How to pick a contractor? (1 Viewer)

[sirenmoses]

Biz w/ good rep that can't fit you for 3 months, or coworker who will match the price and do the work tomorrow?

Roofing is the primary task, flooring next, putting the tax credit back into the house. I trust the coworker in that I can leave town w/my dogs and he'll get it done while I'm gone (little of value in house, on the property, etc). But I have to work with him for the next year.... what say Mudders?

Got burned by a previous 'painter' co-worker: this one has contracter licence etc.

 

[AJP]

who will match the price and do the work tomorrow

If he is "matching the price" you should reasonably be able to ask for references and then check them out. If the other job references meet your "sniff" test then I would say go ahead. But under the same conditions as you would have with the other firm - eg warranty etc. Also as this is not his primary job be prepared for a longer install time on the flooring. First and last - coworker or not - this is a business deal.

 

[D'Animal]

When it comes to contractors, I use word of mouth references more than any other type of finding contractors.

I have found there are a few reasons that good contractors cannot fit you in.

1. They are good and in demand
Generally they are small companies that focus on the person touch and quality

2. They are back logged since they are spending much of their time redoing their work.
It was not done right the first time.

I have been working with 9 different contractors in the last 6 weeks. I fired 3 of them Friday.

Since you are doing a roof, ask the reputable company how much cheaper it would be by tearing off the roof yourself. It very is labor intensive and I bet is 1/2 the price of their bid. They can then send a skilled labor crew over and roof your house in a day, I'll bet you will be moved up on the calendar.

 

[batcon]

Workmans comp. insurance is very expenive for roofing, and many small contractors optout of coverage on roof related work on their liability ins. If a contractor is doing the work himself, he doesn't need the workmans comp. Be carefull and cover your ass. If someone gets hurt it will come back to you. Even contractors meeting all the requirments does not remove you from the picture legally. Check with your homeowners insurance.

 

[dr_dobro]

When it comes to contractors, I use word of mouth references more than any other type of finding contractors.

I have found there are a few reasons that good contractors cannot fit you in.

1. They are good and in demand
Generally they are small companies that focus on the person touch and quality

2. They are back logged since they are spending much of their time redoing their work.
It was not done right the first time.

I have been working with 9 different contractors in the last 6 weeks. I fired 3 of them Friday.

Since you are doing a roof, ask the reputable company how much cheaper it would be by tearing off the roof yourself. It very is labor intensive and I bet is 1/2 the price of their bid. They can then send a skilled labor crew over and roof your house in a day, I'll bet you will be moved up on the calendar.

X2



A contractor is a Salesman, therefore you want to know who's is the person that will do the job and that someone is going to be from start to end. You want to meet this person and talk to him so you can analize and have ideas of his judgement and work.

 

[porten1134]

man i see poor folks getting burned by contractors all the time. I feel bad for em.but this is what i tell everyone:

1, make sure they are licensed and insured/bonded...make em prove it. in Utah there is a state office that can tell you if they are licensed and if there was any funny buisness with their license in the past.

2, get references and look at the work.find out how long they have been in buisness, and check with the BBB. actually go and see it or talk to the people if you can. even a roofing job is $4k-$8k for a regular old 2000 sq. foot house. its worth looking into. oh yeah make sure the refrences aren't a brother or cousin or something.
if your contractor does a good job they will be proud of their work, and more than happy to show it off. also, make sure they have done this type of work before.....some guys do great building sheds, but have never finished a basement before. some roofers might do asphalt shingles but have never touched a flat roof.

3,make sure they get permits.beiliev it or not most work on a house is something you need to get a permit for.some municipalities may not wanna bother with a roofing job though. if a permit is required and they're not getting one, you might wanna watch out. besides...just th thought of an inspector looking at the work will keep most contractors on their toes. and if there is a problem most insurance companys will ask if there was a permit for the work. if the answer is no than most times they wont pay.

4, this may be the most inportant one..watch the money. first of all dont DONT pay for it all up front. a lot of times they will as for a deposit or a percentage of the job to begin, and thats probably ok. hopefully the company you choose for a roofing job is savvy enough with their finances that they dont need your money to buy the materials. most times they buy the materials with a purchase order and their bill at the end of the month. if they cant float the money for materials you might be better off buying them yourself too. some contractors will snag materials on a P.O., list your address on the job and not pay the supply house. then the supply house puts a lien on your house for the materials, usually long enough after the job is over that you have paid them and think everything is lovely. make sure they pay their bills and employees...most states lien laws let folks that havent been paid lien your house. maybe look into a lien waver or something.

good luck...ask questions!!

 

[bkfj40]

does he know the price of the other contractor or did he come up with it on his own?

matching a price is easy if the "friend" was originally going to charge you less than the other contractor was going to charge you...

 

[inthewall]

Same as above. Is your co-worker insured and licensed, it could cost you dearly if he falls off the roof. I would go with a licensed contractor with a good rep. Definately check your state contractors board. Most states you can run the contractors name and license number online, it will show license and bond status, liens, and fines.

 

[titanpat57]

Agree with all the above..

No contractor is going to give a bad reference...


People that are in business for awhile, stay in business by bidding the job correctly, making a profit(not a homerun every job) and treat the customer with respect and fairness. They are honest and want your repeat business.

A fly by night is looking for a fresh customer every week because no one would hire them again. Some customers get burnt because they pick the cheapest guy, in order to save money, and out smart a guy who's already an expert in seperating you with what's in your pocket...they almost will always get you before you get them.

The time spent looking into a contrator before the job starts will save you time, aggrevation and money in the end. If someone doesn't bid the job properly, you will pay either way..the contractor will bail with your money, or quit half way through when he realizes he's in a losing situation..and you'll be forced to hire someone and pay all over again, at twice the loss to you....so that higher contractor isn't looking so expensive now is he?

