Hiring a Contractor

Contractor

Hiring a Contractor?

Hiring a contractor who can efficiently perform renovations to your home seems to cause more fear and anxiety than any other decision you will make about your home. How do you know you have the right contractor, someone you can trust to do a good job for a fair price and stand behind their work? Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. But with due diligence and knowing what to look for you improve the odds of getting the right contractor.

What is a Contractor?

A contractor is someone who oversees the entire job, whether it's new construction or a major remodel job. The contractor is responsible for managing all aspects of the job including purchasing the materials and hiring the sub-contractors (subs). 

Typically, you sign a contract with the contractor and make payments only to them. The contractor is responsible for paying the subs and suppliers. When you have a contractor on the job, you have a person you can go to with all your questions and comments about the work. The contractor, in turn, communicates your concerns to the subs. Smaller projects may be handled by your contractor directly with no subs.

Investigate your contractor

Whether you obtain referrals from people you trust or end up blindly calling listings from the phone book, it's important to investigate your contractor.

  • Ask for multiple references
  • Look a prospective contractor up on Google
  • Look them up on your local chapter of the Better Business Bureau
  • Check Google for review, bad reports or law suits

Even after you have checked their credentials and spoken with the contractor, ask yourself:

  • Did the contractor return your call promptly?
  • Were they on time for your meeting?
  • During the meeting, did the contractor answer questions to your satisfaction?
  • Willingly provide references?
  • Lay out his expectations for the job?
  • Did you communicate well?

If your contractor can't understand you or vice versa, your house and budget could be in serious jeopardy.

Bids and References

When you ask contractors to bid on your job, be sure and provide each one with an identical packet of information including plans and a suggested list of materials. The bids you receive should be in writing and contain an itemized list of labor and material charges. You want fixed costs, not time and material bids, which have a way of escalating if left open ended.

Keep them honest!

The bids you receive will tell you a lot about the people bidding. Was the bid ready when the contractor promised? It's a bad sign if the contractor breaks his first commitment to you. Was the bid outrageously high? The 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 either doesn't understand the scope of the job or deliberately underbid to get the job or will likely discover several unexpected problems not covered in the original contract and will require additional cash outlay.

When you get references from a contractor, make every effort to not only call the contractor's references, but to go over and see the work for yourself. You never know, that happy client could have entirely different quality standards than you do.

As stated above, ENSURE you check into your contractors business conduct before you sign a contract.

Check the credit history and bank references, verify the contractor carries both workers' compensation and liability insurance, and make sure there are no complaints against the contractor filed with the local consumer affairs office, builders' association, or Better Business Bureau as suggested above.

Resources

Take before, during and after pictures of the area being worked on.

Any changes to your original contract should be in writing of some type (email, contract amendment, fax, etc.).

Don't be afraid to compare prices of materials, some contractors may mark up your materials to recoup unplanned costs.