Tradesperson. His or her hands. Come on NYTimes, get with the times, for gwarsh sake!
3
So glad my whole house Reno is complete! What a nightmare, but I do have a stunning home in the end.
"When it comes time to draw up a contract, make sure it stipulates that the contractor must put any advance payments into an escrow account" somebody's living in Fantasy Land.
8
After hurricane Matthew in 2016, our house on Hilton Head Island was flooded. It was quite a mess, and many homeowners were scrambling to find a general contractor to deal with. Through pure luck, we settled on a guy from NY who ran a company that dried out houses using huge fans. He said that he worked on many houses after superstorm Sandy, so not to worry. He seemed like such a nice guy, although I had my doubts, given that hundreds of thousands of dollars were at stake.
Well, to make a long story short, he was everything he said he was and more, helping us with the many issues that inevitably came up. He even helped with negotiating with the insurance adjuster, which saved us many thousands of dollars. I can't thank him enough. So here's to you, Dan Friedman, you are a good guy and a credit to your profession.
20
I live in the metro suburbs of Minneapolis. In 1997 we did a major remodel to our home. We lived in our house 11 years so we knew what we wanted our house to look and how to function. I didn't know or learn any "lingo" and neither did my husband -- I just looked for a remodeling firm that had been in business a long time. They had an architect on staff and used subs minimally (not sure this is possible today). We had chemistry with them, especially the architect. They were licensed, bonded and insured. I asked for the homeowners names of their 10 most recently completed projects and I called every one. I checked the BBB. The architect was our gc. All project purchases required receipts that we reviewed. All changes required change orders. We reviewed their contract thoroughly and added the following: instead of paying 10% at the finish of the project, we said we'd pay 40%-30%-30%; we created a definition of "finished"; we added a deadline and penalties for going past it (we had moved out for 7 months with our 2 kids and 2 cats). We went to check on the progress every day. We had a perfect experience. Also, you DO get what you pay for, and hiring an architect pays for itself.
15
Sad to see that this commenters forum can become just another place for immigrant-bashing. After having renovated my old house for sale last year, and then having brought my new (1876) house up to spec over the course of 6 months, I have nothing but praise for the contractors I've worked with. I asked friends and neighbors for recommendations, and the workmanship I ended up with was top-notch without paying top-notch prices. And I'm someone who's savvy enough about electrical, plumbing, and carpentry work to tell when a job is well done. Services like Home Advisor and Angie's List can be invaluable, also, in finding the right person to work on your home.
4
Going on almost 40 years of living in, taking care of, and trying to
maintain my now almost 100 year old house, I recently realized something.
The bigger and fancier (and expensive!) the truck the contractor or
tradesmen drives, the bigger a "pain in the neck" they are in terms of
dealing with. Just an observation.
12
Out here in California, there are no good ones. And, all the work will be done, poorly, by illegal aliens. Yes, true!
1
Tip number one (from a person in the trades) - DON"T try to be the contractor yourself (you don't know what you're doing.).
THERE IS A CORRECT ORDER TO THINGS! Don't try and second guess your job-super or contractor. They many times are going to give in because you are paying their salary. Don't butt in and pull rank in order to get your cabinets/tile/floors sanded and finished/appliances in (and all those fun 'adult toys' you homeowners are always playing with too early in the process) 'just to see it in place" before the dust and heavy work are done. Many of these should even come after the painter. Dead last. Sorry to rain on your "house as toybox" parade.
Contractors have to work around these, it is nerve racking, they get damaged and we get blamed because you don't know what you're doing.
Don't put too many trades on the job at once (Because time is tight/gotta move in etc.) Bad planning and unreasonable deadlines on your end shouldn't constitute a crisis for the trades involved and working in cramped quarters makes everyone mad at each other and their work sub-par.
13
I have been in the building trades for 40 years and i have been a general contractor and plumbing contractor and I couldn't agree more. i will not work for home owners directly when they are trying to be the general contractors on the job. It is like watching a TV show you have seen before over and over again. The home owners do not know what they are doing and they will crowd the sub contractors all together, not call the subs in the proper order and finally the home owners will start get mad at the subs because of their lack of knowledge. What a mess!
6
Contrary to the subtitle, most of this advice doesn’t help people who already hired a contractor. Some advice from an architect:
1. Document everything, and get it all in writing. If you correspond via phone, follow up with emails. Make sure the time-frame, specific dates, expectations, and costs are clearly spelled out. Leave no room for misinterpretation or plausible deniability. Save your text messages. Evidence of communication is your best friend.
2. Don’t allow weeks of radio silence. Stay on their case. Make sure they know that it will be more stressful for them to ignore you than to suck it up and finish the project. (Squeaky wheel etc.) Do not be afraid to show up at their office.
3. Establish a relationship with subcontractors and underlings. You’ll interact with these people the most, and they’re the ones who are responsible for most of the actual work. If you are kind to them and they like you, they will likely go out of their way to help you whether that means confronting the head honcho or doing you favors. They’re also often more knowledgeable (and skilled) than their bosses.
