Selecting a Contractor
Beware of businesses like the Better Business Bureau, ServiceMagic, Contractors.com, etc. because their customer is the contractor. And no business wants to lose a customer. Nuff said.
When it comes to choosing the right contractor for your project, experience is the number one factor in my opinion. The more anyone does anything, the better and faster they get at doing it. The more experienced your contractor is, the more likely your project will get done on time, on budget and meet or exceed your expectations.
Beware the very low bid. If you think the person knows what they are doing and you can't resist the potential savings, go ahead with them. Just understand that they may dissappear when they realize their mistake or come to you for more money. Even if you have to hire someone else to finish the job, you may still come out ahead, if you can accept the hassle and delays. I do several jobs a year that were started by someone else, especially crown molding. Most people regret hiring the cheap contractor, but not all.
Get several bids, even if they are phone bids, so you have a realistic idea of what the job should cost. Unfortunately, some contractors swing for the fence with every bid, especially if they sense you may give them the job just to get it over with.
Hire specialists whenever you can. I can do all most anything in a home and on my own homes, I do. But when it comes to contracting, I stick to my specialty, trim carpentry. I have run so many miles of trim that I very seldom encounter problems anymore. Specializing has let me work out fast and efficient ways of doing things. The result is that I usually underbid competitiors and still make a decent wage. A win/win for the customer and me. On the other hand, if you hire one person to do plumbing, carpentry, drywall and tile work, for ecample, they may do an all right job, but it is very unlikely they will do it as quickly or expertly as hiring a specialist in each trade. Even though it requires more effort on your part now, think about how long the project will be in your home. Doing what's most likely to give you a job that pleases you every time you look at it for years to come is far better than seeing that one uneven row of tile or molding with gobs of caulking in the joints for all those years.
Be careful about giving deposits or money for materials up front. In most cases, avoid the contractor that isn't solvent enough to get materials to your job. This is the number one way people I have met have been ripped off. They give front money and never hear from the person again. As any attorney will tell you, unless it's a large sum and the contractor has sufficient assets to recover your money, suing is throwing good money after bad. Most of my jobs are done on a payment upon completion basis. If there are expensive special orders for non returnable materials, I ask for prepayment or let the customer deal directly with the supplier. On large jobs, I may request progress payments. This is agreed before I start the job. If a contractor wants a payment during a job that was not agreed to beforehand, let the warning bells ring. There may be a good reason for it (personal emergency, etc.) but often it is an indicator that things are not going well. Never give more money than the work all ready completed is worth.
Hire the person who actually does the work whenever possible. He/she is most likely to meet your expectations. Employees or subcontractors you never met that come to do your job are likely to need your supervision. On the financial side, cutting out that layer of management usually saves you money while letting the person actually doing your job make more. Another win/win. A good general contractor is well worth their cut on larger, more complicated jobs. But should be avoided on smaller jobs or jobs where only 2 or 3 trades are required, unless you are willing to pay the extra for the convenience. If so, make sure they understand that you expect them to provide on site supervision. I've overheard too many problems because a GC sent people to do a job without making sure they knew exactly what was expected by the customer.
Lastly, if you want your trim carpentry project to go smoothly, just hire me!!
Want to know more? Call me!
321 213-7525
