- Hiring a Remodeling Contractor
Hiring a remodeling contractor can be the part of home remodeling that can cause more anxiety and sometimes fear than any other phase of the project. How can you tell you have a good remodeling contractor? Someone trustworthy enough to do a quality job at a fair price and guarantee there work? Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. But if you do your homework, you greatly improve your chances of hiring a remodeling contractor you will be satified with.
- Remodeling General Contractors
A remodeling general contractor is a company or person you hire to oversee the entire job, whether it be new construction, like a room addition or a major remodel job, like a kitchen or bathroom. The contractor is responsible for managing all phases of the job including purchasing the materials and hiring the sub-contractors. Normally, you sign a contract with the remodeling contractor and make payments to them as phases are completed. The contractor is in turn responsible for paying subcontractors and suppliers. When you hire a contractor for the job, that is the person you turn to with your questions and comments about the work. The contractor then relays your concerns to the subs.
It’s a good rule of thumb to get at least three bids on your job. Now, who do you ask to bid on the job? Word-of-mouth referrals are best. Ask your friends, family, and neighbors for the names of contractors they have used and have been happy with. Responses may range from large design/build companies to smaller companies you may have never heard of. Don’t rule out the smaller contractors you’ve never heard of, there are many good ones and they prefer to get all their referrals by word-of-mouth.
Whether you get referrals from people you know and trust or just start calling listings from the phone book, it’s important to trust your instincts. Did the remodeling contractor return your call promptly and show up on time when they said they woul? During the meeting, was the contractor able to answer questions to your satisfaction? Were they willing to provide references? Did you feel like you had good rapport with this person, were they easy to talk to? This is very important; communication is the most important aspect of any client/contractor relationship and you need to be able to speak directly and honestly with your Remodeling contractor.
- Taking Bids and Asking for References
When you have contractors to bid your job, be sure and provide each one with an identical packet of information that includes plans and materials lists. It’s important that they have the same information to bid the same job, otherwise there is no basis for comparison. You must be able to compare apples to apples.
All bids you get should be in writing and contain an itemized list of labor and materials charges. Good Remodeling Contractor should be able to offer fixed bids, not time and materials bids, which have a way of escalating far beyond what you expected the job to cost. Once in a great while a situation will arise, where there is just no other way to bid something, besides time and material. But if a job is that complex, more than one contractor will give you a time and material bid. The bids you receive will tell you a lot about the contractors bidding. Was the bid ready when the contractor promised it? Was the bid outrageously high? This contractor is busy and only wants the job if you’re willing to pay a premium for his time. Was the bid really low? This contractor may have missed some the scope of work or deliberately underbid to get the job and will likely run into several unexpected problems that were not included in the original contract and will wind up costing you more.
When you get references from a contractor, make every effort to not only call the Remodeling contractor’s references, also ask permission if you can come look at the work completed. Not all customer defintions of a “good job” are the same. Before entering into a contract, you may want to check into how they conduct business. Check the credit history and bank references, if possible and also ask for verification that the contractor carries both worker’s comp and liability insurance, also look to see that there are no complaints against the contractor filed with the local consumer affairs office, home builders’ association, or Better Business Bureau.
While this may sound like a lot of work in the beginning, it will save you a lot of despair in the long run, both emotionally and financially. Remember this is your home, you dont just want anyone working on it.
