Renovating a house in the hot market of Toronto that every general contractor claims to be the good one could be a daunting task! We have tried to summarize some of the important experiences from different renovators to present as a guide. In our previous blog we listed some important steps before starting your full home renovation. In addition we went through the important points in process of choosing a reliable contractor. We gave you key points to have in mind while choosing one !Today we are going to focus more on hiring a reliable general contractor. We are going through the questions you better ask them before signing a contract!
You should determine how much are you able to do the work yourself and in which parts you can rely on your contractor? Whatever your level of expertise may be, knowing which job should you assign to licensed professionals is what saves you money and time!
Question you should ask your contractor
Ask about their work experience
Start by simple details like asking about their career length as a contractor!
Ask them to show you their portfolios
request them to present you by their previous works and samples so you can have an overview of what they have done and quality of their work
Ask them for references and go through the testimonials on their website to make sure of their work
Keep in mind that the better your contractor is the higher the fee might be and the time you should wait for them to schedule your work. A good contractor does not have a very flexible schedule!
Things you might not want to commit to while hiring a general contractor
Do not pay your contractor the full amount until the job is done. In this high-volume market, contractors rush in to next work most of the time by cut some corner of works.
Do not rely on your contractors to pick up everything from the supply shops as they may not have the same taste and standards for the quality.
Invest in the materials and build with integrity as your property is a valuable asset. Purchase and pick up materials on your own or someone you trust and leave them onsite for your contractors to use.
Do some supervisions and if you are not able to be physically present in process of the renovation, ask your contractor to send pictures of progress. Asking for picture should not be an issue as most of them advertise on social media through pictures.
Aside from finding a reliable contractor there are couple of more factors such as the season, Timeline of the process, design and plan. The current situation of your property and the style you choose for your renovation directly affect your budgeting. As you may remember Budgeting was the first point in our full home renovation guide. In our next blog we are going into the details of mentioned guide.