Before hiring a general contractor or an architect, try to find the projects they don’t put in their portfolios. You can ask the municipal government for a list. Talk to the people who aren’t listed as references. And remember: lowest bid is not always the best—contractors and architects have a whole bag of tricks. More expensive but honest is literally and figuratively worth it.
15
one option is https://www.lowes.com/l/lowes-project-services.html
We never run into this problem for a couple of reasons. First, we don't take any money up front from our clients/homeowners. We arrange financing for them with several companies that offer excellent rates. Our customer never writes us a check for payment. When the job is finished, we ask them to sign a 'Completion Certificate', mail it to the finance company and they ACH the funds into our corporate account. Problem solved.
If your contractor does not offer financing, we believe that this is a red flag. Only the financially strongest, with years of remodeling/contracting experience, are approved by the better finance companies. Our clients have little-to-no risk whatsoever. If we don't finish the job, we don't get paid a dime.
I can't think of a better solution that this one.
Jeff Miller, CEO
Urban Remodelers LLC
11
Don’t be afraid to ask for more references after contacting the set you were given. It turned out that one of the references I was given was the neighbor of the tile installer-of course he was going to give a glowing recommendation! If a reference doesn’t return your call, it might be that they really can’t say good things. Also, ask specifically for references from jobs where something went wrong and was (hopefully) fixed.
1
At the NC coast where I own a home we rent out in summer we do a lot of renovation during the off season. Finding reliable contractors is almost impossible. A lot of these guys have personal issues that get in the way of getting the work done like being behind on child support or truck repossession. I've finally found someone fairly reliable and we've used him for about five years now. An important part of this for us is that he works without our presence since the house is a five hour drive we can't be there all the time.
Don't trust the hardware chains to provide reliable contractors. My brother and sister in law contracted to renovate a kitchen with all new cabinets and flooring through Lowes in New Jersey. It took 8 months and there are so many workmanship problems. Visits by Lowes management were of no help and this contractor was still on their recommendation list. In the end he threatened to sue Lowes and they refunded all the cost of the cabinets and appliances and flooring. That $35K was enough to hire another contractor to finish the kitchen.
I've renovated my kitchen and three bathrooms in my own house and I swear I will move before I ever go through that again.
4
Or better yet. Buying a house where you are unwinding years of shoddy work and junk materials. I wanted an estate/untouched home vs. a tricked out Made in China rehab.
2
I've had wonderful contractors and fiends from the swamp. Electricians who contracted to bury my lines were the worst. Needed burying because the house is 80 years old and the vast assortment of wires coming down from the city pole, strung haphazardly onto the detached garage and then strung to the main house was dangerous & unreliable. Every time the wind blew hard several would come down and it would cost, on avg: $780 for a day of putting them back on-never looked any better or safer though.
They contracted to bury them for $ 11,000-pricey but really necessary. They said they would hand dig the trench " unless we hit rock" . I came home from work the first day to discover a giant bulldozer the size of a bull elephant happily heaving up sidewalks and mature plantings all over the yard. It was ever more destructive every day. They broke window well covers over the basement windows and denied it. " But I found your wrench on top of the cracked cover underneath your ladder just now", I protested. They installed a silent bathroom fan to replace a noisy one and it was equally noisy. They charged me $ 650 for that. I looked up the fan on the internet and it was $ 59.00 for the part. I said: " Pretty much looks to me like you are trying to roll the cost of that window well cover into the cost of this cheap fan." At the end my pretty back yard was 1/2 destroyed they presented me a bill for $14,000. I paid them $11,000-horrible experience. Many good contractors exist though.
2
Another route to go, if you live in a Co-op, is to check with the Property manager, regarding contractors! Usually, there is one contractor working in a building over a number of years! And since they've been there a good deal of time, that's usually an indication they do good work! Otherwise, the Property manager would let them go! Property managers have enough problems on their table, to keep a shoddy contractor on hand! And they probably will be less expensive than bringing in an outsider!!!
3
Another big problem is the contractor can put (or threaten to put) a mechanics lien on your property. This is what happened to us. We had paid a portion up front and a portion along the way, but when we asked the contractor to adjust the invoice for additional work that wasn't agreed to in advance (and very inflated in price), he said it sounded like we were refusing to pay and he was going to put a mechanic's lien on our apt (a co-op) if we didn't (he knew we were in the process of trying to sell our previous apt. in the same building and this could cause problems.) In the end we paid him to go away and then had to find others to finish the work. And big surprise, no one wants to pick up someone else's mess.
8
The subcontractors can also place a mechanics lien on your house if the contractor doesn't pay them. That's an insult because you did pay the contractor and can get stuck having to pay them to get rid of the lien. The lien can prevent you from selling the house and you'll end up paying out of the settlement.
The state and county can also place a lien if the contractor doesn't pay the unemployment taxes or keeps the withholding from his employees pay checks.
I was a communications systems contractor before I retired and It was astounding how many times I got caught up in a dispute even though I was one of the contractors working directly for the customer. These bad contractors make life difficult for everyone.
2
Be cautious before you start a website bad mouthing a contractor. You may find yourself on the wrong end of a lawsuit, or facing counter-claims for slander or reputation. Deadbeat customers and trouble makers are why you have a shortage of reasonably priced contractors.
