Remodeling Contractors

Almost all home owners looking to do some sort of remodeling have seen the movie "The Money Pit". If by chance your looking to hire a remodeling contractor and haven't watched it, you better head down to the video store and rent a copy before you fall prey to the headaches and problems Tom Hank ans Shelly Long went through.  Avoiding the pitfall of scams, unqualified and unethical builders isn't that difficult if you do your home work before making a commitment.  There are several great resources available to all homeowners looking for the right person to do any project from kitchen remodels to bathroom renovations.

There are many types of remodeling contractors and you should understand the differences between them.

1. General Contractors or Building Contractors- These are like project managers. They typically are larger frims that have relationships with many individual sub-contractors that they use to complete the job. Example: If your remodeling the outside of your home and hire a general contractor they will typically work with roofing contractors, siding contractors, landscaping companies, electricians and plumbers to get the required job completed. A remodeling quote for this type is probably going to be the most expensive, but usually they are well established, known for their quality and stand behind their product. They will know all the building codes for your area and usually will get all necessary building permits.

2. Sub-Contractors- as above they can be hired individually based upon their area of expertise. When dealing with sub contractors to do your remodel you are filling the general contractor role. While this will allow you to save considerable expense on your repairs it will be far more time consuming and require direct and organized involvement by the owners. If doing minor home repairs or restoration I highly recommend going this route. If however, your looking to do a room addition, add a basement, second story or other major construction project you will in my opinion be far better off with a general remodeling contractor. You may have to get your own building permit when using subcontractors but not always.

3. Handyman - the handyman or jack of all trades is an option you might consider using if you have a very small project like installing a screen door, building a storage shed or doing a small roofing patch or something on that order. If you decide to use a handyman instead of a remodeling contractor make sure to check their references completely and do not pay them the complete price of the estimate up front. Building permits aren't usually needed for these small remodeling jobs but you should always consult your local officials when in doubt.

There are several resources both online and off that are available to help you make your decisions on the best contractor for your needs. Word of mouth is definitely your best option. Knowing that a neighbor or someone you trust was satisfied with the quality of work is the first place I start looking for any construction job. Once you have narrowed down your choices a bit you can use a few of these online options to help determine the right business to handle your repairs.

1. The BBB online is a great resource for finding out how reputable any plumbing contractor, siding contractor or general contrator's reputation is. They show you how many complaints a business has and whether not the company took the necessary actions to resolve the. They shouldn't be your only resource for deciding upon the right person for your remodeling project.
2. Try Searching The Internet for the company's name. If you don't get any matches or they aren't the correct remodeling business your investigating try searching again by putting their name in quotes. With all the rating and customer watchdog sites on the web today your sure to find out if there are any disgruntled customers that received less than what they expected. Again using this as a sole determining factor should be avoided, used all available information to choose the right remodeling contractor.
3. Check the construction company or builder's business website. Most quality repair and remodeling contractors these days have an online portfolio so you can see work they have done in the past. They may also offer contact information of references you can check with to verify the validity of their claims. Most fly by night handy men and contractors that might scam you aren't going to go through the trouble of building a quality website. Using this combined with a personal reference, the BBB and through background check will keep you from falling prey to excessive remodeling costs.

These are just a few tips to help you find a quality remodeling contractor to fix that water damage, repair the roof, or put new siding on the house. There are many other places like local construction organizations, chamber of commerce, newspapers and referral companies that can help as well.

Maybe your the type of person that doesnt want to leave remodeling in the hands of a professional and would rather tackle home repairs yourself. Don't worry there are many sites out there that can be a great help for the diy home repair person. Before ever considering taking on the responsibility of serious construction, plumbing or electrical repairs, you should fully way the costs and benefits of doing it yourself vs. hiring a professional.