Unsolicited advice is almost never taken, so I don’t expect a lot of people to care about this. But, I’ve never let people not caring stop before. Over a few years of living and having moved to an area that is lacking in skilled labor, I have some suggestions about hiring a contractor, like to remold a bath or house, replace an air conditioning system or do some plumbing work.
First and last, never get in a hurry. Take the time to get more than one bid on any project.
Get everything in writing. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything. Humans forget what they say.
Don’t look for the cheap way. Sometime the lowest bid may work, or it may cost more in the long run.
Know or learn enough details about what you want done so you can ask questions. You may want to hire a third party to go over the written bids
Inspect the work in progress. If something doesn’t look right, ask questions and take pictures.
Require every contractor to furnish proof of liability insurance and bonding.
Photograph all workers - that’s right, if you let someone into your house, you need to be able to identify them.
Of course, you must have all warranties in writing and instructions on how to file a claim
For the most part, you can forget about referrals from friends and family, but there are exceptions. The good job someone did for a friend, may not be the work you get.
The objective is to get the best results for the best price.
Or, you can just sell your house and move to a new one.
PMO
©2017
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