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Find a Pre-screened Contractor
Few things related to home ownership can be more frustrating
than to envision a remodeling or addition project, find a contractor to do the work, and end up with either a long,
drawn out process (during which your house is practically unlivable) or worse, a totally botched job.
Where to find professional help for your
house
One of the most reliable sources for finding remodeling
people and contractors is through personal referrals. Start by asking people that you know--friends and co-workers--who
are the most reliable. Since one of the most important characteristics you will be evaluating will be reliability
of the worker, you don't want a referral to come from someone who isn't reliable them self!
The Internet has also made finding a reliable contractor a much easier task than it used to be. We've found an excellent source available oneline. Service Magic-- From maintenance
to remodeling, Service Magic is committed to providing homeowners with qualified and professional contractors.
All their member contractors have been pre-screened to ensure they are properly licensed, and insured. Best of
all, both of these services are free. More information.
Another good source of recommendations is your local building supply house. The employees there work with contractors
on a daily basis and probably can give you a fairly good evaluation of them. Seeing a contractor having to return
four times to get material because they miscalculated the job tells the building supply house employee a lot about
that individual. Hearing a contractor's assistant complain about not getting his paycheck on time may say something
about the reliability of the contractor.
 Once you
get started, it gets easier.
A very good source of referrals for trade professionals
are other professionals in unrelated fields. For example, once you have found a plumber in whom you have confidence,
it is likely that he or she will be able to give you a few names of electricians. Then the electrician should be
able to refer to you the names of good roofers and general carpenters. Before long you should have a number of
possibilities for people in each of the trades.
How to evaluate professional help for
your house
Once you have several choices for each trade you need to
narrow it down to a primary choice and a backup (if your water heater is leaking and your choice for a plumber
is at the beach, you will need an alternative!) The most important items to evaluate are on the following checklist.
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EVALUATION CHECKLIST
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How long have they been in business? |
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Do people consider them to be reliable? |
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Can they give you three references of people for whom they have done work? |
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How is the quality of their work? |
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When the work was finished, was the job site neat and clean? |
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What is their hourly rate? |
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Is the work done by them or will someone else (e.g., an assistant) be doing
the actual work? |
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Do they have proper insurance coverage? |
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If necessary, do they have the proper license? |
When Your Choices are Made...
Keep track of your choices! Put them on your list of who to call when you need professional help and keep it in a readily accessible place.
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