Considerations for Hiring a Phoenix Home Remodeling Contractor (Part 3 of 4)

This blog post is the third of a 4-part series that will describe how to hire a Phoenix home remodeling contractor.

Do your research

A successful project requires significant upfront work before you sign on the dotted line.  At a minimum, make sure you:

1. Make a short list of contractors to interview.  Based on your initial research, narrow your list to the top three or four candidates.  Call each candidate and schedule an interview.  During the interviews, share your project scope and requirements list.

Ask to see work portfolios, design plan examples and references.  Focus on issues like quality assurance, change order management and project management.  Make sure you understand a Phoenix home remodeling contractor’s timetable for things:

• Do they have time for your project?
• How long do they expect your project to take?
• When will they submit a bid?
• If they are the successful bidder, when can you expect a contract?  When can they begin work?

1. Compare bids.  After you’ve finished interviewing all prospective remodeling contractors and received their bids, make sure you compare cost estimates apples-to-apples.  You need to work with each contractor to understand and evaluate each price factor, especially if you receive drastically different bid amounts.

Of course cost is an important factor; but not at the expense of a quality project.  You have to weed through the bid items and determine if material and labor costs reflect higher or lower quality.  In other words, is the bid higher because of better quality materials?  Is it lower because of shoddy materials?  Are labor costs higher because of better craftsmanship?  .

1. Check references.  You’re arrived at the final step in the selection process:  checking references.  At this point, make sure you have all the materials you requested from the interview.  For example, if any contractor has not provided references during, or soon after, your interview, move on.

Also, make sure you have a bid for the work that fits your project budget before you spend time checking references.  It’s also important to gauge a contractor’s interest in your project.  Only check references and spend additional time on remodeling contractors who demonstrate they truly want your business.

When you do check references for your final candidates, ask the references if they would hire the contractor again. Ask what the contractor did especially well and what they did that wasn’t so great.  Did they finish on time and within budget?  Was the work quality as expected?  Were the workers courteous?

For more information about hiring a Phoenix home contactor, contact Republic West.