Remodeling16 questions you should ask before hiring a contractor

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For kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, and home renovation, you need a contractor. Considering the huge numbers of construction companies around Orange County, it is sometimes hard to choose the best one. Normally, we prefer to choose a contractor that a friend or a colleague has approved. But even so, It is better to control a situation and be prepared for hiring a professional contractor. There are so many things that would make everything clear. You have to ask the right question to get the right answer. You might want to build a home from the ground up or have a renovation; in any case, you have to make complex decisions. If you managed to have the right team on your side, there would be nothing to be worried about. In this blog, we are going to talk about the most important questions you have to ask general contractors to find the best fit for your project.

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Contents

1. How much experience do you have with a similar project?

The first thing to think about is whether your potential contractor has done anything similar to your project.  Don’t be afraid and ask them how long they have been in the industry? Is there any specific project that they are proud of? Then, you can check their website to see if their answers match the existing proof on their website.

2. Are they licensed?

No matter what sort of business you are dealing babe, the most important thing is listening, so ask for a copy of their license. If your potential contractor does not have the license, do not even think about them and walk away.

3. Do you offer any kind of insurance?

Without general liability insurance, who is going to protect your home from damage? If you think that having insurance is not really necessary, you need to think it through. What if your potential contractor hit a water line? Who is going to take her off the cost of this type of disaster? What if someone is hurt working on your property? So don’t be shy and ask whether they carry general liability insurance and workers compensation insurance or not.

4. What sort of services do they offer?

Every construction business will provide you with different types of services. They might offer you Design Services, or they might recommend you some independent designers. Always ask about the services your potential contractor provides. In that case, you will know exactly what sort of services can be provided by the contractor.

5. Are you going to hire sub-contractors?

You should know who is working on your property and how. Will be any sub-contractors working on your home? Can you count on the supervision of your potential contractor?

If your potential contractor is going to hire sub-contractors on your project, you should know the names and contact information of everyone who is going to present at your property. In this case, you always have one point of contact.

6. What sort of safety procedure do they follow?

A professional construction company will use a set of procedures in case something go wrong. You should hire a contractor that is working safely. This is a question to ask because you can easily spot the wrong contractor. They should explain when you ask them this question. Ask them how they are going to protect your home when working on it?

7. Is there any list of references?

It would be great to talk to a previous client of your potential contractor and ask them about the whole process and how they are satisfied with the final result. You can ask the former clients whether they are going to hire this general contractor again for a future project? So always ask them for a list of past clients and call as many as you can, understand The level of service you can expect.

8. What is the estimated timeline for this project?

Ask your potential contractor to give you a specific timeline. Of course, there are unexpected problems, but a professional contractor can provide an approximate timeline for completing the project. It is also wise to ask about various milestones. We all know Dad building a home or renovation usually takes longer than what was planned. But it is good to ask a contractor to give you a realistic timeline.

9. Can you visit one of the current Projects?

Do you need to know how many projects are they working on? By asking this question, you might find out that you are the only one hiring them, and that’s not so pleasant. On the other hand, you might find out that they have so many projects at the moment. So you might be worried about the quality of your renovation.

Besides, if they are currently working on another project, you can check how they operate. So, ask for permission and take note of details to see how they will manage your project here.

10. Will there be a written contract? And what is included in it?

If there is no written contract, you should just walk away. You should always have a written contract. In a contract, you can sit out the agreement between you, you, and your potential roofing contractors—the description of work. The budget-friendly material should be mentioned in a written contract. There are so many details in a reading contract. But if you have any problem understanding different contract segments, you can always ask a pro. 

11. Who is responsible for purchasing material?

Always talk about how do you are going to purchase material. Construction companies usually buy materials at wholesale prices, and they might be willing to do the same for your project. So it is a good idea to talk about different types of responsibilities related to your project.

12. Is there any warranty?

You should always ask for a return warranty that makes responsibilities clear. When talking to the former clients of a general contractor, you can ask about The contractor’s warranty service performance.

Ask about what will be covered in the warranty and for how long. A 1-year warranty is good, and a 2-year is perfect.

13. Who is responsible for cleaning up?

Is there any more responsible for cleaning up? Will the side be cleaned every day? You might be responsible for cleaning up at the end of the project. For there is a contract, always be specific about every time you use it. What do you mean by clean? Make sure you are referring to the same process to avoid future conflict.

14. How are you supposed to communicate throughout the project? Is there any supervision?

You will have so many questions along the way, and you need someone to explain everything to you in detail. So ask about how you are going to communicate to the construction business. You should also ask about the supervision. Because most of the time, roofing companies are not present at the site. So ask about who is going to be there every day. Then you can ask for his name and contact information to have a point of contact.

15. Who is responsible for obtaining the required building permits?

You need different sorts of permits depending on your location for building a home. Anyway,  for an innovation project, you might need some type of approval. A professional contractor can help you get building permissions.

16. What sort of equipment and tools are they going to use?

By asking this question, you will find out whether you are dealing with a professional contractor or an unprofessional one. Will you use the best tubes for your job. On the other hand, an amateur contractor reviews whatever is cheaper.

If you don’t understand what your contractor’s talking about, ask them about the terminology. If they are professional, they won’t have any problem explaining everything to you.

Final thought

When you are thinking about hiring a professional contractor for building a home or having a renovation, you should feel free to ask whatever you need to know. There are so many things to ask from a contractor. And a professional contractor wouldn’t mind answering your questions.

So feel free to ask everything before starting your project. In this case, you have a clear understanding of what is going on and what you are going to expect from the contractor. Have you ever interviewed a contractor? How did it go? Was it helpful? Is there any question you would ask in the future project? We would love to hear about your real-life experiences. In the meantime, take a look at what we have done.

Sources:

  1. (Mar 05,2020). 15 Questions to Ask A General Contractor Before Hiring. MLM-inc

https://mlm-inc.com/questions-to-ask-a-general-contractor/

  1. Grant Findley.15 Essential Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Building Contractor. davesdiytips

https://www.davesdiytips.com/vetting-building-contractors/

  1. 17 questions to ask before hiring your next contractor.squareone

https://www.squareone.ca/resource-centres/home-improvement/17-questions-to-ask-before-hiring-your-next-contractor

  1. How to check-out a contractor. Cheba

https://www.chba.ca/CHBA/Renovating/Interviewing_a_Contractor.aspx

  1. 31 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE HIRING A GENERAL CONTRACTOR IN DALLAS, TX. mrhandyman

https://www.mrhandyman.com/dallas/about-us/ask-a-pro/2020/august/questions-to-ask-general-contractor-in-dallas-tx/

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