How can I find a reliable renovation contractor?
How to find a good contractor? I believe this is everyone's biggest concern before a renovation. If you are renovating a new home, or renovating an old one, what are the things you need to pay attention to?
Different types of disputes often arise in home renovation, such as money disputes, delays of project completion, bad quality and etc. Some owners even have to go to court to file a disputes against contracting company. If you want the renovation process to be smooth and have satisfactory results, the owner should discuses and negotiate the following renovation details with the contracting company / Interior designer before the project begins, and clearly list them in the agreement and conceptual plans , as to avoid any misunderstandings and disputes.
- Confirm the scope of demolition:
Some renovation are not to renovate the whole house, but to deal with part of the area. Therefore, before starting the project, it is necessary to specify the scope of demolition and retention of the unit, so as to avoid the accidental demolition of the part that does not need to be renovated at the start of the project.
- Repeatedly confirm pricing by units and measurements:
Home decoration is determined by the size of the unit, even if the size is only a small difference, it also has a great impact on the price. In order to avoid losses due to the construction price, the contracting company must supervise the measurement of the size of the renovation area (ie the "scale"), and confirm the size of the unit on the spot.
- Some people choose partial renovation. Before starting the project, customer must negotiate the scope of work with the contracting company, and also supervise the sizing process:
Not understanding and knowing the details of the project cost by the customer is one of the reasons why many projects lead to a dispute. The customer is dissatisfied with the unreasonable charges for additional costs by the contracting company, such as special request of construction practice, overtime costs, and the additional cost of engineering problems to deal with building problems, etc. Therefore, Before signing the construction agreement, remember to understand the details of additional charges .
- Pay attention to material quality:
Another problem that is often criticized in a renovation projects is that the finished products are not up to standard - the decoration materials are not the same type of materials listed in the agreement. It may be that the contracting company used substandard goods, in order to earn the profit difference, and that makes the overall quality of the finished product not acceptable by the customer and even some home safety issues may arise. Therefore, the owner should understand the quality of the decoration materials before starting the construction, and confirm whether the materials are consistent with the agreement during the construction period. The agreement should clearly list the decoration materials and quantities, and check whether the inferior materials are used during the renovation process.
5. Reserved furniture sizes:
Some renovation projects will include tailor-made furniture services, and some owners will customize their own furniture with another sub-contractor. However, before the renovation begins, remember to reserve the spacing and position of the tailor-made furniture, in case there are decoration finishes that can affect the installation of the furniture.
- Pay attention to the location and the quantity of utilities:
Before a renovation, remember to discuses and negotiate with the contracting company about the location of water and electricity supplies, such as the location of basins, zinc pans, faucets, electric switches, power outlets etc., because too high or too low will cause inconvenience to the residents, and it will take a lot of time to modify afterwards. So it is always a thumbs up to clarify the location before proceeding.
In addition, many renovation works include the replacement of electrical wiring and switches. are billed by the contracting company after the renovation is completed. We have heard many cases of the contracting company charges thousands of dollars per switches, which makes the owner taking a big loss of the renovation. Therefore, before the renovation, it is necessary to discuss the number of electrical switches with the contracting company, and specify the quantity and prices of each electrical switches in the agreement before the project begins.
- Previous job references and Testimonials:
If you are still clueless just relying on the reviews, you might as well pay attention to the photos or videos of the contracting companies previous references. You can understand whether the contractor is skilled, and then decide whether to approach the contracting company.
- In addition to positive comments and reviews, the contractor past job reference can also reflect his craftsmanship level:
Some contractors may have a certain reputation, but they may not be the person who participate in the construction in person. Therefore, when choosing a contracting company, it is also necessary to understand the participation of the contractor , in order to ensure the quality of the overall renovation project.
