Wednesday’s presentation at the Willow Glen Branch Library by Dan Mackey, past president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, was very informative. He gave us a list of steps to take before signing a remodeling contract.
Your choice of contractor can make a big difference. You don’t want someone who is never there to supervise the work; just hands it off to his day laborers.
For instance, when adding a room to your home, after the foundation’s been dug, you will find it aggravating to have hired someone who has no care about construction except getting paid.
April 24, 2009 at 7:50 pm |
We just added a second bathroom and walk-in closet, but that required moving the master bedroom farther into the backyard.
Yes, it took longer than expected, but we had to supervise everything closely. The contractor we hired handed the job over to a lesser, who handed it down to a lesser, etc. At one point I found the trash pickup guy down in our basement by himself with a power saw. He had been assigned to cut a water line which was still filled with water, and it made a mess. Also, we had to evacuate one evening when they broke the valve to the main gas line. I could go on and on about the things they installed upside down, or the things they ignored because they thought we wouldn’t notice. The contractor said he went out of his way for us when in fact he tried to get away with what ever he could.
In retrospect, we should have made sure to contact every single one of his references, and especially his LATEST, FINISHED job, whether they were willing to provide a reference or not (we weren’t).
We ARE enjoying our remodel, however. The new bedroom is a joy to wake up in, but the building process need not have been so stressful. (Don’t short shrift the selection process!)
Good luck with your construction.