Dear Angie: I have several different things I need to do to my 25-year old townhouse, but I am unsure where to start. I need a new roof, a full exterior paint job, my siding cleaned and yard landscaped.Should these jobs be done in a certain order? Is it better to hire a general contractor to oversee the proper coordination between those jobs, or just go ahead and look for individual contractors? – Ron E., St. Louis.

Dear Ron: Sometimes getting all these projects started is difficult and sequencing the projects is very important. The sequence you mentioned of doing the roof first, cleaning the siding, painting the exterior, and finally doing the landscaping makes the most sense.

Generally speaking, it’s best to start at the top and work your way down, which means taking care of the roof first. The exterior painting contractor should be able to power-wash the siding. You should save the landscaping for last, not because it is least important, but primarily so the roofers and painters don’t track back through your new landscaping to do their work.

Each of these projects is specialized and would be done by different contractors, so you could schedule them out over a period of weeks or months to help spread the cost and inconvenience to your daily life. You’ll want to get at least three written estimates for each project and research your potential contractors before you hire. Then, you’ll need to scrutinize a written contract and spell out all you want done and conditions that must be met before you would make final payment to the contractors.

If you want to accomplish all of these projects at the same time and maintain a reasonable schedule, you might consider hiring an experienced general contractor (GC) to oversee the details of the first three projects for you. A GC would be responsible for quality of materials and workmanship, ensuring all insurances and licenses are valid, and generally over seeing the project for timeliness, quality budget and safety issues. You’ll need a reliable landscaper to do the yard work, but all the research elements apply.