Finding a Contractor for Your Remodeling and Construction Project

“remodeling and construction” “kitchen remodel” A question you might want to ask the contractor is how many remodeling projects like mine have you completed in the last year? Ask for a list as this will help you determine how familiar the contractor is with your type of project. If he primarily specializes in fireplaces and [...]

“remodeling and construction” “kitchen remodel”

A question you might want to ask the contractor is how many remodeling projects like mine have you completed in the last year? Ask for a list as this will help you determine how familiar the contractor is with your type of project. If he primarily specializes in fireplaces and all his previous remodeling and construction projects were fireplaces and you’re doing a kitchen remodel or a bathroom, he might not be the right contractor for you.

You should also always ask the contractor for a list of references. The contractor should be able to give you the names, addresses and phone numbers of at least three clients who have projects similar to yours. Ask how long each of those jobs took to complete and how long ago they were completed and ask to see them. You can also tell the contractor you would like to visit some of his current remodeling jobs in progress.

When you contact the clients he gave you as a reference you may want to ask them if you can visit their home to see the completed job. You can also ask them things like: were you satisfied with the remodeling project? Was it completed on time? Did the contractor keep you informed about the status of the project, and any problems along the way? Were there any unexpected remodeling costs? And if so, what were they? Did the workers show up on time? Did they clean up after finishing the job?

Probably the most important questions though would be were you happy with the work? Would you recommend the contractor? Would you use him again?

Happy clients are your very best bet!

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Planning a kitchen remodel?

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“remodeling and construction” “remodeling project” “diy” “remodeling” When doing any sort of remodeling or construction project, if it’s not a diy project and you’re not the contractor or doing it yourself, you’ll most likely end up hiring a contractor or tradesman to work on your remodeling project. There are a lot of horror stories floating around [...]

“remodeling and construction” “remodeling project” “diy” “remodeling”

When doing any sort of remodeling or construction project, if it’s not a diy project and you’re not the contractor or doing it yourself, you’ll most likely end up hiring a contractor or tradesman to work on your remodeling project. There are a lot of horror stories floating around of remodeling project nightmares and litigation with contractors that probably could have been easily avoided with better communication.Communication is critical in making sure that what you’re trying achieve is clearly understood by your contractor. For an example, in some parts of the country it is standard practice for some drywall contractors to screw in the ceiling drywall but nail in the walls.

If your remodeling project is in a humid part of the country, with all the fluctuations in humidity, you’ll have the nails start popping out within a couple of years whereas screwing the drywall eliminates this problem but if you just assume that your contractor knows you prefer him to screw in the drywall instead of simply nailing in the drywall and it doesn’t go the way you assumed it naturally would there could be a problem.

Another example is the exact height or placement of something. I remember one project I had to put in a through the wall air conditioner into a room and to me it seemed logical that the contractor would line up the top of the air conditioner with a hung picture on the adjacent wall because aesthetically that would flow much better and it never even occurred to me that he wouldn’t automatically know to do that. I had only left the room for a few minutes but when I came back the hole was already cut and it was nearly 6 inches below where I assumed it would be but I hadn’t specified this with the contractor so he put it where HE thought it would be most logical to put it.

Photos are another great way to get your point across. For example if you are trying to design your landscape you might take a photo of your house to the nursery so they can give you their suggestions about what might be most suitable to what you’re wanting to achieve. Or if you are having issues with the building inspectors and something isn’t passing inspection bringing a photo to them can be very helpful for clarification.

Don’t just assume your contractor knows what you want. Make sure you specify everything EXACTLY how and where and when you want it. Putting all the exact details in writing is not just good practice but an absolute must. That will save you lots of frustration, do overs, and possibly even litigation.

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“flooring materials” “flooring material” “kitchen remodel” There are several different schools of thoughts about what is the best order of sequence for installing the flooring material in a kitchen remodel. There are many elements involved in a kitchen remodel including installing the kitchen cabinets, the countertops, the plumbing and electrical, the flooring and appliances to name [...]

“flooring materials” “flooring material” “kitchen remodel”

There are several different schools of thoughts about what is the best order of sequence for installing the flooring material in a kitchen remodel. There are many elements involved in a kitchen remodel including installing the kitchen cabinets, the countertops, the plumbing and electrical, the flooring and appliances to name a few of the things going on during your kitchen remodel.

When exactly the best time to install the flooring is depends on your preferences really. So here are a couple of options and the reasoning behind them:

One option would be to lay the flooring down after the base kitchen cabinets have been installed, which you would do after the painting is done. The main argument for this option is that you wouldn’t be wasting flooring material where it would never be seen by anyone and would save a little money in the process…(little being the key word)….however if you ever changed appliances to ones of a different size or dimension you might have to add flooring later on and it would not only be a hassle but would also incur labor expenses too.

If you go with this option you would just have to make sure that you remember to allow enough height for your appliances or that your appliances have adjustable height capability and also make sure to have some extra flooring material saved from this project so if you need to add it later on you will have matching stock.

The other option would be to put the flooring material down first before you install your appliances. The amount of extra expense of using the flooring material under the appliances is really quite nominal in the big picture and you would actually save on labor expenses that would be incurred to trim out the flooring material around the appliances.

The benefit of going this route is that it would be a lot easier to move the appliances in and out on an even surface although it isn’t really that difficult either way. Another benefit though is if you ever changed appliances that were of different sizes and dimensions you wouldn’t have to worry about missing flooring.

So these are just a couple of different schools of thought on the best order of sequence for installing the flooring material in a kitchen remodel. Just consider which option works best for you or your contractor and go with it.

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Planning a kitchen renovation?