Tips and Tricks for Selecting a Building or Remodeling Contractor

Where to Start?
Starting any remodeling project is intimidating on its own, but the process of choosing and trusting a contractor to hire may be even more of a daunting task. In today’s tech age, the common 1 st step is usually to go to Google and start searching around for the local companies that are near you. It is customary for almost every professional contractor to have their own website that shows their unique skills and their niche of projects they work on whether that is bathroom or kitchen remodeling, or complete home makeovers and new builds. After checking out their website, another helpful thing to investigate is the review services they use. Surveying websites many Contractors utilize include Google reviews, as well as Guild Quality and Houzz. An additional great resource is searching for your contractor choices on the Better Business Bureau, where you can verify if they are an accredited business with an active license and view their overall ratings as a company. It’s important to verify that your contractor is licensed with the state of New Jersey, as well as being fully insured with General Liability and Worker’s Compensation insurance coverage. Both of which are official state requirements for all building contractors.

What’s Most Important to You?
No matter what building or remodeling firm you choose to hire, they should be somebody that you view as being a reliable and trustworthy individual. When you’re selecting a builder or remodeler, it is important to pick one that prioritizes the same values that you hold as being the most vital for the project. For example, a good contractor will work with you to complete a project that is satisfactory and stays within budget. But a great contractor will go above and beyond with prioritizing your main values, whether that’s about concerns with completing the project on a timely agreed upon schedule, making you aware of budget-friendly options, or keeping you informed daily about the project. One thing to consider is that some builders and remodelers work as a full-design build service,
or some will only complete the work as they were contracted to do. In the case of a design build service model, the contractor will walk you through step by step of selecting the finishes you would like throughout your project. Whereas with a general contractor, you will provide all the information about selections and choices to the contractor. In our case, we operate as a design- build company and will help our clients throughout their selection process, which will then slide
easily into our contract. Something to check out as well, especially if you travel a lot or use your property as a second home, is to look for contractors that use online scheduling programs to keep track of their projects. Customers can follow along daily on it as well. For instance, we utilize BuilderTrend which is a website that allows us to post pictures and notes daily about our customers project, as well as having a digital calendar displaying our work schedule broken down.

The End Goal
No matter what builder or remodeler you select, the most important part is that you select one that makes the remodeling process as stress free as possible and even enjoyable and exciting when you’re going through the selection process for finishes. A great contractor should be able to complete your project efficiently, timely, and the overall experience should be superb. Every project may have its own hiccups or surprises, but if you pick the right contractor, you’ll feel
reassured that everything will turn out great in the end. If you are thinking about starting a remodeling project, consider including Baine Contracting, Inc. as one of your contractor choices to think about.

By Shannon Johnstone at Baine Contracting, Inc.