Tips on Choosing Your Contractor

Since you may not have a lot of experience hiring contractors to work around your house, here are some important tips to follow when selecting one to help you get your money's worth.

Communication: Be precise, so that the contractor understands exactly what you want done. Effective communication enables contractors to quote on performing the same work with the same materials.

Competitive Bids: If possible, find at least two contractors to quote on your project. This allows you to choose the one that offers you the best value. This is not necessarily the contractor with the lowest price. A company's reputation, workmanship and warranty should always be considered along with the price. Be wary if one price is significantly lower than the other. Try to determine why the cost difference is so great. Remember you generally get what you pay for.

Knowledge and Skills: Is this person truly a Professional Craftsman or a part time do-it-yourselfer earning some extra money?

Experience and Track Record: What other work similar to mine has he or she done and what kind of job did they do?

References: Ask for references from your contractors, along with recent installation sites. Inspect them to get a sense of the contractor's workmanship. Quality may be the reason one contractor's price is higher (or lower) than the rest.

Payment Schedule: Most contractors require a deposit before starting a job, but payment schedules vary. Some contractors ask for 50% down and 50% upon completion, while others request 1/3 down, 1/3 during installation and the balance upon completion.

Project Changes: If your project should change in any form, it is important to note this in the contract. This allows for revised prices and time tables to be set. What seems to be a minor alteration may cause the contractor to incur significant unexpected costs and delays. Try to keep changes after construction starts to a minimum for this reason.

We hope that these suggestions make choosing Joe Koch Construction the right choice for you!

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