• Looking for the Right Contractor? (4)

    Date: 2011.09.27 | Category: Creative Ideas, Home Improvement, House & Home, Tips & Trick | Tags: ,,,,,,,

    You also need to be completely honest. If you are talking to other contractors, you need to say so. Your final decision should be based on more than saving a few dollars.

    When you hold your first meeting, find out something about the contractor’s background and recent jobs, and share your previous experiences with remodeling projects—the good and the bad. A working relationship based on detailed knowledge of the participants involved will go a long way to get the two sides over any rough patches as the work proceeds.

    Does word of mouth work 100 percent of the time? Absolutely not. I once needed someone to repair a faulty outlet near my firstfloor bathroom. (I am terrified of electricity, although I have done some minor work over the years.) I asked a group of neighbors.

    One recommended an electrician in the neighborhood that she had used and was planning to use again. I called the electrician several times, but he didn’t return any of the calls. Finally, the chief electrician at my job, who lived nearby, stopped on his way home from work and replaced the outlet in ten minutes.

    A few days later, I walked past the house of the neighbor who had recommended the electrician. A different electrician’s van was parked in her driveway. The one she had recommended had failed to return her calls, too.

    Related posts:

    1. Looking for the Right Contractor? Word of mouth can be the best way to find...
    2. Looking for the Right Contractor? (3) Throughout the process, the contractor knows that you have four...
    3. Looking for the Right Contractor? (2) Estimates. Studies of the remodeling industry by the Centers for...
    4. Tips on Hiring Contractor for Doing Home Renovation On the other hand, little can be done with a...
    5. A Happy Renovation Story (2) The project, a two-story addition to their 1,500-square-foot house. cost...