There are still cases of one-sided slacking. Usually that happens with a specific trade, and that's where your GC (or architect) adds value. An electrician who shows up 2x a week for 1 hour will have a different attitude if you complain as a customer vs. the GC (architect) fires them and uses one of their other vendors / contractors. Of course you pay for that value-add.
Homeowners, however, who interfere with the completion of the job, or add cost midway through, are still a huge reason jobs don't get finished. At the first sign you aren't happy with the quality (or pace) of work, get it addressed in writing or find another contractor. That means getting a lawyer involved to write some letters BEFORE it comes to a lawsuit. Yes, you should expect to to pay for the value-add the lawyer brings to the table as scrivener, mediator, and negotiator as well.
6
I am stunned that there is no discussion in this article of contractor bonding requirements. That is one of a homeowner's primary means of protection. I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect that every state has a bonding requirement for licensed contractors. If the contractor does shoddy work, runs out of money, or goes out of business, the bond is there for the homeowner's to compensate the homeowner.
11
Not all contractors are licensed... even good ones can't necessarily to put up a bond in each of the municipalities they work in. And when they do, you pay for it because their rates are higher in order to cover the cost they pay to put up that bond -- which translates into more capital costs. Home-owners who have these kinds of problems are usually the ones who go in with a "lowest bidder" mentality.
1
Bonding is difficult for small jobs. The bonding outfits don't really want to write them and the contractor will walk if it requires any compliance he doesn't like.
2
Your story has much good advice. Yes, hire an architect and deal with the contractor through him—not directly. Use the standard AIA contract. But there’s more to know, as I learned after a terrible experience with the contractor for my raw-space Manhattan loft. A brief (and too late) connection with Norm Abram and Tom Silva of “This Old House” taught me two things that would have saved a lot of grief. 1. Good contractors and their “subs” (subcontractors) and tradesmen don’t like to travel and don’t need to—they are in demand locally because they do good work. 2. A good contractor has subs he works almost all the time—they are his team and he is, so to speak, their quarterback. They depend on each other. There are no “spot” or pick-up hires. Lacking this knowledge, under intense time pressure to house my family and deal with a job at a frenzied start-up, I accepted a “referral of convenience” and hired a contractor based near my work in White Plains. The result was hell. The contractor and his subs resented driving daily to Manhattan. They didn’t know Manhattan suppliers. And the subs were a shifting crew of marginal pick-ups. Without exception all of their work was to one degree or another substandard, and often cleverly disguised. Delays were endless and the excuses soon amounted to outright lies. So while it’s not a guarantee of fine workmanship, I’d say hiring locally is the way to go. A contractor who has to travel may be one who has to get out of town.
19
Personal Background: 36 years old and female. I know how to do everything except some plumbing and electrical. Looking at the bathroom picture, it's weird they hired a contractor. Tiling is easy, though a bit labor intensive. Only hire what you absolutely need, and learn how to do everything else. Not being self sufficient is a weakness Americans have taken on all too happily. Home Depot and Lowe's offer classes that will allow you to do work yourself.
15
I think that's an excellent point, but it also depends on how much your time is worth. Professionally, I make around $150-300/hour doing something that I'm trained in and actually good at. How many hours of work would I have to give up in order to learn how to do, and then complete, a bathroom renovation? I suspect I would lose quite a bit and so it's worthwhile for me to keep doing my job and let a contractor do theirs. That being said, I will also add that prior landlords of mine, back in the early 200O's, renovated their bathroom themselves - mostly changing out the fixtures and tiling - and it took them quite a while. The tiles in particular, I recall, were a problem, as apparently lining up tiny black and white squares is more complicated than it looks. So, feel free to take on these projects, but consider at what cost...
11
I also have a well paying job but also enjoy this type of work. I found that keeping my skills fresh and seeing my hard work pay off is worth my time. (P.S. No contractors or strange people in my house.)
3
Dova -- It isn't hard to learn plumbing and electrical. However the cost of a screw-up is much greater. If you want to talk about tiling, the cost of a screw up is doing the job over. I've got a tile floor done by a professional with 18" tiles that has high edges and corners all over the place. The guy was in a hury or didn't know what he was doing. The cost of redoing the job is way more than I'm willing to pay to roll the dice again on a do-over with another contractor. It was after this experience that I personally decided to never hire another contractor and only do the work myself. My standards on everything are higher than what a contractor. I can't outright reject the contractor's low standards because it is in line with "customary practice in the trade" ... Burned pipes that fail after 5 years. Nicked nicked wires that throw and arc in 10 days or 10 years. No, I work slower than the contractor because my time on the job in my house isn't money. And I do the job right. The custom of the trades has fallen generally so low because very few people live in their house for more than 10 years now, compared to when you did a job to last for a true lifetime.
