ClickCease
Kitchen Remodel Philadelphia, PA

How to Choose The Right Home Remodeling Company

Every home investment is personal. It is a vision that you have that you would like to see it come to life. Home remodeling requires the very best to deliver. Despite this requirement, not everyone operates with a finite budget; we all want a good deal out there.

Making the right choice is down to how organized you are when choosing. Prepare before you go on a search.

  • Do your homework on the services and potential budget
  • Be specific on what you want

These four questions can guide you further on what to choose.

1. What do others say about the contractor?

  • Are there positive reviews of the contractor for you to peruse?
  • Has anyone referred you to the contractor?
  • What are the awards and accolades

You can trust the experience people have had with a remodeling contractor. Good contractors have an overwhelming body of positive reviews. There may be negative reviews here and there, but that should not deter you from choosing a contractor.

If there is a negative review, you can use it during interviews. Ask the contractor what he or she did to help the client. Use your judgment to gauge his or her answer.

If you have received a referral from someone, you can ask for more information about the contractor. If it is possible, visit the finished work. If there are before and after pictures or videos, you can request to see them.

If you have received a recommendation from another technician, conduct your due diligence. Ask for more information. Did the technicians go to school together? Have they shared a job site before? What type of work relationship do they have?

Awards go to the very best. Not everyone wins awards. Sometimes they say the second best always tries the hardest. Some contractors are not fortunate enough to win accolades, but they can deliver a project correctly.

2. Is the contractor certified?

  • The contractor must be registered
  • Work warranty is good
  • Insurance is imperative
  • Someone ought to have the right tools and equipment

Do not hire a technician who does not have the necessary authorization to do a job. He or she may not know how to do the job. The chances are that he or she is a quack. The licenses must be up to date. With bonded remodeling contractors, check the status of the registrations.

Some are under disciplinary review. If a contractor does not show all the legal documentation required to perform a remodeling job, just pass. Even if it is a referral, don’t be tempted to give the person the job.

Remodeling contractors who trust their workmanship offer quality guarantees. In case anything goes wrong, they will come to fix it. Those who feel they may not do a great job hardly give work warranties.

Look for the contractors who offer work guarantees. Someone ought to do the project right the first time. If someone does not want to come back to redo the job, they will insist on professional service. They will not cut corners.

Workplace compensation insurance helps mitigate any accident that can occur while the technicians are within your premises. If the contractor does not have that, any form of liability falls on you.

Most good contractors will take liability insurance for their projects. In case there is any error or costly omission, the insurance company will take care of it. If a contractor has a bad reputation, the insurance company will charge a hefty premium. If the insurance companies trust the contractor to be professional always, they will cover his workmanship failures.

You can ask some of the tools that the contractor will use. Ask if the contractor has all of them. If there are tools that they don’t have, how do they plan to get them? Sometimes contractors lease tools for complex projects. Missing tools is not much of a red flag.

3. How is the portfolio?

  • Experience in the type of remodeling project
  • Finished project overview

Take a great deal of time to look at the contractor’s portfolio. Inspect the projects that the contractor has done in the past. What is the completion rate? Did the customers give a good review? If there are customers who have left recommendation messages, that is a good sign. Some contractors buy good recommendations. If a contractor offers a lower bid in exchange for five stars, that is a red flag.

What type of project do you want? An expert in the bathroom may not be comfortable helping you out with the kitchen. If someone has a niche area, he is better suited to handle the job. However, don’t rule out everyone else because of that.

Medium to large contractors can do different types of projects perfectly, sometimes even concurrently. Be specific on the experience that you are looking for in a technician. Review several projects in that category.

Organized experts such as Gehman Remodeling take pictures of before, during and after photos for every project they do. It is easy to follow through.

A detailed overview of the finished project is imperative too. The only way to prove that someone is genuinely good is to look at the finished work. Is the overall workmanship great? How is the paintwork? How are the fittings? Is everything nice and tidy?

4. How is communication?

  • Return missed calls
  • Can you connect in person?
  • How detailed is the quote or estimate?
  • Are they responsive to questions?

Reputable contractors may not pick calls during the day. They are mostly at the job site. The good ones will call you back.

It takes time to finish your job. The contractor will be with you for several days. If it is an extensive renovation project, it might take a week or so. It is good to choose a likable person—someone you feel free to talk to when you have a problem.

Some contractors are more organized than others are. The quality of the estimate will give you a clue about the remodeling company. A detailed quote can signify an organized person. Since the devil is always in the details, the more the details, the easier it is to know which bid handles the best work.

Interview your potential contractors. While at it, be wary of those who dodge questions. Look for the contractor who offers straight answers without going around it.

Prepare a list of questions. However, don’t make them too elaborate. Five issues are enough. The contractor doesn’t have all day to answer your questions. Keep the items simple. You can even email the questions in advance so that the contractor comes ready to connect with you.

The best quote is the median. Some contractors quote low to lock in the job. Once they have started, they will bump up the costs upwards. Sometimes, you may pay more than you would have paid for had you chosen the most expensive contractor.

A very high quote can signify that the contractor is highly specialized in the industry. However, that is not always the case. Instead of gambling, take the median bid.

Conclusion

If you can answer each one of the questions in the affirmative, you are looking at an outstanding home remodeling contractor. You can go ahead with signing the contract. While at it, understand all the details. Read it through carefully.

You can draw your contract terms if you are uncomfortable with what the contractor prepared. Be as detailed as possible. If you have a remodeling job that you want to be completed, you can contact Gehman Remodeling Contractors.