Choosing A
Residential
Contractor
Choosing a
Philadelphia General
Residential
contractor for
your remodel or
renovation work can
be a very trying
experience. You must
check out
references. Verify
that the contractor
has performed
similar work,
especially with
respect to the
complexity, size and
scope of your
project. However,
that is the easy
part of the exercise
as it is highly
unlikely that anyone
will provide a
reference that will
not say reasonably
good things.
There are three
other areas, when
choosing your
potential contractor
that should be
verified:
License: To my
knowledge all states
require that all
contractors and all
trades in all
aspects of home
construction,
renovation and
remodel be licensed.
However, in some
states it is
possible for a trade
or contractor to
“lease” the use of a
license. Florida
operates on this
ridiculous
principle. While the
person who holds the
license is supposed
to monitor the
quality of the work
and the financial
aspects of any
company or
individual that he
licenses, in
practice this rarely
happens. This means
that the company and
the individuals who
will do the actual
work have not
obtained their own
license and the
usual reason is that
they do not qualify.
Request a copy of
the trade or general
contractors license,
see who is
identified as
holding the license
and it is in your
best interests that
the company or the
owner of the company
(some licensing is
only to individuals
not to corporate
entities) that you
are going to do
business with is the
actual license
holder and if it is
an individual make
sure that they are
still active in the
business.
If you are dealing
with a general
contractor you
should stipulate in
the contract that
they are to only to
subcontract with
licensed trades and
that the company
doing the work or
the main principal
of the company must
hold the license.
Do not accept out of
hands statements
such as; “of course
we’re licensed, the
number is on my
business card and
truck”.
Insurance: It is
important that the
company that you are
going to contract
with carries
adequate liability
insurance. The best
contractors and
trades people in the
world can have an
accident or
unintentionally do
damage that was
unforeseen. If the
companies that you
are dealing with are
not adequately
insured you could be
facing economic ruin
in the event of an
unforeseen disaster.
Again, it is
important to ask to
see an insurance
certificate and to
state within the
contract that all
subcontractors must
carry liability
insurance and
provide a
certificate.
Do not accept out of
hands statements
such as; “of course
we’re insured”.
Bonded Employees:
You choose the
contractor, sign on
the dotted line, and
hopefully the
workers will begin
to start the project
and in most cases
that means that they
will need reasonably
unrestricted access
to your home.
The situation is,
that you have no
idea who these
people are or what
their backgrounds
may be. Do they have
criminal records? By
dealing with
companies that bond
there employees you
will have some level
of comfort that the
people working in
your home are not
convicted child
molesters or felons.
Make employee
bonding a
requirement for the
subcontractors as
well.
Drug Testing:
Although not quite
as critical to the
other points, I
recommend that you
only deal with
companies that have
a mandatory drug
testing policy for
all employees.
Problems usually
arise because
homeowners are
anxious to start the
project. Be very
skeptical about any
general contractor
or trade that
implies that your
requests are onerous
and that by asking
for the
documentation you
obviously don’t
trust them. The fact
of the matter is you
have no reason to
trust them and
supplying the
information is not
onerous for any
legitimate company.
For additional
information on
remodeling your home
or other renovation
projects, visit
Renovation
Headquarters.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Prudehome
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