Hiring a competent and reliable contractor is essential to making sure that the job is done right. While it may seem as if it should be as easy as opening the yellow pages and choosing one in your area, smart homeowners know that finding a good contractor takes as much time and effort as other aspects of your remodeling job.
Remember, the person you choose to do the work for you will have complete access to your home and family for several days or even weeks, so you must be completely comfortable with having them in your home for an extended period of time. The best way to find a contractor that you can trust is to:
-Ask friends, neighbors and co-workers for referrals
-Check references with people the contractor has done work for in the past
-Ask salespeople at the local lumber yard or home renovation center who they recommend
-Check with your local zooming and/or code enforcement office for a list of licensed contractors in your area
Once you find a few contractors that you’d like to consider using for your remodeling project, it’s time to schedule an interview. The Federal Trade Commission suggests that homeowners ask the following questions to determine if a contractor is right for you and your project:
-How Long Have You Been In Business?
-Are You Registered and Licensed With the State and Local Building Authorities?
-How Many Projects Like Mine Have You Completed in the Past Year?
-May I Contact Some of Your Former Clients?
-Will You Be Hiring Any Subcontractors for This Project?
-What Types of Insurance Do You Carry?
Once you’ve chosen your new contractor, be sure to insist that you get all the details of your project (including price and delivery estimates/completion dates), in writing before paying any deposits. A written contract is essential to ensuring that the work is done properly and on time.
Unfortunately, not every contractor is reputable, and homeowners need to be on the look-out for potential rip-offs. Here are a few things to watch for when hiring a contractor:
-Door-to-door solicitation.
-Offers to use leftover materials from another job.
-A contractor who only accepts cash payments.
-Someone who insists on receiving payment in full before commencing work.
-Pressure to make an on-the-spot decision.
-Offers to help you secure financing with their own “lender”.
Hiring a reputable contractor seems like it should be easy, but oftentimes it isn’t. Homeowners should be aware of the dangers of hiring the wrong person to work on their home and take all necessary steps to ensure that the work is completed to their specifications, timetable and budget.
JordanianPride80
April 6, 2010 at 5:54 pm
don’t you guys use any level tools..
how the hell do u call this professional tiling !!!..
wreckin209
April 6, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Where are the chalk lines and why did u start in the middle of nowhere ??? and your tile over hangs your thinset by an inch. thats gonna break right there . IDIOT… oh and thats thinset not mud !!!!
mrkurt426
April 6, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I'd presonally say that you're better off to hire a general contractor and pay them the extra money.
If you put it out on individual contracts you open yourself up to a headache. Coordination of trades becomes your problem and if someone isn't on time and it holds someone else up they can make a claim against you for causing them a lost day.
Also as the others have said by selecting individual contractors you run the risk of getting someone that's bad. An experienced general contractor is going to select subs that do the job right, do it for the right price, and do it when it's supposed to be done.
Since most of the work looks like it could be performed by a general contractor you're better off with a single prime contractor instead of multiple prime contractors. If the only work being performed were specialized then i'd suggest going straight to the subs and saving the money but with the extensive nature of the remodel let the pros handle the headache.
robo mom
April 6, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Check out the link below. It might be of some help, it's the application page for Extreme Makeover – Home Edition. They've done some amazing things for people in just your circumstance. Good luck and take care.
HRcircut85
April 6, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Am I attacking you personally? OR even someone from expert village individually? No, What the fuck are you going through reading comments from MONTHS ago and bitching about them? YOu fucking douche. YOU DONT HAVE TO POST A FUCKING VIDEO ON FLOORING OR TOILET FUCKING LIKE YOU TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMMENT YOU CUNT FUCK
HRcircut85
April 6, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Thanks Douche bag
kc7fys
April 7, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Seriously. My email is kc7fys at ahyoo if you would take this off YT and get with me there. I don’t have much experience with concrete and am currently in the middle of a basement floor project–and don’t actually know who you are.
Romeo
April 8, 2010 at 5:16 am
Well, the answer is obvious when the question is poised in this fashion. Of course I'm buying the cheapest appliances when presented with the opportunity. Though I am very care full about the term "cheapest".
For example – right now I'm looking for appliances for 3 suites I'm building or own. In total I need 3 fridges, 3 stoves, 3 over the stove micro wave hoods, 3 deep tub dishwashers, 2 stack able washer/dryers and a host of other items. I went directly over the where a buddy of mine use to sit and sell. Apparently he has been replaced with someone they don't have to pay benefits to.
After marching about the showroom, several calls to the sales manager – a price was created … then the extended warranty sales battle and finally taxes and delivery.
At the end of it all the contractors appliance warehouse that I used had come out considerably lower than Home Depot, than Lowes , lower than Sears, lower than Costco and everybody else; but still I needed more.
I took my written offers and called each store, informed each sales manager of the prices and asked if they could do any better and then asked then to call me in a week and I’d buy then.
A week later the appliance warehouse called, offer another $600 off and that was that. Did I buy the cheapest … oh ya! The moral of the story – no matter how many appliances I buy and from whom – none of those guys is ever going to spend $30K on a reno … with me or you. It’s not the cost or “cheapest” price, but the constant pressure to get a deal you can brag about.
As a general contractor I’ve been a one man show for over 8 years now. I can do 10million $ TI’s or $300 fences – I hire who I need, when I need them and I owe few favours.
I guess I didn’t really answer your question – but I think I reflect a lot of GC’s and their method of operation.
HRcircut85
April 8, 2010 at 5:33 am
Hah, you dumb fuck where did you ask me to be constructive? Was it in between “where’s your video jackass?” and “Just zip it?” I cannot seem to find where you asked to be constructive.
HRcircut85
April 8, 2010 at 10:18 am
Hahaha, sure why not! Don’t need directions though, I know where to go
HRcircut85
April 8, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Sil Baccalieri 24, Minneapolis MN!!! WhAT A COINCIDENCE! Look and read all of these comments, you’ll notice something….every person on here is saying the same thing-The information expert village is giving in this video is INCORRECT. What I don’t understand Jonathan is why you took it upon yourself to take it so personally? You in this video? Did you make it? I just don’t get why some random guy would care SO MUCH about my opinion. They make hundreds of videos all of which are inaccurate
kc7fys
April 8, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Why are you so mean? Usually people who say things like this are just externalizing their own self-hatred. Good luck with that, buddy.
wizendwizard
April 8, 2010 at 11:50 pm
I understand exactly how you feel. my husband and I run a licensed and insured tree service company. we have several employees, work mans comp and liability insurance to pay every month. we recently did a free estimate for a lady with several call backs because she wanted to get off cheap.
her tree needed to be removed and we quoted $2,100. she wanted us to severely prune the tree for a lesser cost, but we explained the root system was rotted out and we could not do 1/2 the job and assume the liability.
she then hired an unlicensed uninsured person to cut her tree down for $400.00
She is now paying the medical expenses of the guy who fell from a tree he should have never climbed to start with and the cost of repairing or replacing the roof he destroyed in the process is not covered by her homeowners policy.
the final cost of having her tree cut down and NOT removed is skyrocketing into a major expense.
Just another example of BUYER BEWARE for your own safety,
hire a licensed contractor