subject: How to Find and Hire a Good Remodeling Contractor [print this page] How to Find and Hire a Good Remodeling Contractor
One of the happiest times of any homeowner's life is the day they get to upgrade and renovate their home exactly to their liking. Nothing could be greater than customizing your home exactly to your liking. That is until the homeowner realizes they have to hire a contractor to do the job... The nightmares and disaster stories are everywhere it seems today of homeowners lamenting the day they decided to make improvements to their home. Does your story have to be the same?
The answer is no. Hiring a good contractor is a tedious process but it's not impossible. To hire a good contractor you'll want to review several good bids from well-qualified contractors prior to making a decision on whom to hire for the job. Ideally you'll have at least three good bids to look at and to get there you'll want to start off with twice as many contractors so you can feel free to eliminate the bad apples during your pre-qualification process.
To come up with all of these contractors you'll probably want to begin by asking your friends and family for referrals. You can also look for referrals at your local home improvement store, major materials suppliers in the area and any good general contractors in the area should also be able to help you out. To fill out the remainder of your list you can use a free contractor directory like Handy American. Once you have a decent number of contractors to begin with it's time to start screening them.
It's usually best to begin by checking for a license. You can easily to see if a contractor has a license by visiting your state's licensing board website. All you'll need is the contractor's name, business name or license number. Licensed contractors have been fingerprinted, they've had their backgrounds checked and they've taken a test administered by the state so checking for a license is a good place to start.
Next you'll want to look for feedback, reviews and complaints online. It's best to begin by doing a search on Google for the contractor's name or business name and add words like review or complaint. You can also check for reviews and complaints on websites like www.bbb.org and www.citysearch.com.
You should also look for a local, permanent street address and phone number. Obviously a contractor with a long work history in the community is preferable as you typically don't have to worry about these guys leaving town
At this point you'll probably want to take the best contractors left and have them bid on your project but there are still a couple of things you want to take care of. The first is the matter of references. Make sure you ask any contractor that comes in to bid for references and if they're currently working on any other jobs. You'll definitely want to speak with any references they provide you with and preferably you'll get a chance to see some of their handy work. If the contractor's currently working on a project you can ask if it's possible to stop by for a look at his work.
Finally you'll want to make sure the contractor you ultimately hire is properly insured with general Liability insurance and Worker's Compensation if he has any employees. And before you begin any work make sure the contractor understands exactly what you want done by having him sign a contract.
