Renovations to your home can be costly and are substantial financial investment. It is important to do your homework and not cut any corners so that your renos are a smashing success. Knowing what the expectations are before the project gets underway will keep you more at ease through the process and help you to better prepare. Hiring the right professionals can make a world of difference between your home renovation project being knocked out of the park or a very expensive disaster. Take a look at these questions that are sure to get you the knowledge you’re looking for to find a licensed professional.
1. “What is your background and how much experience do you have with this kind of work?”
Of course, everyone deserves to have a leap of faith thrown in their direction, but you don’t want your home to be a training ground for inexperienced contractors. Saving money by hiring someone less experienced could cost you more in the future if you have to hire someone new to fix any mishaps.
Don’t shy away from asking the contractor how long they’ve been running their business, how long they have been working in the industry and what their experience is with the specific renovations you’re hiring them for.
2. “Are you licensed?”
Renovation sites can be busy and unpredictable. This is why it is imperative that your contractor is licensed. If a potential contractor isn’t licensed or uninsured, walk away. The risk you will incur is far from worth it. You will assume liability for their safety. Something else to note is that being licensed is not the same as being insured.
General liability insurance protects your home from damage, any wrong doings or negligence of the contractor, his employees and any sub-contractors brought onto your property. This isn’t a situation where you should just give them the benefit of the doubt and take their word. Protect yourself and do your do diligence by requesting a copy of your contractor’s insurance certificate. Don’t forget to check the expiration date! Furthermore, it’s not a bad idea to call the issuing authority to verify the validity of the insurance.
3. “Do you hold Workers’ Compensation Insurance? (WCB)”
It’s important that you hire a fully insured general contractor. Workers’ Compensation Insurance protects you, the homeowner, in the event that a contractor is injured on the job. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t happen, but, better safe than sorry!
4. “Will you be hiring sub-contractors on this project?
It is very common place that contractors will use a variety of sub-contractors during the duration of your home renovation. Renovations can have a lot of moving parts and trade workers coming and going, so it’s important to understand if and how this will effect your renovations. It’s always good to know exactly who is working on your home and when they will be there, as well as whether the contractor will be there at the same time to supervise. If this is something you’re fully comfortable with, be sure to ask for the names and contact information of everyone who will be present over the course of the project. It’s better to have multiple points of contact when you need them versus stressing yourself out when you realize you have next to none.
5. “What is a realistic timeline for this project?”
We’ve all heard it or experienced it. Renovations have a way of taking a bit longer than planned. This being said, ask your contractor to be as specific with you as possible within reason, of course. As the project unfolds, unexpected issues and setbacks may arise, however, an experienced contractor should be able to provide a fairly accurate timeline for your project’s completion.
Try asking for a timeline that outlines not only the completion date but various milestones along the way, insuring that your home renovation project will stay on track by having measurable goals. It’s also worth asking your contractor what their future commitments are after your project is completed. You don’t need an unexpected surprise of having the bare minimum requirement of workers there to draw the process out even further, or have them disappear all together.
6. “How many projects are you currently working on?”
You have to look at both sides of the coin when getting the answer to this question. On one hand, you want your contractor to be busy to a certain degree, otherwise doubt may creep into your head as to why you are the only one hiring them. On the other side of the coin, if your contractor is busy as all get out and spreading themselves too thin, your project could take the brunt of that and you could be left with a renovation disaster instead of a successful project.
7. “Will you take care of the building permits?”
In a perfect world, your contractor will take care of this. Although there is a bit of additional time and cost involved here, with an experienced professional taking care of the red tape with the permitting process and setting up the inspections, the whole process should run much more smoothly and your renovations will be in compliance with regulations.
It’s still important that you are available on the day of the home inspection just to make sure it actually happens and to be able to go over any questions or concerns you may have with the home inspector directly. If there are any changes that need to be carried out to be in compliance with regulations, you will need to know.
8. “Who will purchase the building materials?”
Most contractors get building materials at wholesale prices. Hopefully those savings find their way onto your final invoice. Make sure everyone is on the same page by defining the responsibilities associated with your renovations. Who is picking up the materials? Are building material costs included in your estimate? You don’t want to be surprised at the end with a big additional bill.
9. “What is the payment schedule?”
Although each contractor varies slightly, you should never pay the full amount upfront. It isn’t unheard of to be required to put down small deposit at the beginning of the project.
10. “Will you provide written lien waivers?”
A lien waiver is a legal document that verifies you have paid the general contractor in full for the services rendered. Your contractor should be willing to provide you with written lien waivers for them and any sub-general contractors that worked on your renovation.
11. “How will we communicate throughout the renovation project?”
As your renovation moves forward, be sure to ask for updates frequently so that you are not feeling left in the dark. It really is up to both you and your contractor as to what form that communication will be in, but it’s best to ask at the beginning and agree on something that works for the both of you. Set yourselves up for success!
12. “Do you provide detailed contracts?”
The only answer to this question should be, yes. Professionals will always work with a proper, written contract. As is the same for any and all contracts, it is there to protect both of you and is just common sense. A written contract should outline a clear project plan and show what you and your contractor have agreed upon. It should include the following:
- A full description of the work to be done.
- A full description of the materials and products to be used.
- A payment schedule detailing when and how much you will be charged.
- What lien hold-backs are required.
- The contractor’s warranty including duration and what is covered.
- Confirmation that the contractor has both Workers’ Compensation Coverage and business liability coverage for your project in place.
