Choosing your contractor can be a daunting
task to say the least. We suggest you go through this list of
recommended questions for your Contractor interviews.
1. How many years has your company
been in business? If the contractor doesn't have at least three
years experience building decks he may not be able to perform the job to
a professional level. Your contractor may lack the skills to keep the
business afloat. What will your warranty be worth if your contractor
goes out of business? You should feel comfortable with the integrity of
the company and not just the sales person or carpenter.
2. Do they have a business license?
If your contractor doesn't have a business license, then they haven't
completed the appropriate paperwork to obtain one. These are companies
that you may not want to do business with for liability reasons. A
business license is important because it validates the legitimacy of the
business.
3. Do they have proper insurance?
Proper insurance includes general liability and workman's compensation
insurance when required. North Carolina requires that any company with 3
or mores employees carry Workers Compensation Insurance. This is very important for your protection as a homeowner. If
the contractor does not hold these insurances, you may be liable for
property damage and worker injury on your property. Some areas of the
country do not require contractors to carry workman's compensation
insurance. In most cases its because a company has too few employees and
can provide a waiver of homeowner-liability instead. Ask to have a
certificate sent to you by the insurance company or call the listed
agent on the certificate to see if the contractors insurance is paid up
to date.
4. Do they have references? You
should ask for a list of at least 25 people that the contractor has
worked for. This will allow you to contact at least 10 references in one
reference verification session. You should ask their past customers a
few questions such as: When did they work for you? Would you hire them
again? Did they respect your property? Were they persistent with a daily
schedule? Was the quality of work good? Could I see the work performed?
5. Do I get a written quote?
This means a solid figure that the contractor will commit to in the
contract to finishing the work, not an estimate. You would like a
detailed quote on the specified work. If the contractor isn't willing to
put in the time as a professional up front by providing a detailed
quote, then they may not be professional with your project. The quote
should contain the following details at a minimum:
Construction details: Grade
of materials, size of materials, type or species of materials, joist
and beam spans, connectors (screws, nails, bolts), foundation sizes,
specified construction for railings, benches and stairs.
Payment schedule: No
contractor should ask for more than half the amount of the project
up front before starting the job. Most ask for a deposit when the
work is first started. You should pay your contractor within 24-48
hours of the contract completion. These are not large corporations,
and many contractors can go out of business if too many of their
customers withhold payment. The success of their business depends on
a positive cash flow.
A drawing of the project:
You should get at least a two dimensional drawing of the proposed
deck to scale. You'll want to make sure they are on the same page as
you with what you are wanting to have built. You definitely don't
want any surprises at the end of the project.
Parking & Deliveries: It will be
important to determine where the contractors will park and where the
material deliveries will be placed. You may not want a truck to drop the
lumber package on a new driveway. If the lumber will be set on your
lawn, you should know that if a lumber package sits on a lawn for more
than 4-5 days the grass will start to die. You'll also need to determine
which side of the house you want the contractors to carry the materials
around to the project. Also important is to let the contractor know if
they can park or drive on the lawn if this type of access is needed to
get to the project.
Utility Repairs: Make sure you
and your contractor know what utilities run inside the house behind the
deck connection to avoid any major problem such as water lines, gas,
sewer drain, and electrical damage. Determine who will deal with the
utilities if they are cut or broken during construction.
Permits: It is not uncommon to have
the homeowner be responsible for obtaining any and all permits from the
local municipalities. In some cases the contractor will obtain the
permit as part of the contract. If the job is started without a permit, then the
fines are usually doubled and in some cases the structure has to be
removed. Don't take any chances even if this is a rare occurrence in
your area.
Clean Up: Make sure the
contractor includes the cleanup of all scraps and excess materials when
the job is finished to complete the contract.
Communication: Make sure that
you have the phone number of the person in charge of the job. The job
foreman should keep the homeowner updated daily on the progress of the
job.
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