Is Your General Contractor a Good One?
If you have anything, you want done in regard to your house, you probably need to hire a general contractor. Unless you can handle this one your own, those are building their own home, adding to an existing house, or simply doing a huge remodel will need somebody who can run the show. These people need to know what they’re doing, but they also have to have some other requirements. If they don’t, your project can be put on hold in definitely, and you are going to lose more money. Have a simple filtering process in place when searching for a contractor whom you can trust.
The first consideration when hiring a general contractor is his or her experience. They may have pictures to show you of what they have done, and you want to know they have had some experience. If at all possible, they should give you some addresses of homes they have worked on so that you can see what they have done. This only works if the work is visible outside, but most have at least one example in your area. It’s always nice to give a general contractor a chance when they are new to the game, but they still have to have carpentry and building experience. Find this out first or move on to somebody else.
Secondly, you have to know that your general contractor is bonded and insured. If they are not, you can get into much trouble for hiring them. Furthermore, if something were to happen here they are injured on the job,you may land up being forced to pay for their medical expenses and to compensate them for any other financial setbacks that they incur as a result. You should never, ever hire a general contractor who is not properly ensured. Make sure anyone they hire is also insured as required by your local and state laws.
You also want a person as a general contractor whom you can get along with as the project progresses. There may be some great contractors out there that are simply going to clash with you, which won’t make for a pleasant experience. You want to know they respect you, will keep you informed, and will also make sure you have your hand in anything you wish. There may be changes that need to be made to the blueprints, and you would like to know they’ll inform you and ask you want you want to do. You have to find a general contractor with a personality that meshes with your own.
Finally, you are always going to have to keep an eye on things even if you completely trust your general contractor.
If they balk at you being around, you have to wonder why. You also have to know that they are getting the proper permits, not ripping you off in any way, and know what they are doing. Most of the time, you are not going to have a lot of problems with your general contractor, but you can’t blindly trust anybody with something as important as your home. Keep an eye on everything so you won’t be disappointed or out a lot of money on your project.
It’s important to agree the scope of work before the job starts. You also need to impress upon the contractor that the agreed price is the final price and that no increases will be entertained. It is a common contractor ploy to increase the scope of the work so that the final bill rises from the estimated $5,000 to $10,000. Usual tricks involve the contractor in having to do more “work” than originally envisaged because something is deeper, shallower, taller, shorter, wider, or narrower than at first thought. Older people are particularly vulnerable to these common contractor tricks of the trade.