I deal with multiple contractors covering millions of dollars of repair and construction here at the college every year, and in the six years I've been here I have not had to sue one vendor, and had to only ask one contractor to leave for performace issues, and we able to work out his issues, allowing him to save some face, and me to get my money's worth.

So call the BBB, the suppliers the guy deals with, and other trades which may have the inside skinny on someone.

Good luck

 

[45Kevin]

If he isn't doing an estimate, and just matching someone elses price, he should be 10% cheaper. Better yet, get him to do an estimate and use him if he is less money and has acceptable references.

Also, friend or not, you will have to deal with him at work for who knows how long, and if the job goes south, and everyone has a bad one occassionally, that may be pretty hard.

I used to hate doing work for family. They seem to have higher expectations or something.

Whoever you use, get references and check that insurance/workers comp is up to date.

 

[AJP]

A little off topic - but several references to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) ... was wondering if anyone ever called the BBB and got a "bad" comment about a paid up member?

I have the "opinion" (and would be happy to be wrong) that in some communities they operate a little like the folks that drop by the local business to sell insurance against a stone going through your plate glass window

 

[EricG]

My experience with hiring contractors...

Call at least 8.
6 will return your call.
3 or 4 will show up to look at the work.
2 or 3 will return a bid
At least one of those will be completely outrageous - 1.5 to 2x the other bids. I interpret this to be saying they aren't interested in the job, but will do it if you pay that much.

Maybe it's gotten better with the down turn in the industry.

 

[fsusteve]

I've seen both good and bad when using coworkers, tough call, ask the other guys they've done work for to honestly grade their work. We have guys I'd use for stuff and others I like but wouldn't let them touch my s***.

 

[amos715]

many contractors around here have gone out of business.

and we still have had a hard time getting someone to come out and do some gutter/floor work.

guess i'll end up doing it myself.

 

[haystax]

You're planning to do steel roofing right? Has the guy done that before? Drive around and look at his other projects and take a look for yourself . Shingles are much more forgiving and easier to hack together and have the project look like it was done right. Steel is a one shot deal and expensive to learn on the job. The proper tools are important as well as many manufacturer warranties will not allow abrasive cutting tools. Metal cutting saws are still pretty spendy.

I had a family "friend" work on my house, finally got tired of his s***ty schedule and poor workmanship and fired him. Things worked much better after that but I was way behind schedule. Something to think of going into winter. Everyone puts off roofing until they think it is absolutely necessary so there may be a backlog of work this time of year.

Good luck!

 

[sirenmoses]

thanks for all the input.

He is actually the 3rd person to give me a quote: asked another indirect co-worker/ contractor for one first, haven't heard back. Contractor license # on his spendy paper. It's a family contractor biz.

Checked yet another co-worker who used him for some roofing work, got a thumbs up for customer service, but not a 100% solid recommendation. Challenges there are flat roof in Sante Fe, need I say more?

Been to this guy's house, still a work in progress, but beautiful. He's definately trying to steer me in directions, and I've heard about previous money stuff. He's also the dept Chaplin, and has to work directly w/me for another 10 months, and indirectly for 13 more years.

Prolly gonna go w/him: the numbers look good, and he's motivated now cuz he needs the money, will do a good job cuz I'll have work for him as my money rebuilds.

Worst case, we are Union 'brothers', and there's a clause in there somewhere about not taking advantage. Not that it's stopped other folks, but I don't do biz w/them anyway...

 

[batcon]

My experience with hiring contractors...

Call at least 8.
6 will return your call.
3 or 4 will show up to look at the work.
2 or 3 will return a bid
At least one of those will be completely outrageous - 1.5 to 2x the other bids. I interpret this to be saying they aren't interested in the job, but will do it if you pay that much.

Maybe it's gotten better with the down turn in the industry.

When people get multiple bids, the deciding factor is the lowest price many times. This is a problem more times than not. The higher bid may not be off base, as the price may be reflective of the product the contractor wants to provide. The lower price may be your slam bam job. The client needs to compare apples to apples. Sometimes you want to toss out the high bid and the low.

 

[PAToyota]

Watching a job on my street, something kept bothering me but I couldn't initially figure it out. Some talks with the homeowner have revealed that they are less than pleased with how things are progressing. Then it dawned on me. So I offer the following tip:

• If the sign on the side of their truck is misspelled, it may comment on their overall commitment to quality...

 

[titanpat57]

Watching a job on my street, something kept bothering me but I couldn't initially figure it out. Some talks with the homeowner have revealed that they are less than pleased with how things are progressing. Then it dawned on me. So I offer the following tip:

• If the sign on the side of their truck is misspelled, it may comment on their overall commitment to quality...

That only happens in Penna.....



























from an old Wmspt native....lol...

 

[sirenmoses]

Watching a job on my street, something kept bothering me but I couldn't initially figure it out. Some talks with the homeowner have revealed that they are less than pleased with how things are progressing. Then it dawned on me. So I offer the following tip:

• If the sign on the side of their truck is misspelled, it may comment on their overall commitment to quality...

Excellent point.

Ditto for companies who don't have/ enforce rules for driving fleet vehicles, little things like "don't drive aggro w/our decal on the door". X many for companies that blow off a phone call about same.

Had an HVAC rig try to run me off the road today, 2 lane w/shoulders, we were all stuck behind a heavy hauler. Laughed to watch him aggro 2 more after me, since I knew there was highway construction w/one lane in the next mile that he wanted to drive 80+ thru, on a 2 lane 55mph road...