When you are looking to do something new to your house, anything from fixing a heating boiler to remodeling an entire room, you need to make sure that you have a trustworthy and experienced general contractor that will do a good job. Several years back we had a job done where the general contractor residential experience must have been extremely low. There had been a flood and they had to tear out the floors and two feet up into the drywall. When we moved back in after they were done, the job was so shoddy, we had to call another company to come and fix it. We didn’t even want the original company to come back because we were afraid they would mess it up further. But, from that experience, we learned a few things. It’s necessary to do your research for general contractor residential expertise. Here are a few things that you can look for:
Credentials
Don’t just take the contractor’s word for it. Make sure that they have everything in place in order to legally get the job done right. Ask for proof of licensing and insurance. You can even check their business credit report to make sure that they are in good financial standing and not just trying to get paid a lot of money for a terrible job to get out of debt. Try calling somewhere like Dun and Bradstreet to request a business credit report. They should also have a minimum of liability insurance so that if they mess anything up in your home, their insurance covers it.
On Site Quote
Any company that is willing to give you a quote over the phone for something that you want done in your home is not worth doing business with. There’s no way that they can tell you their prices without seeing where the job is going to be done. This is because there are so many variables. Make sure that the company you are looking into offers to come out to your home and give you a quote before you suggest it. If they don’t suggest it first then you should probably see that as a red flag anyway. A good general contractor residential company will have enough experience to know that price quotes are a legal written contract and have to be done in person.
Experience
You need a contractor with experience. You don’t want your home to be their test run or guinea pig. Sure, everyone has to start somewhere, but it doesn’t have to be your house. Ask the contractor how long they have been in business and how many projects they have done that are similar to yours. You can even ask for pictures of those projects. Most contractors will take before and after pictures to show other customers the type of work they are capable of.
Reviews
Don’t just look at the reviews on the company’s website or take their word for happy customers. Go to Yelp or other online review places that are third party companies where customers can write unbiased reviews. This will give you a better idea of the kind of work that they do. If there don’t seem to be any online then you can ask if they have any commercial projects they have done and go in person to that place to talk to them about the construction company.
Price
Remember that the cheapest isn’t always the best deal. However, a good contractor will usually be willing to negotiate price some what.
If you look into the above five areas and you are happy, then chances are, you have found a good general contractor residential company. Whether you are getting plumbing services done or a paint job, the contractor should know what they are talking about and be able to make your home look and function better than it did before, not worse, which is the problem that we ran into. If you really want to avoid having to pay for the same job to get done twice then you might want to take the time to look into the above five areas before you hire the contractor. You’ll be glad that you took your time in the end.