3
I had a contractor, an architect, a detailed set of plans, specs and descriptions. Unfortunately I didn't vet the architect or contractor well enough. To make a long story short, after I gave the contractor his 30% front money, he did the demolition part of the job, opening up one complete end of our house and then proceeded to demand more money or "we could just sit there." With a Massachusetts winter coming, I was too dumb to cut losses at that point and, after years of hell, we wound up in court. The resulting "win" was Pyrrhic; he paid no attention to court orders just like he and his subs ignored the wordings in the contract and on the drawings. Lawyers advised that we had no further recourse. He is dead now, but you can enjoy a final laugh at my expense; the guy actually called himself Ed Kash!
6
Blaming higher education institutes for "pushing 4 yr degrees" is absurd. College degrees are hardly the cause for lack of skilled labor! This country is still at a 30% college graduation rate. Just need that to be said .... somewhere, somehow education is becoming a bad thing and I find that very troubling.
43
There’s push, and there’s pull. My nearest community college, where I used to shop for employees in the trades for manufacturing jobs, brushed me off years ago, saying that 2 year mechanical and electrical courses had been de-emphasized because the students “all” wanted to study information technology. Which happens to be the only completely outsourceable trade. So nobody to feed the trades other than union apprenticeship programs, which, of course, have to be focused on basics and manual labor. Colleges, even so -called better ones, have no ability to magically see the future, and teach what’s in demand, steer clear of courses that require shops or labs, as these are expensive. It’s a muddy, confused educational world that is also insanely expensive for those not directly headed for high paying jobs. So, yes, I’ve got some concerns about education in this country, just like you.
15
The problem is not that kids are getting educated,having an educated background makes it easier to communicate with architects,decorators,engineers,etc. The field of home building has accelerated so rapidly in the realm of materials,systems & techniques that the best contractors must spend at least several weeks a year in classes just to stay on top of it. The problem is that with the building booms of recent decades and de unionization of the work force the traditional systems of apprenticeship & learning have collapsed. There aren’t enough good contractors so as soon as someone gets a little experience people start offering them work and all of a sudden they become ‘contractors’. A lot of on the job learning takes place, some good,some not.
11
I know this well. I have hired a lot of "Technicians" who turned out to be installers. There are some who have worked for every communications contractor in the area and so there only way to make a living is to be a "contractor". They leave a trail of bad workmanship that I just walk away from because the customer won't spend the money to fix the problems. Sometimes the problem is fraud where the customer paid for something he didn't get. I enjoyed a good reputation for workmanship and dependability and commanded a higher price for that. I used to bid jobs where the customer went to the cheaper guy and then called me because he couldn't get satisfaction with a problem and wanted me to honor the manufacturer warranty. That takes nerve.
One of the GC's you quoted, James Mansfield, just pled guilty to assault for mowing down two people with his van in Midtown. Is he an appropriate source for finding "good" contractors?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4983836/Man-gets-arrested-slammi...
8
After reading this, my functional-yet-outdated bathroom and kitchen are looking better. If it ain't broke...
49
This article is a joke. You think that 1116 complaints in 2017 is a lot? I would also argue that the homeowner is at least 50% responsible for each complaint. Homeowners are cheap, lazy, entitled, etc. Most homeowners want more than they are willing to pay for, or don't want to do their own due diligence, or think because you're already there you should do extra work for free.
Hire an architect for a bathroom/kitchen reno, that is LAUGHABLE. You want someone to hire an expensive professional, when they don't want to pay fair prices for the work being done???
Don't pay for work that hasn't been done, as suggested by Dr. Goldman? This is a joke! If you think contractors are fronting the money for a job, you are nuts!!!!!
There certainly are shoddy contractors/carpenters, but the cheap homeowner is more responsible for relationships going bad!
3
I've hired the same home improvement company in Lansing, Mich, for two jobs, two years apart, renovating our kitchen and master bath. Each time, they assigned a project manager to coordinate the job and serve as a contact throughout the process and after. Each time I had some minor issues that the project manager was able to get solved for us in a timely manner. I wouldn't work with a company that did not use this approach.
5
@Boo: Here's the flip side of your experience: I have neighbors on my block who hired a well-known home improvement company for a bathroom renovation and the "project manager" wasn't worth the air it took to say that person's name.
Ironically, the couple used a home improvement company b/c they thought it would get them better work than if they found their own contractor! Definitely not the case, as of course the home improvement company takes its cut, and the workers it gets seemed to be ones who couldn't get steady employment elsewhere.
The result was a long, drawn-out mess, with the work (promised to be completed in 6 weeks) going on for 5 MONTHS. And the kicker is this: there is still ONE unfinished item that has now been "pending" for over 8 months - and, surprise, the "contractor" won't return the homeowners' calls AND the home improvement company is of no help at all! It seems the home improvement company can't get the "contractor" to fulfill his promises.
Moral of my friends' experience: NEVER use a major home improvement company for anything unless you ALSO hire a lawyer and have the contract scrupulously vetted in advance.
3
See my comments on Lowes and their "vetted" contractor above in a kitchen renovation.
1
Thanks for all the great information. Here at The Brick Underground Podcast, we tackled the same subject earlier this month.
https://www.brickunderground.com/improve/podcast-renovation-episode
2
You can have it fast, cheap, good. PICK TWO. All three is not a possibility.
20
I am a New York State Licensed Professional Engineer. Some of my work involves investigating shoddy construction. Invariably, the work was done without a permit or the involvement of a Licensed Professional Engineer or a Registered Architect.
