Getting home improvements done on your home is exciting, but it can be very scary at the same time. No one wants to overpay for a product or service, but so many of us get duped into exorbitant labor costs from contractors that know you will pay whatever price they spit out at you. Don’t fall into this trap, and save yourself some money by either doing the task yourself, finding the trusted little guy, and doing your research.
Should You Do The Project Yourself?
This depends on many different factors, but it’s still a question you should always ask yourself before looking for a contractor to do the work. Ask Yourself These Questions:
What is your skill set? If you do it, will it look good? Don’t sacrifice saving some money for poor quality. If you aren’t confident that you can complete the project and be satisfied with it, don’t do it.
How much of your free time will it take to complete the job? Lately, I have begun to realize that my time is worth quite a bit of money. If it’s going to take me two or three weekends to complete a project and it would take a contractor one day to complete the project, then I am going to pay the contractor to do it. This is why I paid for a landscaper to come out and rip out all of the old and dead plants in my back yard, rip out dead grass, and re-plant sod and new plants. He did it in a matter of hours with a crew, and it would have taken me several full weekends to complete all of the tasks he performed. The money was well spent.
Do you like working on home projects? If home projects aren’t your thing, it will probably show in the quality of your work. Even if you don’t have a great skill set but you are willing and eager to learn a new trade, you will probably create a better finished product than someone who hates doing home projects.
Find The Trusted Little Guy
For every bad, dishonest contractor out there, there are several trustworthy contractors that bid a fair price for their trade. The problem is finding these guys in a sea of bad handymen and corporate greedy businesses. You want to look for the guy with a medium sized operation that has been in business for a long time and loves his work. Where can you find these guys? They are probably right under your nose. Ask all of your friends, family members, and co-workers for a referral from someone they used. Most people are brutally honest about the contractors they have used in the past, but watch out for referrals coming from a spouse or family member of the contractor. Bob from work might only be recommending his nephew to renovate your bathroom because he’s trying to help him out, not because he’s good at what he does. You can also check websites like Angie’s List and Yelp.com for great reviews of contractors from past customers. I found my landscaper, who I really like, from a direct mail coupon book. The little guy often advertises in small mediums. Try to stay away from the companies with huge advertising campaigns and state-of-the-art equipment, because they all have their overhead factored into the cost of their work.
Do Your Research
Know everything about the project you are taking on before you hire a contractor or even ask one to come out and give you an estimate. Contractors love to upsell their work. They know what makes homeowners say, “oh yeah, I want that!”, but it was never in your original scope of work. Creat your own scope of work, and be the boss of the contractor. You call the shots, and you tell them what you want done. Don’t let them dictate to you what “should” be done, unless it’s something that is necessary to comply with code laws. If you let the contractor paint the picture of what you want done, he or she will paint the Taj Mahal when all you wanted was the Ritz Carleton.
Contact me or post a comment for any more suggestions or questions about where to find a trusted contractor.
