I’m obviously all for learning new home improvement skills to save a little money and take pride in my home, but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is knowing when to try it myself and knowing when to call a professional contractor. Mind you, I’m sometimes half-way into a project before I realize that I’m way over my head, but later is sometimes better than never.
Before you even think about hiring someone to work on your home you’re going to want to be sure that you have some ideas about what kind of work you want performed, how much you’re willing to pay and what sort of quality you’re looking for. You don’t need to be a home improvement expert to decide these things, but you should at least try to educate yourself about the basic steps that a contractor is going to have to take.
For example, lets say you’re looking to hire someone to install siding on your house. You’ll want to understand some of the details of what the job entails, how long it will take and how many people are usually required to perform a task like that in a reasonable amount of time. Try to visualize the project in your mind and come up with a list of questions about the job itself, not the contractor or his or her background. So for our siding example here are some possible questions you might want answered from a prospective contractor:
- Who will order the siding?
- How long will the siding take to be delivered?
- Where will the siding be delivered?
- How long will it take to begin the job once the materials are here?
- Will you install the siding over my existing home exterior covering?
- Will you need to remove anything ahead of time?
- Will there be insulation or anything put up before installing the siding?
- What about my gutters and window ledges?
- Will I be able to open windows and go in and out of my house while you’re working?
- How loud will this job be?
If you’re intimidated by the prospect of asking these professionals simple questions about what they are going to do, then you might want to educate yourself a little bit ahead of time by either doing some quick research online about what’s involved or even going down to your local hardware store and asking the owner or employees if they have any experience with a similar project. They may even be able to recommend a contractor or professional themselves.
Unfortunately hiring someone to come into your home and do work is sometimes a risky proposition with all the scam artists and disreputable contractors around today. While there are plenty of top-quality contractors out there, it is sometimes difficult to find them amongst all the ones that aren’t. That’s why the Federal Government has put together a website listing some useful advice on how to hire a home improvement contractor. It details how avoid scams, what to look for in a contractor, what sort of agreements and payment terms are acceptable and a lot of other things you may not initially think about when you’re hiring a home improvement expert for the first time…
Among some of the things you should always do when hiring someone is ask some questions such as these from the site:
How long have you been in business?
Are you licensed and registered with the state?
How many projects like mine have you completed in the last year?
Will my project require a permit?
May I have a list of references?
Will you be using subcontractors on this project?
What types of insurance do you carry?
And always, even after getting these answers, try to check references.
Personally I almost never go to the phone book when I need someone to do some work. Instead I ask my friends, my coworkers and even my neighbors if they know anyone who has done similar work for them that they were pleased with. I’ll even visit their home to see the work if possible. If you ask, most people are more than willing to share the truth about experiences, both good and bad, they’ve had with various contractors.
When you hire a home improvement contractor you’re basically paying someone to come into your home, bang up the place and rip things apart and then put it all back together BETTER than it was originally. You have to be careful and cautious because, in the end, you’re the one who’s going to have to literally live with the results. Good luck!
