The 11-Point Checklist to Check With a Contractor Before Hiring Them

If you’ve renovated your home in the past, you may have come across unreliable contractors that only care about getting paid but not so much about doing the job right. In those situations, you’ve probably asked yourself if there was a way you could have prevented this. Well, to tell you the truth, there is.

Generally, all it takes to ensure that the contractor you’re thinking about hiring is the best is doing your due diligence before signing a contract. In this article, we’ll help you do just that so that once you hire your contractor, the whole process can go as smoothly as possible.

Do note that this is not an article on how to choose a contractor but rather on taking matters into your own hands and ensuring that your choice is the best you can get with your budget.

The Checklist

Essentially, we can divide this checklist into three stages so that you know what to keep in mind before, during, and after the project.

Pre-Project

Even before you hire a contractor, discussing all of these points will help you toward a fruitful collaboration. This includes establishing trust, learning more about the contractor’s previous experience, and finding out what you can expect from them.

So, let’s find out what characteristics your prospective contractor needs to have before you give them the keys to your home, so to say.

A Collaborative, Open-Minded, and Proactive Person

To begin with, you need to verify that your prospective contractor is a person who is open to discussing the design, the process, your needs, and everything you may need during construction.
This is often the most important step in the process since it will tell you a lot about the person. If they show initial signs that they aren’t very flexible, or you figure out that they don’t work well with other people, this person may not be a good fit for the project.

Gives Timely, Comprehensive, Tailored, and Detailed Reports

Your main contractor is your go-to person and the person you’ll rely on the most during the execution of the whole project. To be able to stay on top of what’s going on throughout the project, you need to be able to trust the reports that your contractor gives you.

It’s a good idea to ask questions about how they used to manage previous projects, how they communicated with their previous clients, and how they informed their previous clients about what happened during the day, week, and month of working on the project.

Offers Good Supplier Material Selection

One of the perks of having a main contractor working on your project is having a lot of options in terms of the materials you can select. If you go directly to a store and purchase the materials yourself, you only choose from what they have to offer at that particular store. The same goes for prices.
However, if you work with a contractor, you can take advantage of all the connections they have and choose from various suppliers. This will allow you to get a good selection of materials and a good price.

Supports Supplier and Contractor Quote and Management

One of the reasons why people hire a contractor is because they need to have someone who will manage all the moving parts. This includes communication with the other subcontractors, discussing their quotas, and overseeing the work that’s being done.

So, you need to know that you can entrust this person with this responsibility. But, you’re probably wondering how you can learn whether they’re reliable or not, especially if this is a person you’ve never met. Well, the best way is to ask questions about previous experiences, how they managed subcontractors in the past, and all that you’re interested in finding out.

During the Project

The next points from the checklist are related to the construction stage of the project. In order to tick these points, you’ll also need to have the following discussions with your potential contractor.

Supports Transparent and Structured Communication

The construction stage is the most crucial one when you’re working on a remodeling project, so you’ll need to rely on your contractor as much as you can. That’s why you’ll need to have transparent and structured communication.
It’s preferable to discuss which channels of communication you’d prefer at the beginning of the collaboration, so both parties can know what to expect once the project starts.

Communicates Unexpected Delays as Fast as Possible

Renovation and remodeling are stressful by themselves, and you don’t need the additional stress of delays. However, they often happen during projects such as these, and if they do, you will benefit from having a contractor who will inform you as quickly as possible.
Make your expectations known at the beginning of the project and state that while delays are quite common, not communicating them is unacceptable.

Is Efficient in Budget Optimization and Solving New Problems

Even though budgeting is done at the beginning of the project during the design stage, it’s subject to change once construction starts. This can be due to unforeseen events or prices increasing or lowering for certain materials, subcontractors asking for bigger quotes due to problems that happened on site, and so on.

In such situations, your contractor needs to be your advocate and have your best interest in mind when solving these issues and making the best out of the budget you have.

