before starting work for the day. While this ensures that you get exactly the materials you intended, and have personally assured their quality, it also entails a lot of wasted time. It isn't very cost effective for a contractor to spend the first hour of the day selecting supplies, waiting in line, loading the truck, and driving to the job site. Building materials delivery can be a convenient alternative that saves time and money.
Benefits of Building Materials Delivery
Boston is known for having the 5th worst traffic in the country. Even though most contractors get an early start on the day, they can still end up sitting in rush hour traffic on 93. Time spent sitting in traffic is time wasted. Additionally, lots of idle time consumes fuel. This drives up costs associated with the job.
When building materials are delivered to the job site, everyone on your team can get right to work without having to spend time running errands. This often boosts productivity, because your workers are able to spend more time at work actually working on tasks.
Many suppliers will deliver the materials you need on your schedule, not theirs. When materials come just in time, they aren't sitting at the job site. Your workers will not have to spend time covering up materials so that they are not exposed to the elements.
Your site will not become cluttered with piles of exterior trim, metal framing material, or specialty drywall that you won't need for several weeks to come. A messy work site poses a safety hazard and requires that employees spend time cleaning and organizing every day.
Your piles of construction material can receive unwanted attention when local thieves decide to help themselves to valuable scrap metals. A 2008 Builder survey found that 90 percent of contractors reported materials theft at the job site. Boston building materials delivery can limit your exposure to theft by limiting the amount of items on hand at any given time.
How Building Materials Delivery Works
There are many options of specialty and general Boston building materials delivery companies. Depending on your needs, it may be best to find dedicated specialist vendors for insulation delivery in Boston, drywall delivery, metal framing products, and wood. Or it may be preferable to find one vendor who can get most of the materials you need, then pick up the rest in person.
When working with a vendor, you can review their inventory, determine what items you need for the job, and place an order to be delivered within a certain time frame. At the date in question, a delivery truck will take the items to your work site. Some companies offer full service delivery, and will unload the items for you at a place you specify. Others will unload the items on the curb, leaving your team in charge of organizing the materials on site.
Typically, it's your responsibility to inspect the items upon delivery. You can refuse to accept any items that appear damaged, and can seek a suitable replacement from the vendor. Some materials may be back ordered or out of stock. In these cases, the vendor should work with you to find a suitable replacement, advise you when the materials will become available, or credit your account.
Most vendors will either accept payment upon delivery of the goods or work on the account system, which can be helpful for managing project budget and supplies.
To learn more about residential and commercial building materials delivery, contact us today. One of our team members can help you set up your account, walk through the process, and guide you through making your first building materials order.

Photo credit: Dave Lindblom / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Sources: http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/05/boston-traffic-congestion-report
http://www.builderonline.com/security/ripped-off.aspx
http://www.bobvila.com/articles/36-buying-home-building-materials