For most projects in NY City and the Surrounding Municipalities, Building Permits are required before any alteration, renovation, or repair work can be done. If you proceed with such work without a Building Permit and you are caught, you, the homeowner, may become subject to fines and, in some cases, criminal charges.
Once you have approved plans, you can then solicit bids from contractors. Any contractor who questions the plans should be excluded from the bidding, no matter how cheap his price. You will pay in the end when the Engineer / Architect / Inspector turns down the shoddy work and you have to redo it.
In NYC, the Engineer / Architect must follow the project to completion. If you fail to hire him to do so, expect the work to fail inspections and not be approved. I have investigated many a building which had open permits which were never closed and work which was never completed. And, if someone is hurt in your home or building due to illegal or incomplete work, expect those sections of the Building Code which deal with the need for Building Permits and C of O's to be thrown out you in the inevitable law suit which will follow.
Vincent A. Ettari, P.E.
27
I think many of the people having problems, as described in this article, are going with “random” companies based on a random advertisement. I’ve been a homeowner in the same town for almost 20 years. Early on, through friends’ recommendations, I found a great plumber, electrician and “handy-man” service. These were people who I felt, in my gut, were “straight shooters.” When they quoted me a price, I paid them, and I did so promptly. I did not fight with them over nickels and dimes. And, I never felt that any of them were overcharging. Oftentimes, I even felt the opposite. Eventually, these contractors must have concluded we are “good people to work for.” Now, I think these guys have me at the top of their lists. When I have an issue, they come right away. In no way does it ever feel like we are overpaying. In fact, sometimes, it feels like we are paying less than I thought something would cost! If I was doing a full kitchen or bathroom renovation or something along those lines, to the extent there’s work these guys can’t do, I’d seek out at least three bids from ONLY contractors recommended by these guys. I would not just go with a random advertisement from a random company. Conclusion… Build your “team” of contractors and then have them help you add more contractors to that “team.” And, do not fight good contractors over “nickels and dimes” or you will lose good teammates! It’s not worth the nickels and dimes!
20
This is spot on. I renovated three houses to the studs using 90% of the same men through all three projects. I paid when the final invoice was presented (the grocery stores don’t wait 30 days to get paid, right?) and when we encountered problems, as often happens with 50 year old houses, we were able to creatively construct solutions that were budget concious and fair to both parties.
Any time I needed a favor or an immediate repair, my guys made sure they or someone they recommended came to my aid immediately.
Once while I was on vacation, some unexpected bad weather was forecasted. My neighbors reported my workmen were up on my roof at 1am double securing all the protective tarps to insure my interior was safe.
Likewise when my finish carpenter had a family emergency and would need to take a week off my kitchen, I babysat his four year old daughter since I am good at that, but can’t do finish carpentry. It was a win-win. He was earning money to care for his family and my kitchen was a week closer to being finished.
It’s all in finding good workmen, and then treating them like gold. I have very high standards for both workmanship and personal character quality and it has worked well for me.
4
The best thing you can do before signing a contract is get a copy of the company owner’s driver license. Obviously, he knows where you live - you should also know where he lives. Every time I’ve done this, the job comes out perfect.
28
@Chris: This is an excellent suggestion.
2
Having renovated 2 houses, my primary suggestion is: hire Poles. We had 6 weeks to renovate our current house from top to bottom -- parquet, tiles, walls, doors, electrical, etc. They did it all beautifully, on budget and on time, then managed our move for us when the moving company quit on us due to snow on the day of our move. We hired them again for bathroom renovations (tiles, plumbing, etc) and outdoor terrassing. A good team of Poles is unbeatable.
8
So every contractor in Poland does great work?
Stereotype much?
Your comment is very offensive.
Maybe 20-30 years ago, it may have been a little less inappropriate.
But it's 2018 now.
12
About as offensive as: ‘only French Canadians can hang wallboard’ ‘or only Italians for masonry’ or ‘Poles for demolition’ or ‘only Native Americans on high steel’. Maybe for a while there were imbalances in some trades for odd reasons, but to pay this nonsense forward is, today, just a bad thing.
4
I can't cite any scientific studies on this subject. All I can say is that I have had the same experience with great Polish contractors.
7
Best cartoon on this subject:
the contractor speaking with a couple says something like, Worst case scenario, we're $$ over budget and you bludgeon me to death.
4
I found a calendar called "The Contractor's Excuse A Day Calendar". The funniest one to me was "One of my ex-wives stole my pickup and drove it into the lake with all my tools in it and I don't have insurance."
1
Do NOT do any renovation project utilizing contract home improvement services of nationally-known home improvement retailers. They lie to your face, they hire incompetent sub-contractors,and they do not stand by their work, and they charge double the cost. AVOID. Currently litigating a matter with a HOME contractor whose stock is publicly listed.
18
Since I now live in an apartment, I have no need to hire a contractor. However, I did need to hire a handyman to assemble various shelving units and related items.
