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Taking on any kind of renovation or home project is hard work. Whether it’s a whole addition or a slight upgrade, any project in your home is a big deal. Your home is your biggest investment. Invest ample time to investigate and scrutinize your choices before hiring anybody to work on it.

Go into the earliest stages of your home project armed with reasonable, specific questions. What’s more, critically evaluate the responses you get. Pay close attention to how they answer. Are they vague, or indirect? Do they seem to be glossing over something that should be straightforward? Do they dodge the question completely or try to hand you off to a salesperson? If they seem dodgy now, imagine what happens when your home is torn up with construction.

Here are some critical questions to get you started:

Can you provide me with references for projects you’ve completed this year?

Reliable, reputable renovators should have plenty of examples of their recent work to share with you. They should be proud to connect you to their results through more than selected slick pictures. If they can’t give you information so you can have some candid conversations with their recent customers, then there’s cause for concern. Ask those references about the quality of the results, what the process was like, whether they delivered close to on-time or on-budget, and what lessons they learned along the way. Remember, even the worst contractors can find one or two good experiences to tout, even if there are many more with a very different story. Check their permit records to see if there are other projects they’re not telling you about.

 

 

How many other projects are you working on at the same time as mine?

You can’t expect to be the only customer, but you also don’t want to compete with dozens of other projects when they have scarce resources to spread thin across all of them. You could face delays due to scheduling, or they may use funds from your project to juggle their many others. Understand how you’d line up in terms of their time and priorities

 

Who is actually working on my project?

Before you sign a contract, find out the day-to-day players who will be responsible for your renovation. Some builders try to wow you with a whole team to show up all at once to take measurements, pictures, and information. It’s a sales tactic that’s meant to impress. You may be surprised to learn that a small fraction of those people will actually do any work on your project. You may never see most of them again. Also, they may be planning to use a host of different subcontractors that are not part of their in-house team, even if they say they don’t use them. Get clear on all the roles and responsibilities involved in the full span of your project.

 

How often, if ever, will the builder show up in-person on your project site?

 

Are they taking a hands-on approach to their work, or are they relying on a daily dump of pictures from their staff or subs that show only the parts they want to show? There’s a big difference between working with somebody who prefers passive text messages to active pride in delivering results. Renovations are a major investment, so be clear about how often the person in charge will really set eyes on your project before you sign anything.

Is your paperwork in order?

First, only hire insured contractors. To protect you if any accidents or damages happen during your project, your contractor and any of their subs need to be fully insured. Ask to see their license and insurance documents to verify they’re up to date. Also, will there need to be permits for your project? How are they processing those permits? Do they complete their projects on time, before the permits expire, or do they routinely have to renew them? Do they require several attempts to fully pass required inspections? Find out, because that paperwork can reveal a lot about how they really work, or don’t.

 

Will I see an itemized budget for my project?

Finally, get a detailed budget and timeline before the project begins. Contractors may structure payments based on the start of certain milestones, but what if they want to keep starting several before they finish any? Get an estimated timeline of milestones and an outline of the process before you lock in.

 

Catch Rico León on the Fresh Ideas Stage Presented by Desert King Windows Friday at 5pm and Saturday at 1pm and bring your own questions for him!