Tips for Choosing a Home Renovation Contractor
The home renovation business is booming in Australia, as more and more homeowners choose to update, upgrade or expand their accommodations. However, not all of those homeowners have positive experiences. That's why choosing the right company to do your home renovation is critical.
Here are seven tips for choosing a home renovation contractor.
Assess your renovation needs.
Is the project you're planning major (such as completely renovating an unfinished basement) or minor (installing a new shower)? Is there an abundance of one kind of work (plumbing, carpentry or electrical)? While most home renovation contractors do the basic types of projects, there is a great range in terms of size and specialization — so not all companies are capable of taking on large jobs and not all excel in every area of specialization.
Compile a list of possible contractors.
Check the Yellow Pages. Do an Internet search for local renovation companies and then check their websites. Write down the names from the trucks or lawn signs of contractors that you notice currently doing home renovations in your area.
Now start whittling down the long list.
Apply the criteria from Tip #1 to eliminate the contractors that are not large enough or that don't appear to have much experience in the specialty that your renovation requires. Then talk to family members and friends about their good and bad renovation experiences. Finally, ask the staff at the local hardware store and a real estate agent you trust for their recommendations. Use all that information to remove weak options and underline strong options.
Interview of each of the possible contractors.
Check their availability. Ensure that the company is bonded (carries a surety bond), licensed to operate in the state, and insured (carries workman's compensation and liability insurance). Also, ask for three references (the names of customers who are willing to be contacted).
Check the references for each of the contractors.
After gathering all that information, shorten the list of contractors again — down to a minimum of three (if there are three that meet your criteria).
Ask each of the short-listed contractors to visit your home and prepare a bid/estimate. Before the visits begin, make sure that you can articulate precisely what work is desired. It's a good idea to make notes for this purpose, to ensure that you describe the project in roughly the same words to each of the companies
Review the bids and make a choice.
Focus on the scope of work, the materials, the schedule, and (of course) the cost. Don't be afraid to interrogate the contractors about their bids and to request changes, if necessary. Like any contract, this is an agreement between two parties, so the text that you are given to review is never set in stone.
Make a final decision based on all the factors, not cost alone. It is especially important to find a builder that you feel you can trust, because there may be changes/problems to discuss/resolve as the renovation work proceeds.