I went online and quickly found just the person. He's in the area and has been for many years, has nothing but glowing reviews online and was so in demand that I had to wait at least a couple of weeks for an appointment. Of course he was somewhat pricey, but he was also punctual, pleasant, professional, neat/tidy and did everything I needed done.
Naturally, when I get all of the next batch of things to be assembled (I have a great apartment otherwise, but the storage is minimal), I will contact the same gentleman and have him do the work.
While I realize that hiring a contractor is a bigger commitment than hiring a handyman, I think the same approach with some additional requirements (especially licensing) should go a long way towards winnowing out the bad guys.
2
Just being a Handyman can be a great living or a post retirement small business. I'm handy thanks to my years as a Navy SEABEE working in public works departments. I was a Construction Electrician but picked up a lot of knowledge working on other crafts. There being no electrical work that day meant I was going to help pour concrete sidewalks or tile a bathroom. I work when I want and the only advertising is word of mouth. I don't take on anything major where I'd need help or have to stay too long.
2
Having just barely survived a major renovation of a San Francisco Victorian house, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of two things.
First, have a clause in your contract that requires that any change to the project be agreed to, with a price set, in writing, before the work on the change commences. Have it say that any work the contractor does in advance of the signing is the contractor's responsibility. They won't like it and may not do business with you when you ask for this, but that is a sure sign you shouldn't do business with them. Also have it say that unless the contractor is agreeing to a fixed price of $X for a change, that the change will be costed out at actual cost of materials + X%, plus actual cost of labor at X%. That way, if the contractor tries to overcharge you you can ask for documentation of the cost of materials and labor before you pay. "Actual cost" is the key word here - actual means the amount the contractor actually paid for those things, not his hourly rates or anything else.
Second, have your contract say that 10 - 15% of the total owed will be retained by you until all of the work of the contract is complete. You will discover that towards the ends of the work, the contractor is more interested in moving on to something else than finishing up with you, and it can be VERY difficult to get them back to finish. Don't pay them the retention until every last thing is done.
57
I was a contractor many years ago working on projects designed and managed by very high end architects some who have since moved on to design prestigious project of museums and performing cultural buildings and more, but you get the idea. These were not cheap projects, back then running over a million dollars which today would be several millions. Not all the projects were that large and when I started out it seemed like a good idea to get an HIC that consumer affairs license in NYC. Not everyone bothered with a license. I never cheated anyone and was quite concerned about reputation given the well resourced clientele who had substantial legal recourse and architects who were very selective. In fact I was not the low bidder in many cases.
My experience with licensing is that it became a nuisance in dealing with the city paying fees and this is unbelievable I had to submit to fingerprints, a humiliating experience which I regret to this day. Basically, the contractors who didn’t bother were never bothered by the city and didn’t have to pay fees nor answer to anyone. I concluded that this ultimately was a way of punishing the “good guys.” I support everything in this article but wish to add that the city needs to incentivize the good guys much more and treat them with respect and not like criminals who need to be fingerprinted.
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We had to be fingerprinted to get an I68 to go back and forth to Canada. To me it was no big deal. I think they fingerprint you for the Nexis pass as well.
I was finger printed a million times: as a student teacher, as a teacher, working for the Dept of State, working in Japan, boarding a plane recently in the EU. It's no big deal to me.
Yes, I agree that there are valid reasons for fingerprinting especially in professions that require it and the situation you are referring to. Those comparisons are apple to apple. The comparison I am making is that I am being fingerprinted while there are contractors who operate illegally and frequently violate building department codes, and we are all in the same market.
We live in Central NJ and my sister had her kitchen renovated. We liked their work so we hired the same company, a small company family business in Piscataway which has been in business for over 30 years. They have many good reviews on yelp and other sites. They were a bit costly but they did a good job and finished the job in a reasonable period of time, about a month. This was a complete kitchen renovation down to the wooden studs. They also did some other work. We were very satisfied.
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I've had great results using Yelp. I pick the top rated 3 or 4, get bids and make the choice. Hard to go wrong...
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If there is such a shortage of skilled tradespeople why doesn't someone start a serious apprenticeship program? They may have phased out shop classes in high schools but these are much needed well-paying jobs.
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because people don't want to do that kind of work perhaps?
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They do in Germany, where there are major, well regulated apprenticeship programs which train a significant percentage of the workforce. Skilled work in Germany is high quality and quite affordable.
Here, I wonder if the building trades unions are still discriminating as much as they did in the past against women and minorities. Those are major apprenticeship programs, with no shortage of applicants.
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Too many "coding" classes teaching students how to write toy web applications.
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If people knew 1/1000th of what an architect or Owner’s rep does, they’d get dizzy in the head. If you’re going to do a reno you need someone on your side that knows what they’re doing or you’re just asking for trouble. Some contractors resist this structure simply because they went to get in and out as quickly and as cheaply as possible, which is never in the best interest of the home owner.
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I am a painting contractor and I always welcome having an architect or designer on the job. A good architect is like the adult in the room,a fair referee who mediates between the homeowner & the work force. He listens to both and educates both. The problems come when the architect/designer has a big ego & thinks he is more important than the homeowner or contractor & then he becomes the child in the room.
