We finally are going to do some things to the house. Not a tearing down the walls kind of reno, but a big refresh – take down popcorn, put in flooring, paint, new bathroom vanities and counters and maybe painting kitchen cabinets and new counters. What we finally choose to do will depend on estimate of all the work.
What do I ask? Do I pick out all the things and then tell him to buy them at a discount, if he gets one? Does he recommend things and I nix or accept? How does the money usually work? How much of a deposit is customary?
Basically tell me the things I don’t know to ask. First one is coming tomorrow. I haven’t set up a second person, but I learned that the SIL of a woman in my mahjong group is a GC so I am calling him, too. I’ve already gotten a bid from a person who specializes in painting and popcorn so I can compare that part of the overall bid. What else? TIA
We’ve used a general contractor twice. Once for a two story addition on our current house along with remodeling some of the older part and a few years ago when it was time to remodel kitchen, baths, etc.
You should write down everything you want to the GC to do, be as specific as possible ( for example- paint kitchen cabinets vs. replacing ) My contractors both recommended, for instance, a cabinet company or two they worked with but I was under no obligation to use them. Same for tile/bath, lighting fixtures etc. In our most remodel our GC had a warehouse where everything we picked out at various vendors was delivered there. He would only start the job once it was all in. Except for countertops where vendor came out, measured and installed. I had ABT deliver kitchen applicances to my garage, GC came and inspeceted it all but he wanted to install and hook everything up. He used a seperate floor guy to re do as well as install new hardwood flooring but he oversaw everything.
Get more than 1 bid but make sure you are comparing apples to apples. They will all have their own way of doing things, including writing a bid.
Both times we had good experiences. With the most recent remodel I’ve referred this guy to so many friends - we’re all in the same boat re doing kitchens, baths, etc. He’s been around a long time and his references were excellent.
In terms of payment, in both instances we had to put $ down in the beginning, when certain things were finished we owed another sum and then final payment due when all complete.
Generally you ask all your friends if they’ve used someone that they can recommend. Have as complete a list as possible of what you want. I’d start looking at counters and cabinets now. Your contractor will usually be able to buy them at better prices, but not that much better. You’ll have an idea what materials cost and what matters to you. I have some bathroom cabinets from Home Depot that I am still very happy with in our basement bathroom (more than 10 years old now) and some higher end ones in our main bathrooms which are fine too, but cost much more. Around here 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 is not uncommon. I recommend however that the last 1/3 have 10% withheld until the project is 100% complete. Most contractors have painters they work with, but you can also do the painting part of the job with someone else if you prefer. Your town may require plumbing permits for the bathroom vanities.
We got all our contractors through word of mouth too. Typically we gave the contractor a budget and told them what we wanted done and they told us if it feasible or not. All our purchasing was done through the contractor as their discount was better than what we could get and higher quality. The contractor had subs that did all the work from start to finish. Our contractors also had dedicated kitchen/bath designers who provided us with multiple layout options and we picked from there.
Just don’t pay everything upfront. Make sure work is done before payment. Have a reasonable payout schedule (all depends on how big the job). If the contractor doesn’t pay his subs then they can put a lien on your home.
Also, recommendations from friends is a good way to go. Whether you find your own or get a recommendation, I would expect the contractor to present pictures of previous jobs. Seasoned professionals should have a portfolio of their past work. Even a younger contractor should have some pictures to present to you.
Finally, never pay the final (1/3 or 1/4, depending on how it’s set up) until the job is 100% complete and you’re fully satisfied the estimate/scope-of-work/contractual obligations have been met.
We had a phenomenal contractor and we went with him based on his experience but before we even considered him when we had him do a small job, we asked him what the next steps were for us.
I was shocked when he said go to the State’s website on consumer information for hiring an contractor and learn about the questions you should ask a general contractor.
He said that our State was really good at educating consumers who were shopping for a contractor. That we should use the checklist and compliant licensing as a basic guideline to know which questions to ask.
