When it comes to remodeling your home, or even doing small odd and end jobs to your home, don’t make the mistake of just choosing the person with the lowest price available. After all, you will have to live with the work they do; you don’t want a small job to cost you more then what it’s actually worth.
I have seen this all too many times. Someone wants a job done and they get a few estimates. Then, without researching or asking a few simple questions, they hire the person with the lowest estimate, all to save some money, or so they think. This usually ends up becoming a nightmare.
Knowing a little about the person that will be in your home, doing work that you are paying for is a must! So, don’t be scared to ask questions, lots of them. Make sure to find out as much as you can about this person and their abilities.
What Type if Questions to Ask
Whatever work you’re having done, research it a little to find out what all goes into doing that work, what is actually involved in getting it done, this will help you find questions to ask, and also make sure the contractor knows what he’s talking about and doing.
Make sure to find out how much experience a contractor has in the specific profession you’re needing to get work done in. Everyone knows the more experience usually means better at the job, but this doesn’t always ring true, and it’s always nice to give the “underdog”, so to speak, a chance, you might be surprised.
Always, and I mean ALWAYS, ask for a portfolio of their work. This is just to show off their skill set, to show potential clients what they can do, and have done in the past. Usually most contractors carry photos of their work, both before and after. This should give you a great idea of their work quality and abilities. At this point you should have a clear idea if they are someone you would consider hiring. If so, then continue on with more questions. If not, then politely let them know you will consider them and call them in a few days if you decide to hire them.
Make sure to seem confident and knowledgeable in the questions you ask, this is another good reason for researching the job at hand, knowledge of the job at hand is very important when choosing the right contractor.
Make sure they are measuring things, polite, writing things down, and going out of their way to accommodate you.
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