If you’re considering remodeling your home, chances are, you’re soon to develop a close relationship with a general contractor. A residential general contractor is a home remodeling professional who consults on, designs, organizes and executes larger remodeling projects. They incorporate specific design and architectural ideas to provide a homeowner with a better living experience, either by adding space or making better use of an established space.
A lot of people don’t realize that the average kitchen remodels can take 6-8 weeks, and to complete the remodel, you are likely to need the services of an electrician, a plumber, a countertop contractor, a cabinet contractor, a flooring pro, a painter, and someone to install the appliances. That’s a lot of people.
The benefit of using a residential general contractor is that they can not only coordinate all of these other professionals and schedule them so that one person is not in another’s way, but they also know what a fair price is on the subcontractors’ labor charges and how to do some of the work himself, whereas the average homeowner will not.
To find the best general contractor for you and your remodel, here’s some advice:
The very best place to start is with referrals from friends, neighbors, family members and colleagues. All of these people are naturally inclined to give you an honest opinion of their contractors’ work and will probably be willing to talk to you in detail and show you the outcome of their remodels. You may have even already actually witnessed their “befores and afters.”
Another great place to take your search are websites like Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor. Each site has an extensive database of home improvement contractors reviewed by verified members.
Try contacting your local chamber of commerce or building trade association and ask for their recommendations.
You might try and get a referral from your insurance company, even if they’re not paying for the work. Most insurance companies have long-standing relationships with reputable local contractors.
Once you’ve researched your options, make a list of three highly-rated contractors you want to get a bid from and contact them directly.
Visit the website of each contractor and look for samples of projects they’ve completed that are similar to yours. Look to see if there are references or testimonials posted on the site. Did their work look beautiful and impressive? Were there any “case studies” posted on the site that resonated with you?
When it comes time to meet each contractor, have a list of questions including the following:
- How long have you been in business?
- Will you provide me with three recent references?
The keyword here is “recent.” Good contractors should be willing to share the contact information of at least three homeowners they’ve worked with over the last year.
When you talk to these homeowners, ask them:
- How quickly did this contractor return your phone calls?
- Was the project completed on budget?
- Did the contractor keep their promises to you?
- Was the contractor responsive to changes with the project?
- Was there any disagreement? What happened?
- Would you recommend this contractor to someone in your family?
Armed with this much information, you should feel confident that you’ll make the right decision, and Dimensional Pro Construction is confident that your decision will be to work with them. You’ll see for yourself that we provide high-quality, creative solutions to all your remodeling challenges in a timely, smooth manner and on budget. You’ll be thrilled with the results.
