Top things to consider when hiring a contractor

[bjl584]

License and Certifications - are they properly licensed to do the work?

Insurance - are they insured? Ask for a copy of the policy

References and Reviews - how did you find them? Do others recommend them? Do they have a portfolio showcasing past work?

Clear Contact and Scope - are they responsive and clear in messaging when speaking with them? Are they prompt and fully disclose the job and pricing?

[Fishindude77]

Some states, locales, regions, etc. require no licenses.
We built multi million dollar, mega square feet manufacturing plants and never had a license. A few communities required you to post a bond, pay a fee and register with them, but not many.
Plumbers and electricians have to be licensed almost everywhere.

[ua_guy]

Thankfully our state requires licensing and bonding/ insurance for general contractors and specific trades. All of it is easily verified online via our Dept of Labor and Industries plus you can see open claims and formal complaints, resolution status against them.

My biggest criteria is word of mouth from people I know, or a contractor who is well-regarded by another high quality contractor. That's served us very well in the past.

[disneysteve]

Word of mouth is pretty much the only way I've ever hired a contractor. In fact, I generally rule out any contractor that advertises themselves. If your company name is plastered on billboards or buses or radio ads or TV commercials or home mailers or sports team sponsorships or whatever, that tells me that your customers are paying for all of those ads. It also tells me that you can't seem to generate enough business without going that route.

We have a good friend who is a realtor, another who owns multiple rental properties, and a third who is a contractor himself (and remodeled our kitchen last year) and has done some house flipping. Any time I'm in need of home services, those are the three people I ask for recommendations. I have never been disappointed with anyone that they have recommended.

[Fishindude77]

Yep, word of mouth is the best way to go.

Going in cold to a new area where I don't know anyone I will locate the nearest good size, locally owned lumber yard (not, Lowes, Home Depot or Menards) and talk to the contractor sales rep. Most good contractors buy the majority of their supplies from the locally owned lumber yards vs the chains, so that guy is going to know what contractors do what kind of work, who is good and who isn't. Then simply tell him what kind of project you have and ask who he might recommend. They will usually have a name or two that can be trusted.

[disneysteve]

I will admit to hiring a guy who knocked on the door once to coat our driveway. I knew he was probably full of crap but he said they had just finished a job in the neighborhood and he still had materials open and ready to go that would go to waste if he didn't use them. So I had him coat the driveway for what I felt was a very reasonable price. He did a nice job, too, so I'm not sorry I did it. I figured there was only so badly he could mess things up and he was a legit contractor.

[ua_guy]

I will admit to hiring a guy who knocked on the door once to coat our driveway. I knew he was probably full of crap but he said they had just finished a job in the neighborhood and he still had materials open and ready to go that would go to waste if he didn't use them. So I had him coat the driveway for what I felt was a very reasonable price. He did a nice job, too, so I'm not sorry I did it. I figured there was only so badly he could mess things up and he was a legit contractor.

We poached a neighbor's contractor for asphalt seal-coating, talked to the guys and had them do ours too after he finished the neighbors. It was a new driveway less than a year old so prep was minimal, and they did a good job.

It was a new driveway because an asphalt crew went door-knocking and sold a bunch of us on laying new driveways, "we'll be in your area in a few days..". Ours was ~$2k and that included adding to our driveway with a parking pad, not a small area all-in. Price included taking up all the asphalt, laying a new base and correcting the grade. Ours was 50 years old and all busted up, and we had just redone all the landscaping and had the house painted, so a brand new asphalt driveway was a nice finishing touch. It was a young guy running door to door, eager, $2k, licensed/bonded, why not?! They did a really nice job and 3-4 other neighbors had theirs done at the same time.

[Fishindude77]

I appreciate guys like that, out trying to hustle up some business.
The world could use more of them.

[disneysteve]

I appreciate guys like that, out trying to hustle up some business.
The world could use more of them.

I'll take that over the company with the bus wraps and sports team sponsorships any day.

[Fishindude77]

Asphalt sealer sponsoring a sports team? Maybe his kids tee ball team?

[ua_guy]

Probably not an asphalt sealer. Pretty common to see larger window/door, roofing/siding and other local contractor sponsorships/banners for the regional and semi-pro teams. Some of them advertise during Seahawks/Mariners around here and have partnerships. There was a local auto glass shop that had commercials for years with some of the Mariners players. That's how you know you're paying too much for a windshield.

[disneysteve]

Probably not an asphalt sealer. Pretty common to see larger window/door, roofing/siding and other local contractor sponsorships/banners for the regional and semi-pro teams. Some of them advertise during Seahawks/Mariners around here and have partnerships. There was a local auto glass shop that had commercials for years with some of the Mariners players. That's how you know you're paying too much for a windshield.

Exactly. One of the big HVAC companies around here is plastered all over the place. We had them come out for an estimate one time and their price was more than double what we ended up paying with an independent guy. Who do you think pays for all of that expensive advertising?