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ALL contractors want to get out as cheaply and quickly as possible. The trick is to make sure they do so after doing the work they were hired to do properly.
Architects are renowned for wanting the impossible (e.g. geodesic surfaces, exotic materials, etc. ). They are good at design, not at construction internals / building codes, etc.
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Ask if the contractor will have a porta-john on the job site or will the crew be using your bathroom...or pee in the bushes?
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They're required to by law.
Jobsites are unforgiving places. No heat. Dusty. Usually dark. Drag to work in.
The last thing us contractors like hearing are thinly disguised classist quips like yours while having to deal with this. "Peeing in bushes!!! How dare they those brutes."
Too many of these and we sometimes do our business in a bucket and just leave it in your wall. And thanks for letting us use your bathroom it's an admirable thing to do and much nicer than a port-o-john. We'll lift the seat thanks.
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Under “Do Your Homework” what is failed to be mentioned is for the homeowner to invest some serious time and effort into understanding the processes, materials, and “lingo” of doing remodeling.
Part of the problem is that many homeowners regard building contracting as a simpleminded, rather uncomplicated process, carried out by people whose primary asset is brawn.
Also, remember this rule of thumb: take your best $ estimate and add 90% to it. Take your best estimate of time and double it.
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For me it is quite the opposite. I look at it as something complicated and done by people with expertise in their respective trades.
That's why I feel I can only go so far in understanding the "lingo" as you call it, just as I feel I can only get to a certain level of comprehension when a lawyer or a doctor is explaining something technical to me.
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Like the difference between parallel troweling and spot troweling (a big no-no) in adhering tile to a bathroom wall.
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I disagree with regards to getting references for completed jobs: I work for contracting firm and we almost never get around to getting references from people whom we’ve done work for, despite doing over 150 different houses per year (various projects). It’s not that we do shoddy work, it’s just that we don’t view it as worth our time to contact references, and were willing to take a pass on work if a new homeowner is too great of an inconvenience to us.
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@JoeB: And BECAUSE you don't bother getting references, you have NO idea how much business you may be costing yourself - including desirable high-end or extensive jobs that would be lucrative work for your company. It's just short-sighted, IMO.
Personally, I find that contractors who can't give me references are not detail-oriented enough for me to bother with.
I confess to feeling like a fool: and not because I didnt know any of the suggestions when I hired someone to do work ( licenses), but because I didn't make myself follow them. I let myself 1) pay ahead, before things were done, and 2) fail to specify everything in writing - and allowed the contractor to switch up what was being done. I most regret not hiring a general planner - in my case maybe an engineer - and starting with a defined plan. Maybe taking a martial arts class to toughen up for dealing with contractors might be a good idea as well!
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Or how about rolling up your sleeves and doing some of the work yourself?
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srsly? because everyone has DIY skillz and won't burn their house down when attempting electrical work.
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I don't do work on my home any more than I do my own legal work.
There are people out there who are trained to do these things, they are professionals.
Why take a chance on botching the job when you can have an expert do it right?
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We completed our new home construction last year, on time, under budget and with no change orders. The 2 years of pre planning, my own skill set in every part of build and the fact I had retired and lived on site to oversee everything had a lot to do with it. We were lucky because the lack of skilled labor had our general contractor backed up with more work than they can handle and he still has projects for new homes and remodeling planned for the next 4 years. As it is, I still did all the finish carpentry myself because I could and wanted to do it. My general contractor wants me to unretire after seeing the quality of my work.
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Don't do it. MOVE.
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Phyliss - that's what my friends tell me, too!
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Always hire a busy contractor
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We need better contractor fraud laws, and specially trained
judges to deal with cases.
The current laws severely limit the amount of time homeowner has to discover problems and seek restitution, and too few judges under the complexity of the construction process to effectively rule on contract breaches.
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I find the average homeowner's ignorance of even the most basic construction techniques astounding. Watching the this old house hour is not going to help. The biggest red flag is a contractor that doesn't think pulling permits is necessary. If you ever file a insurance claim the insurance company is going to have a reason to deny your claim.
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Just as important is the contractor’s ability to vet the potential customer! As a friend once said, “No way I can ever work retail.” Small project contractors, licensed or not (another topic) have to gauge whether or not the project makes sense, likely has hidden time killers, or if the customer is some ignorant, neurotic person who can get crazy about a minor blemish. A photo in this article of gates that appear to need a little adjustment is a good example. And architects are also not the best choice for overseeing a project, no matter how pretty their offices are. Wrong skill set. One I hired, a great personable guy, when questioned about what was actually holding up the roof, said that the “contractor would work that out.” Cancelled that one.
Small jobs can be cans of worms, skilled hires can move on, a contractor can get trapped between multiple jobs where a hiccup in one affects the others. And money! Ideally, you pay at the end. Or do as municipalities do, and have a bond or escrow (doubles the cost of small jobs). However, a small contractor has to trust you on the other side of this equation, and in some cities, stiffing anyone possible is taken as a sign of maturity, and might even get you high elected office.
Things will work out best if the customer spends time to understand the project in as much detail as possible, and the contractor has some gut assurance that he or she is not stepping in something foul. Pay for the expensive materials yourself.
