Chris Kennelly, Owner of Northfield Construction Company offers you some insight into the most important questions to ask your contractor before hiring them for a project.
When interviewing a contractor for a job, I think it is essential to ask questions that ensure your contractor has the past experience and project team needed to complete the job. Contractors come in many shapes and sizes, and each contractor has different capabilities, staff size, and backlog of projects.
Here are some key questions to ask:
- How long has your company been around?
- What similar projects like ours have you completed for clients?
- Can we call them for a reference or can you provide other references?
- How much of the work do you self-perform?
- What is the experience level of your staff?
- How far out is your current schedule?
- Who will be my day-to-day contact on the job?
- What type of communication can I expect on my project?
Remember, don’t just feel satisfied about asking the questions. Listen to the contractor’s answers and get concrete examples of his capabilities. Call the references they give you and make sure you are comfortable with the contractor you are choosing. In the end, a successful project is built on trust, and you need to trust the contractor you choose.
I like the idea of asking what similar projects have been completed. I think that seeing the past work of the contractor could be a good way of knowing what to expect from them. I’ll have to remember to ask these questions when I am looking to hire someone.
Glad we could offer some help! Feel free to call us for a quote any time.
I am looking to replace my driveway. It is old and cracking everywhere. I had never thought about asking for pass jobs and calling the person and asking their opinion. That would be very helpful in making a decision. If someone is willing to give past jobs they are very confident in there work.
Glad we could be of help to you!
Thanks for the post. I think these are helpful questions. I think asking how long the company as been around is a great question to start out with. I think that gives you a good base to start off with. I think it shows you that if they have been around a long time that they must do good work.
Very true! A long-lasting company will also have a large portfolio so you can get a look at their work. Thanks for reading!
I really like your point about asking a general contractor about the similar projects that they have completed. I am currently looking for a contractor to help me out and I think that it would be very valuable for me to see a portfolio of sorts so that I could see if they were truly up for the job at hand. Thank you for suggesting this question, because now I am going to ask it and also ask to see pictures of those projects as well.
Glad to hear we could help, Faylinn! Best of luck on your upcoming project.
There’s a lot of remodeling work that needs to be done in my house, so asking these questions will help me find the right contractor. I liked that you posted to ask about their schedule. It would be nice to know that my remodeling project will be done on time, so hiring someone that doesn’t have a busy schedule will allow them to take more time to work on my house every day. Thanks for the tips!
I’ve been trying to figure out what I should do to find a good concrete contractor. It makes sense that I would want to know how long that they have been around! After all, the longer they have been working, the more experience they have!