Finding a good contractor

[bjl584]

A few tips for finding a good contractor:

Referrals are a good way to find a quality contractor. Architects work closely with contractors and can be a good resource. Friends, family, and neighbors who have had work done are also a good way to separate the good from the bad. Contractors often work closely with other contractors and can be a good referral source as well. Realtors can also have a network of contractors that they may be able to recommend

Be wary of larger national or regional companies. They may sub the work out and can be pricey. Many cater to larger commercial accounts and will overbid small jobs in hope you say yes

Clearly spell out the exact scope of work that you want done. Don't leave any ambiguity in the quote or in the actual work. You could get over or under bid

Be present or at least check in often while the work is being performed

Don't be afraid to speak up if something isn't going the way that you wanted.

Always ask for proof of insurance and business license

Websites such as Yelp, Angie's List, and Nextdoor can be helpful, but don't blindly trust them. Tons of near perfect reviews for any particular company could be fake or AI bot generated.

[Fishindude77]

There is no substitute for word of mouth. Using a contractor a known friend or acquaintance has used and was happy with.
The good ones are in high demand and have all the work they can handle. Figure out what you want, negotiate a deal with them and don't haggle over price. Things cost what they cost.

If you have it in your head that you need to get multiple bids to assure a low price, most of the good contractors will walk away rather than waste their time with you.

Regarding the above:
a. There are some regional and national companies with very good local representation. There are also some duds.
b. Don't kid yourself into thinking you know how to spell out the scope of work, you don't. Leave the details to a trusted contractor and ask for a written proposal and drawings if applicable.
c. If you hire a good contractor you won't need to be present much and they would rather you weren't. Let them do their job uninterrupted.
d. Insurance is a given for anybody decent, just get a copy of their certificate before work starts.
e. Good contractors don't need places like Angies List to advertise as the work comes to them. Folks advertising in these places are the hacks that can't get enough work.

[disneysteve]

The good ones are in high demand and have all the work they can handle.

This!

The more advertising I see for a contractor, the more I want to avoid them at all costs. First, who do you think is paying for all of that advertising? Second, if they're so good, why do they need to spend so much on advertising?

The guy who did our kitchen has done kitchens and baths and other jobs for many of our friends. We've seen his work repeatedly. And yes he happens to be a friend of ours too, but that was a secondary consideration. In fact, I was a little hesitant to use him because of that. I didn't want to mix business with an existing personal relationship, but so many of our friends have used him that we were comfortable doing so. He does everything himself except for the major electrical work, so no subs to deal with (and no middleman to pay).

Word of mouth is absolutely the best way to find quality contractors.

[ua_guy]

There is no substitute for word of mouth. Using a contractor a known friend or acquaintance has used and was happy with.
The good ones are in high demand and have all the work they can handle. Figure out what you want, negotiate a deal with them and don't haggle over price. Things cost what they cost.

If you have it in your head that you need to get multiple bids to assure a low price, most of the good contractors will walk away rather than waste their time with you.

Regarding the above:
a. There are some regional and national companies with very good local representation. There are also some duds.
b. Don't kid yourself into thinking you know how to spell out the scope of work, you don't. Leave the details to a trusted contractor and ask for a written proposal and drawings if applicable.
c. If you hire a good contractor you won't need to be present much and they would rather you weren't. Let them do their job uninterrupted.
d. Insurance is a given for anybody decent, just get a copy of their certificate before work starts.
e. Good contractors don't need places like Angies List to advertise as the work comes to them. Folks advertising in these places are the hacks that can't get enough work.

I'm not sure that giving advice to not have contractors compete on price, not getting additional bids, not questioning the scope of work, not attempting to get a better price, and not wanting transparency into their work is beneficial including on a forum dedicated to being judicious with money.

Getting several bids is a way for the consumer to understand if a particular contractor is blowing smoke, inflating the price, or if the consumer's own expectations are unreasonable. Getting several bids isn't always about making contractors compete for price.

