Check out this website. http://www.diyornot.com/
For the novice, it gives a rough estimate of the cost of doing home improvement jobs yourself (in case you wish to tackle a kitchen or bath remodel) or are hiring a Pro to do it. I personally feel that their cost estimates are way on the low side for both DIY and PRO, but at least it’s a starting point. If you are going to hire a “Pro”, here are a the 12 steps to remember.
1. When choosing a Pro, don’t be shy about talking with friends and neighbors about your project to see if they know someone that can be referred to you. If a contractor does a job properly, he wants the referral business and may often send a referral thank you gift for it. If you absolutely don’t know anyone that has had a project done or knows a contractor in your area, check out these organizations for referrals: National Kitchen and Bath Association, www.nkba.org; National Association of the Remodeling Industry, www.nari.org and the Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org.
2. Ask to see their contractor’s license and check them out on your state’s website, if applicable, as some states don’t require this unfortunately.
3. Make sure they are licensed, bonded and insured. Insured means adequately for the type of work you are hiring them for. The amount of insurance they carry is essentially self-reported/estimated. Some may say they aren’t doing jobs over a certain dollar amount until that job is before them and their insurance coverage then is inadequate. If it’s a big job, look into a Performance and Payment Bond which insures the money is there to complete the job in case the original contractor goes bankrupt and his vendors and employees will be paid. Some states have a limited amount Recovery Fund that a consumer can get some of their money back. If your contract amount is over your state’s reimbursement limit, seriously consider requiring your contractor to get a Performance and Payment Bond.
4. Ask them to see pictures of similar jobs they have completed. Ask them if you can visit at least one possibly two (within last 6 mos to a year) completed projects and a current job site to talk with the owners and also see the level of organization and cleanliness on the job site that this contractor provides and allows. This is a great opportunity to gauge whether you might work well with this contractor pro and also gauge if what the sales person has been telling you is reality or fantasy.
5. As with seeing job sites, have them provide at least three recent referrals from people with similar jobs to yours. (Not just any referrals)
6. Be actively involved in selecting fixtures and materials that will go into your project but always be aware that there are many, many well known brands and some not so well known brands available that are more than adequate for most homes projects. Also be aware that both types of brands can seriously impact (up or down) the project cost. Make sure you are getting a quality brand that will last and is not cheaply made with less than quality materials or manufacturing methods. If you’ve never heard of the brand, Google it yourself to ensure it has at least a good “web” reputation. Your contractor knows the solid brands out there and they do typically cost more but not always.
7. Most brands also guarantee their products that should be honored by the contractor. Just be aware that lifetime guarantees on plumbing products don’t include the labor to make that repair. The plumbing companies will gladly send you the replacement parts to install yourself or you hire a contractor to do it for you once the labor portion of your warranty is expired. One thing about toilet warranties, it only covers the porcelain bowl and not the internal working parts for the lifetime guarantee. That’s why some of them say it’s a “Limited Lifetime Guarantee”. But get a written guarantee for the project being performed and understand what is and is not covered.
8. Try to get as much into the initial contract written estimate as you can which should provide to you a good up-front estimate of the project cost. For most projects, you’ll get an idea of the cost range from two to no more than four estimates. Don’t be afraid of contractors requiring a design retainer fee up front to do this estimate, just get estimates from the contractors not charging first. Many times it can mean that they are busy, serious contractors that don’t want to waste time. This fee also should be reasonable and reflective of the complexity of your project and will not fully pay for the time it takes to put a comprehensive estimate together. This fee though is not always indicative that the contractor is reputable and/or knows what they are doing.
Complex projects include kitchen, bathroom, whole home remodels, basement renovations and room additions to name a few. Google “Cost vs Value” report for 2010 or 2009 for the latest nationwide general estimates of what these complex projects have averaged throughout the country by region. This will be a good indicator of what cost range your project is likely to fall under. The fee should include a comprehensive estimate to include the name and brands of the products being used in the project and a computer generated drawing from many angles of what the project will look like when it is finished. Don’t pay if you don’t get this and you aren’t allowed to make changes without additional cost up to a number limit to the changes, I recommend three meetings to discuss any changes at each or moving forward with the project with them. Don’t expect to be able to keep the drawings and written estimate if you don’t go with them. They should be available for your review on request either in your home or at their offices.
9. Once the estimate is completed, try to get the contractor to give you a guarantee on the price quoted. If you both did your jobs and the estimate is thorough, he should have no problem doing this. It does not include any changes you wish to add or make later.
10. Let’s get back to my initial statement in #8 above, getting as much into the initial contract which includes Change meetings to come to an agreed upon price for your project. If you do this and both your contractor and you have included as much as you want to get done within the cost estimate budget then you should not see many, if any at all, “Change Orders” for additional work. These Change Orders invariably significantly add to the cost of most projects.
Mostly, this is due to not being able to order materials in a timely manner and have to expedite their delivery to try to fit the build schedule. Also, it changes the original schedule so the crews or work teams have to be shuffled around to get this additional work completed. Sometimes, it is as you might suspect to hike the price because the contractor can sense you really want this done. This is not done by most contractors but happens. Just include all requirements up front and you won’t have to worry about it.
11. Have the contractor include the start and end dates of the project right on the contract that you will be signing to include the payment schedule. I have heard many “experts” say to give no more than 10% up front. That’s fine. But have a schedule of payments in writing. Usually, a no more than 10% up front recommendation is for a major remodeling or build project. It is perfectly ok to also have a payment schedule of 50/40/10, 40/40/20 or even 35/35/15/15 depending on your projects length and scope of work, i.e. your project’s complexity. It would mean 50% up front, 40% when the work starts and 10% upon satisfactory completion of the project. Some people hesitate with so much up front but the contractor is acting as your creditor and will be paying for all the material and labor to do the project…up front. Many “Big Box” retailers require full payment on their in-house credit card with deferred payment for 6 months at 29% interest. Or a full payment on your own credit card to get the mileage points but you are paying a certain amount right way and getting charged interest on the full amount.
12. If you complete all of these steps, your project should start and be completed with very minimal issues. Remember, I didn’t say, “No” issues. Things do come up, usually at the wrong time but if proper planning is done it’s usually not the contractors fault. Many times it happens to be a vendor issue. But that is another discussion. The contractor will most always try to mitigate the impact to your project when something “comes up”. Good luck in your project.
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“Carpe Diem!”
