How to tell the difference between a good and bad contractor

September 14, 2008 by admin
Filed under General

When the honey do list gets so big that you have to bring in a 3rd party most moms are stepping into a sea of ignorance with a “please don’t take advantage of me” feeling. Do it your self give a checklist of what to look for and what not to look for when finding a contractor. First, what not to look for:

Don’t usually like to write things down or work with contracts. Often say things like, “we don’t need a contract, we understand each other”.

Try to convince you to use non-standard materials or not build to industry standards including statements like “ we don’t need permits they’re just a money grab by the city, county etc”

Need to be constantly supervised to ensure they are working and using the materials called for in the job specifications, then threaten to walk off the job when you supervise them ‘too’ closely.

Often look for payment upfront or at last a majority of the funds soon after starting the job. Or they claim to have made a mistake in the estimate and ask for more money to complete the job.

Make infrequent appearances at the job site and don’t supervise or coordinate the work of subcontractors or their own workers.

Frequently want to move onto another aspect of the job before they have properly finished the first part.

Check out their page for the list of what to look for.

DoItYourself.com

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