Do your home walls require a fresh coat of paint? Is your home roof leaking? You want to build a new garage in your backyard? Perhaps, it time for you to look out for a good home improvement contractor in your locality. It is best advised to leave such jobs to professionals to ensure you get high quality work. If you have not worked with any home improvement contractor before, choosing the best one can be a difficult task. Here a few tips that you can consider for hiring a contractor:
Enquire about their track record and experience
If you are looking for a home improvement contractor online check the website of the contractor to check their credentials and their previous work. The pictures on the website would give you a fair idea about their quality of their work yet it is advisable that you call them or visit their office personally to discuss about their experience in undertaking home improvement projects and their range of works. Also ask them if they have prior experience in carrying out the kind of work you wish to carry out be in lawn improvement or sealing the leaking roof.
Ask them about the quality of materials to be used
This is one of the most important things to consider while hiring a home contractor. Ask the contractor about the quality of the materials that they would be using for the building or renovation project in your home. This is important because the durability and the overall look and feel of the project would greatly depend on the kind of the materials they use. Ask the contractor to provide you a written request for the material required for the task.
Ask for reference of previous projects
This is a vital step in hiring a local home contractor. During your initial talks with the contractor they might paint a rosy picture of their services and try to convince you they are best in the business. Don’t be fooled by such talks, make sure you double check their claims and credibility by asking for references of any of their previous clients. Call the references and ask them about their experience working with the contractor, was the contractor committed to the work, did they complete the project in time. Knowing these answers would help in your decision making.
Discuss the budget upfront
No matter the kind of home project you wish to undertake make sure that you have a pre-determined budget. This would not only help you short list the contractors but also would help you choose the decorative materials accordingly. Discuss your budget with the contractor and ask them to provide them a quotation to suit your budget. Also it is advisable to discuss the payment process upfront. Ask the contractor do they want you to pay the full amount at the beginning or will it be ok if you pay in small installments at different phases of the building work.
Compare the quotes
While hiring a contractor make sure that you get quotes from at least 3-4 contractors. Compare the different quotes in terms of the price, the amount of time to complete the project, the quality of materials used, the number of labors employed. Do an apple to apple comparison and choose the contractor who is offering the most cost efficient quote.
Sign the contract
Once you approve the quotation provided by the contractor ask them to prepare a work contract. Before you sign the contract, make sure that you carefully read through the terms and conditions and see if all terms mentioned in the contract are same as the ones you have approved in the quote. Also, make sure that the price mentioned in the contract is same as the quote and there are no hidden charges involved.
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