Executes on Time and Follows Agreed-Upon Milestones

When creating a timeline for a certain project, we should ensure that there is some flexibility. This is necessary in case a problem arises, and they need a few extra days to finish one stage of the project before moving to the next stage.

However, once you define the timeline, your contractor needs to make sure that they adhere to the previously agreed-upon timeline and milestones. Remember that you need to be transparent about this schedule and put this in the initial contract so that both parties know what to expect in case of unplanned delays.

Miscommunication when a problem arises can easily be prevented if you include a clause in your contract that discusses what you expect your contractor to do in case of delays. This way, both sides will know what is expected in such situations, and you won’t need to solve them as you go.

Delivers Quality and Meets Expectations

The most important part of every renovation or remodeling project is the execution. For that matter, you’ll expect your contractor to follow through on the things you’ve agreed upon at the beginning. This also includes the contractor and all the subcontractors delivering quality and meeting your expectations.

In order for that to happen, your contractor needs to follow through with all their responsibilities as well as monitor whether the subcontractors deliver what they promised.  We recommend that you state all your expectations at the start and discuss the potential outcomes before any work is done.

Post Project

This final stage in the project that you need to discuss with your prospective contractor concerns the post-project activities. While it can seem that everything is over and that you can start enjoying your newly renovated space, sometimes, you can run into some issues. In those situations, you can either start panicking or call your contractor to help you handle the situation.

Post Delivery Response and Correction of Issues

Even though a project is finished, sometimes problems occur at the very last minute, and you end up feeling frustrated if you’re left to handle them on your own, with your contractor nowhere to be found.
In this case, you need to be certain that the contractor is going to help you to solve them. This includes talking with subcontractors who made mistakes, replacing materials that are different from what you ordered, and everything else that may go wrong during the renovation.

Passes on Supplier Warranty Data

Another problem that can occur after the project is finished is an appliance or material breaking or the warranty passing for something that you’ve bought for the remodel. It’s always frustrating when something that you’ve just bought or renovated breaks down or doesn’t work properly. In this case, you should contact your contractor who will help you get in contact with the supplier or builders in order to solve the problem.

Useful Questions to Ask

If you decide to go ahead with our checklist but you’re not sure how to start, here are some of the practical questions you should ask your contractor before discussing rates or signing a contract.

• How long have you worked as a contractor?
• What type of projects have you worked on?
• What does your workday look like?
• Do you have all the necessary contracting licenses?
• Are you willing to obtain all the permits for construction?
• Will you set up all the inspections?
• What is the timeline you have in mind for the project?
• Do you have subcontractors that you work with regularly?
• What kind of a payment schedule would you like to have?
• Will you be the main person to contact throughout all stages of the project?
• Will I have a warranty for the materials or your service?
• What do you do to ensure the quality of construction?
• How would you handle additional charges?
• How would you handle delays?
• How would you handle mistakes?
• How would you handle disagreements between workers?
• How would I get in touch with you while the project is ongoing?
• What are the precautions you will take to prevent damages to my property?

Final Thoughts

Choosing a contractor can be an arduous task, especially if you haven’t had experience with remodeling, renovation, or hiring a contractor. You can always ask for recommendations from friends or acquaintances if they do have the experience. After all, if they don’t, we’re also here to help you out, so you needn’t worry.

Another thing that we’d like to mention as part of our final thoughts is that it’s always important to listen carefully and take notes throughout the meeting. Then, when you’re drawing up a contract, you’ll know what to base it on. You should also check the referrals the contractor gave you and ask previous collaborators all that you’d like to know about this person you’re planning on working with.

Lastly, it will be very useful to involve yourself in the process once construction starts if you have the time. Ensure that everyone follows through with what they should do by regularly stopping by the job site and checking the progress. If you can’t quite do that, it’s even more important that your main contractor ticks all the boxes on your checklist.