Top 5 Things to Double Check Before your Contractor Begins Work
Your home improvement contractor isn’t the only one that should be preparing for the work on your home! As a homeowner, you should also double check a few things to help insure that the project runs smoothly and accurately.
1. Make sure to ask your contractor for a Certificate of Insurance with both Workers Compensation and General Liability. These can be mailed or emailed to you easily from a contractor’s insurance provider. This insures that you are protected from financial obligation should injury or damages occur on your property.
2. Ask to see the permit (when required) when the crew arrives or call your local city or village to insure that a permit has been acquired for your job. Often times this isn’t done until just before work begins so don’t call too early. Remember, not all cities or municipalities require permits for different types of work – and all cities have different rules for permitting.
3. Be sure to ask your contractor if there are any preparations that you should make to your home before work begins. We generally ask our customers to remove any particularly valuable belongings from their walls just in case they rattle during roofing or siding replacement. You may also want to take steps to protect any vulnerable landscaping, although a good contractor will take care of that for you.
4. If a dumpster is being used, you’ll need to make sure that your car is out of your garage, or confirm which side of the driveway the dumpster will be on. You don’t want your car to be trapped in the garage!
5. If you have any questions about the scope of work, type of materials, or any other concerns, now is the time to ask! Give your contractor a ring and just make sure that all those last minute details or changes are fresh in both of your heads. Remember- the key to a successful home improvement project is strong communication between the contractor and homeowner.
One final word of advice- please don’t hesitate to talk with your crew foreman while he’s working on your home or call your contractor directly about any concerns you may have.We encourage you to monitor and address concerns as the job is in progress or immediately upon completion – it is much more efficient than sending the crew back at a later date. Take advantage of that final walk through – this is your home, and you have every right to be picky about the quality of work.
Top 6 Places to Research a Home Improvement Contractor
We are constantly encouraging homeowners to do their research when it comes to choosing a contractor to complete their roofing, siding, window or gutter replacements. We will cover the estimate process in another post, but for now I’d like to talk a bit about WHERE to research your potential contractor finalists. BEFORE you sign a contract, make sure to check out the following websites or make the following phone calls to make sure your home is protected from contractors who might not be the best choice for you.
- The Better Business Bureau: The Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois is a FANTASTIC place to start when reviewing potential contractors. You can search their online database using a contractors name, address or phone number and it will give you a report listing a letter grade (i.e., A+, A, B, C, etc) for that particular business. You will also be able to see any complaints lodged against the contractor by other homeowners.
- The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation: The State of Illinois requires that all roofing contractors be licensed. You can check to be sure that your potential roofing contractor is properly licensed using their online lookup. The State of Illinois does not currently require or issue licensing for siding, windows or gutters.
- Online consumer-driven review websites: There are many websites available now that allow customers to post their experiences with home improvement contractors. One of the most popular of these websites is Angieslist, though it does require membership to read the reviews. Free reviews and additional information often can be found by simply entering the name of a potential contractor’s company into a search engine such as google, yahoo, etc (e.g., “Hollingsworth Home Improvement” reviews).
- Local supply vendors: It’s always a smart move to ask a potential contractor for the names and phone numbers of some of their suppliers.. You can then call the supplier to make sure that the contractor is up to date on their accounts. If the contractor is behind paying their supplier, then they are probably struggling financially and may not be the safest choice to make.
- Previous Customers: Most contractors will have a ready list of previous customers and/or their addresses. If one is not provided automatically, be sure to ask. This will give you first hand information on the quality of a contractor’s work.
- Insurance Providers: Again, most contractors should have shown you a Certificate of Insurance during their estimate presentation. If one was not displayed, then you’ll want to get the name of their insurance provider and call them to confirm adequate coverage.
I’d love to hear about other ways you research your potential contractors! Please feel free to leave a comment with any other advice you have to add for other homeowners!