The "scope of work" should be up to the consumer hiring the work. Absolutely, there are things the consumer doesn't know about the work involved, but that's the contractor's job to educate them on additional work that needs to be performed to do a job correctly and/or meet the customer's expectations.

Consumers should always check in on the contractor's license and insurance/bond status, including any publicly known posted bond amounts, and any open complaints against their license. If a contractor is under-insured, I won't hire them. That's liability to ME as the homeowner/consumer.

A good contractor knows how to manage the customer's needs for oversight and transparency, not become irritated or expect entitlement to a supervision-free workplace in the homeowner's ..home.

Word of mouth is good. Proof of work is better.

I have no problem sending a contractor packing or simply telling them no, we're not using their services, no matter how good they are - if they come across like their poop doesn't stink or their good work excuses any bad behavior they might have. It's still a competitive industry, and if I'm paying a premium for their services because they can find work anywhere, the premium commands as good quality of work as the next guy who does good work.

[Fishindude77]

I'm not sure that giving advice to not have contractors compete on price, not getting additional bids, not questioning the scope of work, not attempting to get a better price, and not wanting transparency into their work is beneficial including on a forum dedicated to being judicious with money.

Getting several bids is a way for the consumer to understand if a particular contractor is blowing smoke, inflating the price, or if the consumer's own expectations are unreasonable. Getting several bids isn't always about making contractors compete for price.

The "scope of work" should be up to the consumer hiring the work. Absolutely, there are things the consumer doesn't know about the work involved, but that's the contractor's job to educate them on additional work that needs to be performed to do a job correctly and/or meet the customer's expectations.

Consumers should always check in on the contractor's license and insurance/bond status, including any publicly known posted bond amounts, and any open complaints against their license. If a contractor is under-insured, I won't hire them. That's liability to ME as the homeowner/consumer.

A good contractor knows how to manage the customer's needs for oversight and transparency, not become irritated or expect entitlement to a supervision-free workplace in the homeowner's ..home.

Word of mouth is good. Proof of work is better.

I have no problem sending a contractor packing or simply telling them no, we're not using their services, no matter how good they are - if they come across like their poop doesn't stink or their good work excuses any bad behavior they might have. It's still a competitive industry, and if I'm paying a premium for their services because they can find work anywhere, the premium commands as good quality of work as the next guy who does good work.

Try to get three or four prices / bids on a significant project and see what that gets you if you doubt this. I think you'll find in this day and age it's not nearly the "competitive industry" you think it is unless dealing with the bottom feeders.
The best guys will walk away from the job because they don't need to compete and be low bidder.

Good contractors also understand that most consumers have very little clue when evaluating construction proposals (scope of work). All most really understand is price, so that's how they typically pick a contractor.
Who wants to be a low bid contractor? For sure the consumer should lay out there basic needs, select the final materials, approve drawings, colors, etc. but they won't understand the details that go into it and this is where the price differences occur.

Regarding work in your home, the best thing you could do is wall off the area and stay the heck out of there during construction activities. For a major remodel or new build, live somewhere else while it's going on. Nothing wrong with taking a look at things after the contractors leave or a periodic jobsite meeting to discuss issues, but you will become very unpopular if you're looking over their shoulder daily and questioning everything they do.

There can also be huge differences between contractors in terms of performance regarding schedule, housekeeping, safety, etc. Last thing you want is extra months of a mess, dangerous conditions, and a drawn out schedule.

Made my living general contracting for 40 years and the majority of our work was negotiated open book contracts where we simply worked out the deal with the client without going through a bidding process.
A great deal of those contracts were also repeat clients, because they were satisfied and didn't want to go through the hassle of experimenting to find a new reliable contractor.

So many craftsmen have aged out of the trades in the last couple decades that the skilled workforce has shrunk considerably. Contractors who have the staff and horsepower to get things done get all the work they want.

[disneysteve]

c. If you hire a good contractor you won't need to be present much and they would rather you weren't. Let them do their job uninterrupted.