He said that the reason he referred us to the State’s website first, was because good, hard-working contractors get a bad name when another contractor does poor quality work.
He said it reflects badly on contractors like him, who like what they do as legitimate contractors, but get pigeonholed with disreputable, unlicensed contractors who cause safety issues because then everyone gets hurt and ripped off.
He wasn’t the most inexpensive, but he was a perfectionist and made his guys rebuild my fireplaces when he didn’t like something that seemed out of whack to him. I didn’t notice the difference and then he had to show me where lines didn’t meet.
This is in Georgia, but when we hired a basement finisher/remodeler we have to sign documents (I think it’s state law anyway) that confirms we are aware that we are liable for the contractor not paying any subcontractors. If we pay the contractor and he absconds with money, we are still liable to pay the subcontractors. This could likely be standard everywhere. Also, IMO, work with contractors who will only work with customers who require code inspections - some will say they will save you money by skipping this but it will bite you in the end in many ways - if they offer to do this, pass them over and go to next company.
Wow, I just typed in “how to hire a general contractor” and there are lots of returns. Didn’t go through them but a lot were related to specific contruction companies.
Every contractor we’ve hired had a clause in their contract that we would owe $$ to the suppliers of materials should the contractor not pay their invoices. We paid for plywood and metal roofing directly to the suppliers, but solar panels, inverters, and decking were bought and paid for by the contractors.
I used the same contractor to do a complete renovation of our kitchen and finish the basement (put in a bedroom, bathroom, and entertainment area).
For the kitchen I had the contractor buy everything because I wanted him to be on the hook if there was something wrong with cabinets, if the cabinets and materials were delayed. I didn’t want him to have any excuses of why the project was delayed or not take on the responsibility if the cabinets were of wrong size/color, etc.
I think I put down a deposit of 20%, paid for materials whenever they were ordered/delivered. The remainder were paid according to deliverables. I didn’t budge on that. I remember one time he came to me to say he would like to get paid because he finished 80% of the first milestone and 50% of the second one. I said no, the contract said when you have done 100% of each milestone then I paid.
I loved the work of this contractor, but he would take on additional jobs while on a job or he would randomly take a day off to go fishing, so I called him every morning to make sure he was coming to my house. His wife and I became pretty friends.
One more thing….be sure you have a contingency fund if something goes wrong. We have a very old house (100 years +) so our contractor had us budget 20%. If you have a new/modern house, I’ve heard you can get away with a 10% contingency. We were really lucky that we didn’t touch it during the reno but we heard about neighbors who had some very unexpected surprises.
Also plan for the project taking longer than they quoted!
Another question … Are y’all comfortable leaving town/moving out of the house while all this work is done? We have a trip planned later next month that could overlap with the work.
It would be a non starter for H. He doesn’t like people in the house with him here. The only contractor he would let alone in the house for short periods of time would be our painter, who is more like family at this point.
H is also the one who will ONLY let our nephew look after the cats when we’re out of town. Before our nephew it was our MIL.
Everyone has given great advice. We have had two contractors over the years, most recently just a year ago.
We wasted time initally getting a separate plumber and electrician to give estimates on a garage office build with plumbing and septic. We ended up getting our contractor from the architect. The contractor subbed jobs to the plumber, etc… He handled everything from planning permission to final inspections.
If you have so much work that you are hiring a contractor, it’s going to be very difficult to manage without giving them the keys. You probably won’t want to live in the noise and mess if you can help it during the day. With our first contactor, we actually went on vacation for two weeks to get awwy from the mess. We did lock some valuables away in our car. Remember they rely on their local reputations for work. You have to have a certain amount of trust.
We did get three each of architects and contractors to give estimates. If I did it again, I’d ask all my friends for contractor recs first and look through social media posts on local pages.
And absolutely never pay all the bills before the job is finished. I would always hold back at least $1000, or more depending onnthe total cost.
