The process of hiring a professional contractor to handle your bathroom renovations can make your head spin pretty quickly.
First of all, there are many bathroom renovation companies out there. Look under ‘General Contractors’ or ‘Bathroom Remodeling’ in the phone book and you’ll see what we mean…there are hundreds of bathroom remodelers and general contractors in every area. On top of that, there are hundreds of other great contractors that remodel bathrooms but aren’t in the phone book.
Second, it’s pretty easy to call yourself a bathroom remodeling professional. People don’t necessarily need an office or lots of fancy equipment or tools to start a business. Therefore, people who have done some home or room repairs may try to trick you into thinking they are highly trained and experienced bathroom remodeling professionals. If they have a truck, a tool belt, and a business card, they could fool a lot of people!
Finally, there are many different types of contractors that remodel bathrooms. There are handymen, general contractors, builders, construction companies, and companies that specialize only in bathroom renovations.
So what do you do when looking for a contractor to remodel your bathroom?
We recommend:
o Ask your friends and neighbors if they have had good or bad experiences with local contractors. Simply knowing that someone else has had a good experience with a contractor before you call lowers the chance of having a hiring problem.
o Call 3 or 4 companies to bid on your remodeling project. This will help you determine the fair market price for your work. This does not mean that you should always go for the lowest price. You should go with the company that you feel most comfortable with and that you think will do the best job. If a person offers a really low price, you should ask yourself “why?”
o Decide exactly what you want to do to remodel your bathroom. At a minimum, you should have some general ideas before you call in a contractor. They can help him make some final decisions, but he must be able to explain his basic needs before letting them talk him into it.
o Try to decide if your job can be done by a handyman, or if it is more complicated. If you are simply laying some tiles, painting, and changing a few fixtures, you should be sure that a quality handyman could handle this job. If you’re talking about breaking things and changing the entire bathroom, then your best chance of success is to hire an experienced general contractor.
o Make sure the company has insurance. There is potential for injury and destruction of your home when remodeling a bathroom. As mentioned above, there are many makeshift contractors that may not be insured. Ask them for their insurance company’s phone number and call them to prove they are insured. If you skip this part, you could be liable for an uninsured worker’s injuries while working on your home. You could also be left with tons of repair bills if an uninsured contractor leaves you with a destroyed bathroom or house!
o Ask if the bathroom remodeling contractor will be able to handle all of the work you need, or if you will need to outsource some of the work to other companies (such as a plumber). If they are replacing jobs, make sure your contract states that they remain directly responsible for all work. In other words, you won’t have a situation where a plumber incorrectly installed your new toilet and the contractor tells you it’s not their problem. What if you can’t get in touch with the plumber you hired after the job is complete? He wants a person to be responsible.
o If your bathroom remodel requires a general contractor, or you just decide to hire a company that says they are general contractors, make sure they have a valid General Contractors License
o Always get a statement of the work done in writing. Keep this on file. Make sure statements clearly indicate what work is to be done.
o Ask if the bathroom remodel comes with guarantees. These are factors to keep in mind when looking at the total cost estimates left by different contractors.
o Some contractors require an advance payment. Agree on a payment schedule (which is a written document that clearly states how much and when payments are due). Make sure your payment schedule is discussed and documented in your contract before you start work. Adhere to this schedule even if the contractor requests advance payment. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you’ve paid for most of the bathroom remodeling work, but most of your bathroom remodeling hasn’t been completed!…these situations often end in unfinished work or poorly finished.
o Periodically check the progress of your bathroom remodeling; try to detect possible problems or misunderstandings before it is too late.
Good luck with your bathroom and remodeling needs!
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