I don't think anyone is suggesting you watch over them like a hawk, but you can and should monitor what's happening, checking in throughout the day. Even the best contractors make mistakes or misunderstand instructions, or maybe the foreman understood but the guy actually doing the work misunderstood, especially when there is a language barrier present. It's much easier and cheaper to correct something when it happens rather than after a wall has been closed or something has been secured in place.

The guy who did our kitchen is great and we're very happy with the results, but there were several times throughout the job that one of us caught something that wasn't quite right or wasn't how we had discussed doing it. No big major things, but significant enough that we wanted them corrected. Had we not pointed them out until the end, it would have been too late to fix them.

[ua_guy]

We don't tell contractors if we're getting multiple bids--why should they know? We want them to shoot their best shot, the first time. Price isn't our only selection criteria anyway - availability timeline and quality are usually the top two. Going just based on quality, the most expensive bids haven't always been backed by the best quality work when we've checked it out.

I want to see stuff before it's closed up because I know basic building code and want to make sure corners weren't cut. If a contractor has an issue with me doing my own due diligence or taking photos to document, that's a red flag to me. As is me being protective of my home. They need their space to work, but, when the resident is living in the home, a good contractor knows how to manage through that.

There are a lot of good GC's--and exponentially more bad ones.

One cost saving piece of advice is to do big projects when the economy and housing market turn down. We saved a mint during the recession having work done on our first home. There were lots of hungry, hungry contractors, even the good ones.

[Fishindude77]

We don't tell contractors if we're getting multiple bids--why should they know?

You don't need to tell them. If you've been contracting for long it's pretty easy to figure out when you are getting shopped.

[ua_guy]

You don't need to tell them. If you've been contracting for long it's pretty easy to figure out when you are getting shopped.

I'd think getting shopped is generally expected. When we're going for quality, those guys can usually articulate why they won't be the lowest bid if we do shop. I like when they point out where someone else might cut corners, do things differently, or throw in a low bid to snag business and then line-item needed overages to death at the end.

[disneysteve]

I'd think getting shopped is generally expected. When we're going for quality, those guys can usually articulate why they won't be the lowest bid if we do shop. I like when they point out where someone else might cut corners, do things differently, or throw in a low bid to snag business and then line-item needed overages to death at the end.

Exactly. Meeting with multiple contractors has nothing to do with finding the lowest bid. It is entirely about finding the right person for the job.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I went with middle of the road and got estimates for our roof and painting the house from 3 different contractors who did work on 3 different friends and neighbors. I just picked the one I liked the best and seemed to answer our questions and seemed responsive. I figured all 3 were solid reccomendations but I was still going to get estimates and see who worked out best for us personally. No offense but I one particular one that my next door neighbor raved about i didn't love. the one down the street who painted her house I used her painter and another friends roofer. I can't explain why but i didn't pick the cheapest. I really picked the one I thought did the best job selling the job and I liked.

[disneysteve]

I went with middle of the road and got estimates for our roof and painting the house from 3 different contractors who did work on 3 different friends and neighbors. I just picked the one I liked the best and seemed to answer our questions and seemed responsive. I figured all 3 were solid reccomendations but I was still going to get estimates and see who worked out best for us personally. No offense but I one particular one that my next door neighbor raved about i didn't love. the one down the street who painted her house I used her painter and another friends roofer. I can't explain why but i didn't pick the cheapest. I really picked the one I thought did the best job selling the job and I liked.

This is as it should be. I don't think I've ever chosen the "low bidder" for a job because they're typically cheap for a reason whether it's poor quality materials, shoddy workmanship, lousy customer service, etc. And I don't go with the highest priced one either because they're typically charging too much for no good reason.

I totally agree that you need to feel the person is a good fit for the job and is someone who you feel comfortable working with.

The last time our heater died, I called a well-known company for an estimate. They came out and the guy was pretty rude from the moment he stepped into the house. As soon as I said I'd let him know he said, "If I knew you were getting other estimates I wouldn't have bothered coming" and stormed out. Needless to say we didn't hire that company.