7 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a General Contractor

Last updated on May 13, 2021

Do you want to hire a general contractor to build your new house in Vancouver BC? Or, are you looking for a general contractor to renovate your house? If your answer is yes, then must ask these 7 questions before you hire a general contractor for your home improvement or construction project.

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1. Is this your first project of this kind?

When you meet a general contractor, you must ask them if this is the first project of this kind they are going to work on? Or do they have any experience with the same project in the past?

If they say this is the first project then think twice while hiring them as home improvement or home building projects are not like those where you can do experiments to get some experience.

Check these simple DIY home improvement tips.

2. Are you local?

Always try to find local contractors for home building or home renovation projects. If they are not local, it would add some cost as a contractor who is not local will have some extra expenses and they will cover those expenses from the cost of the project.

Moreover, it would be difficult for a contractor who is not local to bring some contractors from too far away. It will be also not suitable to work with sub-contractors who are new to them. So only prefer an experienced Vancouver general contracting company.

3. Are you fully insured and licensed?

This is the most important thing you should know about the general contractor and many people ignore this. You must ask the contracting company if they are fully insured and all the employees as well who will work for your project?

If they are working with the sub-contractors, you must ask them about the sub-contractors as well. Moreover, you should know that the company has a license to work in your city or state.

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You should also check the Contractors License Board of your state and check if the license of that contracting company is in good standing.

4. Do you have references?

A good and experienced contractor should be able to provide 3 to 4 references of past clients. The best contractor in your city will be able to provide references for your type of project.

You should also ask if there is third-party involvement in the work. Occasionally the constructor will also be able to provide a third-party company like Revere PA dumpster rental in which who they have worked with. That makes for another good reference.

Try to get references from current and past clients to know more about your new general contractor.

5. How many projects you are working on?

You must ask general contractors about the number of projects he or she working on during your project. If the contractor is working on more projects then you should also know about the crew they have.

There should be enough staff to work on all the projects and to finish your project on time. Also, ask the contractor how often will he visit the site to inspect the progress and quality of work.

A good contractor will visit your site daily or at least will send a superintendent to inspect the project progress.

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6. Can I visit a current job site?

When you ask this question, it is possible that the contractor says “No” or hesitant about this. It is not necessary that there is something bad, as it could be because the homeowner says no to it or they could have insurance liability issues.

Most of the general contractors will be happy to take you to some other job site. You should then check the safety measures and the neatness of their work.

7. What will be written in the contract

This is the most important question to ask as well. No only ask, but also read the contract yourself carefully. You must be very clear about the payment breakdowns. You should know who will hire the sub-contractors and who is going to pay the sub-contractors.

Also, you should be very clear about who will purchase the materials? If the cost of the material is included in the total cost of the project or not. All other important things should be mentioned in the contract and should be signed by both parties.

Final words:

Though there might be many more things to ask your new contractor before you hire one. But these are the most important 7 questions to ask a general contractor before you hire one.

If you do so, you will be able to select the best local general contractor in Vancouver and you will be able to get your dream house ready.

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