How to Find a Home Remodeling Contractor-it’s not Who You Know as Much Knowing Where to Look
Referrals are one of the best ways to find a good service provider. My business depends tremendously on our past clients and others who think highly of us and therefore refer us to people who need a good design/build contractor. Likewise our company also finds the trade contractors and suppliers we need by asking other people for referrals. But what if you do not know anybody to ask for referrals? Suppose you are new to an area and you just don’t know anybody who has hired a contractor. Or you can not find someone who hired a contractor that would they recommend. What options are open to you? Well, there are always the Internet, newspaper and yellow page ads. There are certainly lots of names out there. But how do you distinguish between the good and bad companies? Isn’t it risky to hire a company out of the phone book to come and work in your home? You have heard so many horror stories and you don’t want to have one one of your own! Isn’t there some organization that contractors who are ethical and always striving to learn more belong to? Some resource that would be able to make referrals to you of members who provide the kind of service you are looking for and who work in the area that you live? A local organization that was part of a national organization, working to hard to give consumers like you a quality contracting experience wherever you live in the United States.
I am truly pleased to tell you that such organizations exists. If you are remodeling you can find referrals of reputable contractors at www.nari.org and www.nkba.com.
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is the premier organization representing remodeling contractors across America. NARI is more well-known in the East and Midwest. In those parts of the country hiring a NARI member is the norm because of the work the local chapters have done over the years. Members include general contractors, trade contractors, architects/designers, suppliers and others involved in providing services to homeowners. All NARI members are required to maintain the highest ethical standards in all aspects of their business. Continuing education takes place at the monthly meetings, which are open to members, non-members and the general public. The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) provides referrals of contractors and designers that can help you determine the scope of your project, design it and build it. There are more than 40,000 NKBA members across the United States and Canada in 71 chapters/sub chapters across North America. Both NARI and NKBA provides remodeling contractor members the opportunity to be engaged in a formal education program, resulting in the individual member achieving several certifications and designations. The education programs are a rigorous procedure, involving much reading and a series of regular meetings and testing. One of the best aspects of these programs are that candidates get the opportunity to share experiences and learn from one another. The Internet has opened up a host of lists and blogs where homeowners can post reviews, stories and comments about service providers. I tend to think that the best of these is Angie’s List (www.angieslist.org). Companies on Angie’s List are there because their customer’s went to the trouble of adding them to the list and reviewing their service. A company can not pay or add itself to the list. Angie’s List is not available in all areas of the country but it is spreading fast. Also check into local services like the BBB or Diamond Certified to obtain information about a remodeling contractor. Diamond Certified conduct customer surveys prior to listing and also posts information about the contractor’s general liability and workers compensation insurance. The information is out there, look and learn before committing to a relationship with a remodeling contractor.
Categories: Dealing With Contractors Tags: Reputable Contractors
Hiring A Bathroom Remodeling Contractor
Busy, busy, busy, that is how you have to describe the people of the new millennium. People seem to have less time for things around the house. The work week never seems to be over, people are tired and just want to spend time with their family. The average work week has increased from 38 to 44 hours. Traffic and distance makes commuting to work last much longer. There is actually less time for yourself and your family. When it comes to remodeling a room in the house, it just seems like too much time and effort. So when the bathroom needs to be remodeled, who do people call?
The first choice for busy people is to call bathroom remodeling contractors. There are a lot of contractors and it can be confusing at first. The people have to choose one and that is sometimes the hardest part of all of the remodeling. There is the Yellow Pages but if you call all the contractors in the yellow pages you are likely to get many messages saying the number is disconnected. What about flyers at your door? Bad Idea, These guys are usually people laid off from some other kind of work not necessarily contracting work. What about TV ads? These people are usually reliable but costly. They charge anywhere from half again to twice what a smaller reputable firm would charge. So what is the best way to find a contractor? The best way to choose bathroom remodeling contractor is to ask family and friends if they have had work done and how they liked their contractor. The price he gives you will probably not be the lowest price you can get. A person that is in a lasting business can not afford to give work away long before going under. Going under means owing a lot of people a lot of money. Going for the lowest price often can mean you are shopping for trouble.
Word of mouth means more than almost anything. People can also go to most home warehouse centers and ask for a list of recommended contractors. This gives people a good place to start but do yourself a favor and ask friends and co-workers first.
Next, call all of the contractors on the list and show them what needs to be done. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for references if the contractor in not a referral. Check with some of the references and find out what they liked and didn’t like. Bathroom remodeling contractors get work by their previous work. If they aren’t good, they won’t have very much work to do.
Paying Bathroom Remodeling Contractors
Once the people have decided on the right contractor and the right price, the terms of payment will soon surface. In most cases, people don’t want to pay the contractor before the work is started. If payment is made before any work has started, the incentive to finish the project will have been lost.
Categories: Dealing With Contractors Tags: Bathroom Remodeling