So, you have decided to hire a contractor to undertake your home improvement project right? That is a wise

decision. Too many homeowners suffer unnecessary damage through their do-it-yourself antics. However, you

will need to make another wise decision if you want to have the best possible outcome from your home

improvement project - choose the right contractor.

 

This is someone you are going to have in your home, tearing down things and rebuilding. There may be times

when the contractor will be alone in the house, or it will be just the two of you. You want someone you can trust

and you want someone qualified. Here are a few simple tips that will help you tell the good eggs from the bad

ones.

 

Relevant qualifications

If you wanted an amateur to do your repairs then you would have done it yourself and save the extra money. Hiring

a contractor means, you want someone with the relevant knowledge in how to carry out the project exactly. Having

the relevant license is usually a good way to tell. The city must have specific levels of competency they expect and

if they have licensed the contractor then it means they found those competencies in them, that is a good thing.

 

Always ask your contractor for the relevant documentation and if possible set aside some time to watch them

work. It is pretty easy to tell a professional from an amateur. If he takes the same amount of time that you would to

figure out what is causing a particular problem in your house, then he is probably an amateur.

 

References

A good contractor will be able to give you a list of references of people he has worked for before because he is

sure their report about him will be good. Dubious contractors who use poor materials and do a terrible job would

not be so confident. You should make a point of contacting one or two of them just to make sure though, some

contractors know that the homeowner would probably not take the time to check with the references. 

 

Experience

While it is true that there are a couple of newbies out there who may be highly qualified and trustworthy, you might

not want to spend a whole load of your money experimenting with them. A contractor with many years of

experience under his belt will probably be able to get the job done better, and the fact that he has been around for

so long says something about his work ethic.

 

If you want to take your chances with a new contractor, then start small. Give them the less important tasks first

and test them before you can proceed to giving them the whole project. Most new contractors are wise enough to

work as apprentices under more established ones before they step out on their own. 

 

Commitment

You will need a committed contractor if you are going to have a successful home improvement project. You need

one who can understand exactly what you want done and gets passionate and excited about the project.

Contractors who will not come round to your house to do their own survey before agreeing to do the job are clearly

not committed from the onset. There is some information that is impossible to get over the phone.

 

A contractor who is always late for appointments or misses them altogether is also uncommitted. While it is

understandable that we all experience emergencies at one point or the other and have to cancel important

appointments, it does not happen every day.  You can get such information from the references if you ask the right

questions.

 

Instinct

Always go with your gut feeling in such matters. Your contractor as we have previously seen is someone you will

allow into your home, someone you will be in close contact with the whole duration of the project. Even if

everything about them appears perfect, if something within you does not click with them, then do not force it. Find a

contractor you can relate to easily, one you can ask all the questions you may have, and who will answer you

appropriately while considering your specific needs.