Remodeling Contractors Washington DC

Whether you hire a general contractor, a design-build firm or your handy Uncle Hank, your project and your sanity will be better served if you hire someone you can work effectively with. Another way of saying that is to find someone you can get along with.

The reason this is so important is because you'll need to (or should) communicate with this person on a daily basis, discussing the plans for the day, dealing with questions and working through any hiccups that occur. You'll be around this person a lot too if you're home during the day when the work happens.

On our own remodel my wife and I interviewed a number of candidates and requested bids from three of them. We obviously wanted someone who could do the job effectively but we also wanted to be sure we could work with that person too. The interview process is the first step in learning more about prospective candidates. The next step is getting feedback from their references.

One of the contractors we met seemed very capable and informative. However he just couldn't stop talking. It only took one meeting for my wife to know that he would drive her crazy. Needless to say, he didn't get the job.

The person we awarded the contract to was someone who was personable, genuine and ended up being an advocate for us with the subcontractors. He was on the job site every day and offered insightful and helpful recommendations along the way. Yes, our project did have some minor bumps but they were easily worked out.

So how do you find these people? My best advice is to start with the recommendation of a friend or relative who's been happy with the person involved with their project. Just about anyone who's had work done will have an opinion of their contractor. Ask them specific questions about their experience. Even if they give a glowing report probe a little deeper and ask them about the "cons" that go along with all the "pros". Nobody is absolutely perfect. But some are a lot better than others.