In the years I’ve been working as a contractor, I’ve heard a lot of stories from people who have been cheated or had their home ruined by unscrupulous contractors.  In fact years ago I was put through a hell of my own by a contractor I hired to install a sewer line for a house I was building.  Long story short:  he worked all day digging a 14’ deep hole in the alley to get to the sewer main.  At the end of the day, he finally found the main, but not before collapsing it with his backhoe!  He assured me that it was no problem, he’d fix it in the morning, and then never showed up again!  (I found out later he’d been pulled over that night and then arrested for outstanding warrants!)  In the meantime I had my own Grand Canyon in the alley, and now  the city had to get involved because the broken main had filled with dirt and the sewer was backing up.  I was already out thousands of dollars for the deposit I’d paid, and now had to come up with thousands more for a new contractor to fix the main, and finish the job!   Anyway, from my own hard earned experience I’ve learned that you can’t just go out willy-nilly and hire the first contractor you find on craigslist!  You need to find someone you can trust with your home and your money.   The problem is, just about anyone can strap on a tool belt and call themselves a contractor.  So how can you find a trustworthy, experienced contractor among all the hundreds of sketchy ones?   I have a few tips, so read on.

• Make sure they are licensed and bonded.  You can do this from the L&I website.  From there, you can see if the contractor is licensed, if their license is active, and if they have any liens or disputes against them.  Keep in mind, having a license doesn’t necessarily mean they have any skill as a contractor.  In many states there’s no requirement for any training or testing  to qualify for a contractor’s license (Here in the state of Washington, only plumbers and electricians are required to go through any training to receive a license.)  However, in order to receive a contractor’s license the contractor is required to have liability insurance and a bond, and this will offer you some protection should you have any problems with the contractor or their work.

• Get references:  Get names, contact information and job details of recent customers.  It’s important to actually contact the references they provide.  For all you know, they could’ve just given you names of friends and family members, so don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, and get detailed information about the contractor and the job that they did.

• Check out the contractor’s on-line profile.  You can learn a lot by researching a contractor online.  Check out their website, look for pictures of their work, read their blogs, check them out on Facebook, and, of course, look for reviews.  Yelp and Angie’s List are two good places to find reviews.  In this day and age, if the contractor doesn’t have any online presence, you have to really wonder how seriously they take their business.

• Try to get a few different bids for your project.  Look for detailed bids that clearly spell out what you’re getting for your money.  If you get a bid that just says, “Kitchen Remodel: $10,000” throw it out!  A bid like that leaves you wide open for all kinds of expensive surprises.  So read through the bid carefully, and ask plenty of questions to make sure that you are getting everything you intended.

• You also want to watch out for really low bids.  It’s especially common for inexperienced contractors to underbid their jobs.  As they get into the project and realize they’re not making any money they’ll either come to you with excuses as to why they need more money, or they’ll put your job on the back burner and start working other jobs to try to cover their expenses.  If you’re lucky, they’ll finish your job (eventually), and if you’re not, you may never see them again!

• Finally, take the time to ask the contractor about themselves, when they got into the business, what got them started.  Get a sense of who they are, and how well they communicate.  Good communication is paramount to the success of a remodeling project.  If they take a long time answering calls and responding to emails, it’s a good sign that they’ve spread themselves too thin, and your project won’t get the attention it deserves.

Remodeling your home is an exciting process, but also a stressful one.  You can significantly reduce that stress, however, when you know you have a good and trustworthy contractor.