In recent years, do-it-yourself projects have become quite popular. Everyone want to save money by taking on these projects like home renovation and constructing small additions to your home. Whether you want to install a closet, repair some leaking pipe, or build shelves, there are many things that you may be able to end up doing yourself. But not everything is a DIY project. If you do not have the necessary knowledge to do something properly, you may end up wasting your time on a project which will require you to hire something to redo it anyways. Plus, there are a lot of domains where you simply cannot do things by yourself, either because you need specific permits, like for anything that touches electric current, or because you do not have the necessary tools or hardware.

1. How To Hire A General Contractor: The Do's And Don't
In recent years, do-it-yourself projects have become quite popular. Everyone want to save money by
taking on these projects like home renovation and constructing small additions to your home. Whether
you want to install a closet, repair some leaking pipe, or build shelves, there are many things that you
may be able to end up doing yourself. But not everything is a DIY project. If you do not have the
necessary knowledge to do something properly, you may end up wasting your time on a project which
will require you to hire something to redo it anyways. Plus, there are a lot of domains where you
simply cannot do things by yourself, either because you need specific permits, like for anything that
touches electric current, or because you do not have the necessary tools or hardware.
In those cases, you usually end up having to hire a general contractor, especially if it is a big project.
There are many contractors out there willing to do all sorts of projects for you and your home, but they
are not all the same. In fact, there are many different features about each of them, some may be better
than others, and some may be specialized in particular areas. Thus it is important that you know what to
look for when you want to hire them, and you have to ask the right questions when you first talk to
them. Here is a list of things you should do, and things you want to avoid.
In order to find the right contractor, you are not alone. You should not simply go out to the phone book
and call whoever has the biggest ad. Instead, it pays to do a bit of research. Spending some extra
minutes now in order to find the right contractor is very useful if that saves you having to redo the work
because it was poorly done, or worse, getting scammed by them. One place you can look is your local
home center, business office, or even home hardware stores. They handle these kinds of projects all the
time, and may well know who to recommend. Another place you can look is online, on review sites like
Yelp. There you can read reviews and comments from users, and find out whether they were satisfied.
Either way, almost make sure you hire a company that has been around for a while. Do not simply hire
someone you meet who has no background and where you have no way to confirm how long they have
been in business.
If your project requires specific licenses, like for heating, electricity, sewage and so on, make sure your
contractor knows the city regulations and has the proper permits. You can contact the local association
that handles these types of licenses, and see whether they know about the person or company you want
to hire. At the same time, you can also contact your BBB office to know whether there were complaints
about this contractor. When you talk to them and it is time for a quote, make sure you get a printed
estimate. In fact, if you do not know how much the work should cost, you should get estimates from
several contractors. These estimates should be free in most cases.
When it is time to sign a contract, you need to make sure everything is written down, including the
exact price with everything included, the date of delivery, detailed description of what is to be done,
and penalties if the work is late or not up to par. Verbal promises are not worth much, and it is far better
to have a written contract in case something bad happens. You should also ask for visual confirmation
of the contractor's licenses, permits and proof of insurance, and not just take their word for it.
While the contract is being done, if they start asking for delays or more money, do not give in, and stick
to the contract. If the contractor agreed to something, then you should expect them to deliver on what
was written down. Remember that the contractor who offers you the lowest price may not be the best
choice. It can be hard to know in advance whether you will encounter issues when working with
someone, but thankfully if you can get enough references, then you should be safe enough. Still, that
does not mean nothing bad will happen.

2. To ensure everything goes well, make sure payment is done in steps. They may ask for part of it at the
start, but insist on wanting to pay them as the work gets done. You can set landmarks where you will
pay a certain percentage as the work gets completed. If there is a problem, then you may have to resort
to the court system. Before you spend money there however, make sure you give them every
opportunity to fix the issue, and then if it is a low enough amount, consider using the small claims
court. They are typically much less expensive and faster to render judgment.
Hopefully with these tips you now have what you need to get the best contractor you can for your
project, and you will not be left stranded if something bad happens. By following these do's and don't,
you will ensure that you are both protected, and do everything you can to make sure you select the best
possible general contractor you can.
Hammers Construction is a commercial construction company in Colorado Springs with 25 years
experience in commercial design and building.