Hiring a Home General Contractor: 7 Helpful Tips to Love
Are you thinking about renovating your bathroom or perhaps knocking out walls to expand your cooking space? If you don’t have enough demolition and carpentry experiences yourself, then you might need a general custom home builder for these tedious tasks. Are you capable of weeding out the bad ones from the good stuff? There are many television programs that showcase the bad and good contractors and having to tidy up their mess. It can be hard to find a reputable home contractor. Here are seven tips to help you with the choosing process.
– Know if what you need is a just a handy person or a general contractor. Depending on the kind of home remodeling project, you need to differentiate first the difference between hiring a contractor and a handy person. If you need home repairs that don’t necessitate a permit and cost maybe less than $500, then you can always use a handy person for it. Major electrical, mechanical, and plumbing projects will need permits pulled and also the professional services of general contractors. Although most handy personnel aren’t licensed, there are others who still have the necessary skills to perform such duties. But overall, it would also depend on the amount of work needed for your home renovation project.
– Ask around for referrals on reputable general contractors. If you live in a place that has several resources, then ask your local lumber yards or home improvement shop for contractors that they have witnessed purchasing high quality materials. Be especially mindful of contractors which only a few people have heard of or those whom you haven’t seen where they but their construction materials. Poor and cheap building materials are just the start of an awful home renovation project.
– Try to ask a home inspector. When a certain home inspector conducts a certain inspection on a seller’s home with many problems, they usually refer general contractors that they think could help them get the problem taken care of. Call home inspectors in your town and ask for reputable general contractors that they have worked with in the past. This will spare you from browsing over the phone book and look over thousands of contractors.
– Try to ask possible contractors over the phone initially. Before even having a certain contractor come out of your place, ask him several questions over the phone first. Ask about the past projects he has done that are similar in complexity and size as your home remodeling project. Don’t forget to inquire about their payment requirements (cash, checks). Don’t forget to ask their licensure’s expiry date and the physical location of their office. Don’t forget to ask about their insurances such as the Workman’s Compensation, Surety bond and etc.
– Meet the contractor in flesh. As soon as you feel comfortable with the contractor over the phone, then it is high time that you meet him at home. Ask for current projects that you can go and see. You may also ask for referrals from their past clients and projects.