There are times when even the best of us may not have the qualifications needed to fix something around the house. Every year, there are thousands of disaster stories where homeowners thought they could do the job on their own, only to end up causing costly damage to their property. If you are not certain that you can handle the job on your own, you may want to consider hiring a contractor to help you. However, before you do, there are a few questions that you will need to ask.
1. Are they licensed?
The average handyman won’t have a license, but commonly, contractors will need to be licensed and certified. It is a good idea to ask them for their qualifications and find out if they are licensed in your state. This can be very helpful when you are trying to pass an inspection after the work is done. A qualified contractor will already know everything that needs to be completed to pass that inspection.
2. How do they calculate pricing?
Most contractors should offer you a free estimate of the work that will need to be done. However, this estimate may be completely off depending on the availability of materials or if anything goes wrong. It is important to find a contractor that will offer you a guarantee of some sort, or at least some sort of pricing threshold. If they won’t you will need to make sure that they come to you for approval for anything that will put you over your budget. Staying on budget isn’t easy, but it helps when the contractor is working in your corner.
3. Do they have a particular specialty?
General contractors can usually do a variety of different tasks, but that doesn’t mean that they should. For example, if you need help with your wiring, it may be best to hire an electrician, rather than a general contractor. It is a good idea to make sure that they are qualified to handle the exact job you need done. You can save a lot of time and heartache by going through this step first.
4. How do they plan to stay on schedule?
Repairs and renovations can take months to complete and it is vital to find a contractor that can stay on schedule. Try to get as firm of a completion date is possible and then ask them what they will do if they go over on that time period. These extra days, weeks or months can completely destroy your budget, so it is very important to find out how well they work on a schedule.
5. Do they have references?
A good contractor will be more than willing to provide you with references. You need to follow up on these and make sure that the homeowners are happy and satisfied with the work. Some may even allow you to see the work that was done so you can form your own opinion on the quality of the job.
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Originally posted 2008-08-25 05:26:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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3 comments ↓
It’s also important to make sure they have insurance. Liability insurance for the contractor, their workers, and any subs they hire. IF someone gets hurt on your property, and there’s no insurance in place? You could be held responsible, even if it’s not your fault.
Excellent point… Being bonded and insured is essential!
These five points are very important and I think at times people forget how important it is to make sure that everything is put together and in place before just picking any GC.
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