5 Things to Ask Your General Contractor Before Starting a Project in Your Home
Your home is one of the most significant investments you have funded. Therefore, you want only the best right from its construction to repairs. When choosing a general contractor, it is crucial to choose keenly so you don’t end up with a poor performer.
Some contractors will hype their services, and they can’t keep up their promises. It can be costly to hire such a contractor since you have to buy new raw materials and hire another contractor to redo the project. To avoid such hassles, ensure that you ask these questions before you choose a general contractor.
License
For any project in your home, ensure that the contractor is licensed to perform it. General contractors can perform a variety of home building and renovation tasks. However, they can be incompetent to perform others. For instance, ask the contractor if they are licensed in bathroom remodels when this is your area of interest.
The license means that the contractor is allowed to perform the task in that specific state. Every state can have its guidelines on doing the project. A license can be valid in one state but not the other. Therefore, ensure that the license that the contractor presents is valid, and for the specific state you live in. As such, you will know that they are certified to perform the task.
Insurance
The license alone is not enough for home construction and renovation. During construction, injuries and damages can happen. It can be costly when you have to take care of these from your pocket. Therefore, the contractor should have both general liability insurance and worker compensation insurance.
General liability insurance is used in case there is damage to your home or appliance during the construction. He may have hit a water pipe that flooded the home and damaged vital appliances. The insurance would take care of the damages. On the other, the worker compensation insurance is for when any worker gets injured during construction. The insurance cover would take care of the medical bills and wage compensation during recovery.
List of References
It can be hard to trust what a contractor tells you about their services. There have been conmen in the industry interested in what you pay them, but not the quality of the work. Therefore, the surest way to know that this is a trusted contractor is to ask them to give you a list of references.
The references are people that the general contractor has serviced before. You can call them and enquire about the quality of work they received. Are they similar to what you expect? If no, then the contractor is not the ideal choice.
Expected Deadline
An ideal contractor will approximately know the time they need to complete a project. It’s always hard to know how long the project will take, especially with many subcontractors that need to come to your home and get the work done. There are often unforeseen delays if the subcontractors call up and say they can’t be there on certain days. The contractor, however, should be able to give you a fairly close estimate. They should access the project, project the number of raw materials, workers, and an approximate date.
It helps to approximately know the deadline so that you can plan your activities. For instance, it can be a renovation they would require to move out of the house for some time. Therefore, if you know the dates, you can easily play your stay in the hotel or at your friend’s place. By the time you return, you expect to have the renovation completed. Also, it helps you gauge the amount you would spend on the project.
Cost of the Project
Every contractor would bid a special price for the project. Therefore, it would be ideal that you compare a few options before you decide. When calculating the cost, a contractor would factor in the cost of raw materials and labor. Some would use better quality products than others. Also, some would charge a lower cost of labor.
In as much as cost should be a concern, don’t get scared by the high prices. It can be that the contractor has used top-quality products during the construction. Ask them where they source their products to determine the quality you expect. Priority should get the value of the service, and not cheap and easily damaging products. Frequent repairs can be expensive in the long run.
