Finding the right professional to trust with the care and detail that goes into projects of all sizes for your home can be a tall order. Understanding what to look and how to ask the right questions can help you make a more informed decision and feel confident in the relationship you’re about to build. In this article we will provide some guidance for finding a good quality, reliable contractor for your home projects in Jacksonville.
Know What You Want
One of the first steps you need to take is to know what you want. Having an understanding of what you want and some information about what goes into the project is important because it will help you to narrow your search to finding the perfect match for your project.
Look at the project that you have on hand. This is the first step to making the right choice of a contractor. You may find a great contractor that just might not be the right one for your very specific project.
The only way you can do this is by looking at their previous projects and then seeing if anything pops out at you. Looking at the projects a contractor has done previously is an excellent way to gauge whether or not they have the right touch for your project.
Ask for Advice
The next step in the process is that you should ask for advice. Don’t try to be an island standing in the ocean all by yourself. This will cause you to make bad decisions.
Seek the advice of friends, family or coworkers who may have already used a general contractor. Why not pick their brain a little to find out exactly what type of contractor is available in your area and see if you can find a good recommendation.
If you’re not lucky enough to have this option available to you then you can do some research by checking on reviews and social media pages to find out more about each contractor that you are considering.
When looking at reviews try to be as objective as possible. It is highly unlikely that you’re going to find a company that has completely positive reviews. If you do, then you should be highly suspicious of the quality of those reviews. Chances are you are going to see a mixed bag.
Always read the negative reviews with an objective mind. Look at how the company/contractor responds to them as well. This will tell you a lot about how resilient the contractor is. You can also gauge the validity of positive reviews. People tend to describe the services they were given. While 5-star ratings with no comment aren’t uncommon, they should not be the majority of positive reviews you find on sites like Google & Yelp.
Compare and Contrast
The next step in the process is to compare and contrast what each contractor has to offer. While you may be tempted to go with the option that has the lowest price this can be a recipe for disaster. Cheaper is not always best, you need to find a contractor that will work with you and listen to your goals and your visions for your project.
Having a checklist of your needs readily available while you are comparing and contrasting price and the service offered by each contractor is a great way to make sure that you’re on the ball when it comes to selecting someone that is perfect for your needs.
Dig Further
The next step in the entire process is to dig a little deeper to find out more about your contractor. You need to look at all the projects they have completed prior to your own so that you can gauge exactly how effective they will be for your project.
They are also some legalities that you need to consider. Make sure your contractor is licensed to work in the area where you are employing them. Additionally, verify that they have insurance coverage. This ensures damages and accidents are covered.
Be sure to ask your general contractor for references. Don’t just collect them and don’t check them out. Make that all important phone call and prepare questions to ask about your contractor up front.
Timeline Discussion
Having a discussion about when your contractor will be hanging up their hard hats and putting away their tools is critical. A good contractor should not only be able to be open with you with regards to providing a timeline, they should be able to effectively communicate any milestones in the project that could be delayed based on a number of factors depending on the task. These could be weather, access to supplies, waiting on your approvals to move on to the next step, etc…
Any kind of project where you need a general contractor is usually one that is going to require skill not just in manual labor but design as well. A special project signals it’s time to get your creative juices flowing and you want to make sure that you are doing so with someone who can understand your vision, vibe and flow.
This is a tall order you need to make sure that you get it right. Have a checklist ready based on everything you have right here so that you can ask your contractor all the right questions.