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Sweeten.com created a disaster for me. The video in this post shows the result of their work in my apartment: http://joshuaspodek.com/company-review-thesweeten-ruined.
In short: over double the cost, 2-5 times the time estimate, and shoddy work before having to switch from their contractor.
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I received a $150,000 judgment in Superior Court in Walla Walla after I sued the contractor I had hired to renovate my house. He had come highly recommended as someone who had the experience and knowledge to renovate my 1916 Craftsman. What he did was steal funds while I was recovering from a car crash that resulted in a right side brain injury, two spinal surgeries, three knee surgeries and hand surgery. He then filed for bankruptcy.
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One golden rule: hire ONLY women. Especially painting crews. Not only will they do a better job, they will be more welcoming upon your visit every day there is work going on.
It is a simple as that.
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I really consider this to be sexist and otherwise erroneous advice: I don’t think you’ll be able to find many female contractors as the industry is at least 90% mail. You are necessarily limiting yourself to a minuscule talent pool.
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I don't think the postal service will be particularly useful when renovating a house, sorry.
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My female electrician is a testament to this!
1
My wife and I had the most absolutely horrible experience with a Sears HVAC contractor. Aside from being way overcharged they left my house looking like Swiss cheese. After months of arguing and threatening Sears, I settled for a $6000 out of court settlement that I negotiated myself with Sears. I never used Sears again, for anything. After that experience I discovered Sears had a history of hiring by questionable, suspect contractors for all their home improvement projects. It’s one of the many reasons that Sears has gone downhill all these years.
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None of the name brands have their own employees do any of the installation work. It's all subbed out, from roofing and siding, to central a/c and fencing, to windows and storm doors. Even some of the big local companies that only do reno work will use subs to assist on bigger jobs and all smaller jobs. On that note, keep in mind that the crew who is assigned to your job is luck of the draw.
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The poor man's way to avoid this or lessen it is to rent or buy a coop instead of a big condo, home etc.
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If you are interviewing contractors, and they are not interviewing you just as carefully then they are not listening to you.
Be a good decision maker with the best information you can get with help from the team you choose.
If an architect is involved remember that form follows money, and before the plans go to permit get some preliminary costs.
Make payments based on progress.
Realize the workforce has changed; best of luck with your project, it is doable.
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Put a completion date in any contract, with penalties for failure to complete the job on time. I have never had a contractor push back on this. When setting a completion date I include ample leeway for legitimate surprises. I ask the contractor how much time the job will take and then add to it, for example if he says it will take one week, I ask for a completion date of two weeks. If you leave enough margin it is very hard for the contractor to say no, and if he does it is likely an indication that he has too much on his plate. Contingencies can be included, for example, the job will be completed two weeks after delivery of the cabinets. Doing this gives you good leverage if things start to fall apart.
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You may have never had a contractor pushback on this, but I would be very leery of doing business with anyone like you (working for a contractor). It would depend on what kind of timeframe and how the topic is broached.
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Also note that an accurate starting date is even more allusive.
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I hired a high end contractor who finished extensive renovations. However they used a cheap roofer which led to years of leaks and an eventual settlement so I could get it replaced.
My advice is to check the ratings of all subcontractors used
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If the lowest bid by one of your prospective contractors is "too good to be true", that's because it is. Beware of the price enticement. Quality work always costs more. You don't end up with a Cadillac by paying a Ford price. My wife and I learned this the hard way.
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Hiring a seasoned architect will also help ensure a good result.
Detailed, code-compliant plans will leave little to quibble over. A stringent vetting process during the bid phase will whittle away the crooks. And a thorough review of the build-contract to ensure accuracy and completeness of stated scope-of-work will reduce or eliminate change orders. Finally, engage in the permitting process. The building inspector is another set of eyes to check for quality.
A seasoned, licensed professional is the first defense against nightmare projects. Prepare your project well and the crooked contractors will run from it.
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Good advice but also know that if the architect and contractor don't have some level of a relationship, any problems that crop up could result in a lot of finger pointing.
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True, but even the best set of plans can’t outrun a bad contractor. 50% if the time they don’t even look at the drawings.
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I hired a well-respected architect who was long-established in my area who then referred me to his classmate’s ne’er do well contractor son who ended being criminally negligent. Half his subs were also incompetent and the he didn’t pay the other half.
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The best way to find a reliable contractor is through the recommendations of your neighbors. In my borough of homeowners that's easier to do than in other parts of the city but it's worth a try.
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Unless your neighbor is a contractor, he/she will only be able to tell you about the very limited universe of people they've used.
5
Another very important reason to hire a licensed contractor is your homeowners insurance. If anything ever goes wrong in your home and you go to file a claim one of the first things they will ask is if you used a licensed contractor. The next thing they will ask is did you pull permits for the work. Many times unlicensed contractors will try to get you to skip the permitting process to save time and money. Don’t do it, it can lead to huge problems down the road. Also you don’t need a licensed architect for residential work, there are many qualified and experienced designers who can help you through the process as well. Licensed architects are great but also very costly and not legally required for residential work in New York. However permitted building plans and a licensed contractor are legally required.
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