Asking the Right Questions to Your Future Contractor

Renovation, remodeling, construction – if only we could do these things with the snap of a finger! Unfortunately, while exciting, these endeavors require tons of planning and budgeting. A significant part of the planning process involves properly communicating your plans and desired outcomes with your contractor(s).

After all, you’re trusting a company and a team of professionals with your subjective vision of a “perfect” and cozy home. So, yeah – no pressure! Jokes aside, it’s paramount that you convey your thoughts and translate your vision so that the contractors can assist satisfactorily – and do so within reasonable budgetary limits!

Of course, proper professional communication requires more than just conveying orders. In other words, you have to ask the right questions! Miscommunication can be avoided if both parties work together and make inquiries.

That’s precisely why we’re here to help you by going through the key questions for any contractor-related work.

How Experienced Are You With This Type of Project?

To get the obvious ones out of the way first – asking your contractor(s) for a detailed report of their previous working experience should be your foremost inquiry.

There are specific control measures and in-company systems that are designed to ensure individual contractors are accountable for their quality of work, stick to the budget, and – naturally – do their job on time.

It’s your task to do the heavy research, scout for work profiles, and ask companies for their credentials and whether they’ve worked on whatever project you are planning.

Who’s Involved With Taking Care of the Necessary Permits?

Like with any larger-scale project out there, remodeling and construction can pose a variety of potential problems. This is especially true if local permits are ignored since they exist to ensure that the safety standards for a given community are met.

In addition to this, permits and licenses vary from country to country with regard to certain rules and “quirks,’ so to speak. As a homeowner, it is part of your due diligence to make sure that the workers you’re planning on hiring are licensed or have any form of alternative credentials.

States and cities may also have their own requirements and regulations, so the necessary channels may also vary in that regard. Thoroughly check in with companies and their employees before committing to a specific contractor service.

Can You Summarize All of the Steps for This Project?

Discussing all of the significant stages of the project should be a no-brainer, but plenty of folks don’t bother getting to know the ins and outs of the tasks being done.

It’s your right to know the different details and remodeling endeavors being done in your home, including the timeline for each task. Without a clear picture of what to expect (and when to expect it), you’re setting yourself up for potential disappointments or even worse.

Responsible homeowners need to ensure that the contractor group isn’t preoccupied with other projects that may take up the bulk of their attention. If any necessary changes need to be made, or if there are potential external factors that could impact their work, you’ll (obviously) need to discuss those matters as well.

What Should I do if any Problems Come Up During Remodeling?

There’s an underlying “no duh” theme with all of these – preparing in such a way that you’re almost expecting things to go wrong, even if there aren’t any reasons they should.

Most unpredictable events and mistakes related to remodeling and construction are beyond our own control, hence why specialists exist. This includes any potential delays or shifts in dates.

Accommodating such issues is part of a contractor’s job, which is why you shouldn’t be shy when it comes down to asking the important things. This also means you require an immediate and direct point of contact – an easily-reachable person who’ll be there to answer your questions all the way through the journey. Just don’t throw everything onto their shoulders.

We hope that this article was enlightening for any future homeowners or folks planning on making renovations. While there are still some other questions that could use a good ol’ asking, such as who the main suppliers will be or whether the price is fixed – we’ve managed to summarize the key ones that everyone should remember, no matter what.