Choosing a Kitchen Contractor
10 Tips for Choosing a Kitchen Contractor
As you formulate your vision for your new kitchen, be sure to take notes, ask questions and discuss everything with your spouse or partner. Unless you are exceptionally handy and knowledgeable, you are going to eventually have to choose a contractor to help you with your kitchen. An experienced contractor can save you time, money, energy and perhaps even your sanity! Here are some things to consider when choosing your contractor:
- Referrals: Has the contractor been recommended to you by someone you know? Most of our business and the business of experienced reputable contractors comes from word-of-mouth referrals from other satisfied customers. If you don’t know someone who can offer a strong referral or recommendation, then look for. . .
- Testimonials or references: Can the contractor you are considering provide you with testimonials from satisfied customers or offer you the names of references you can contact to verify the quality of their work?
- Work samples: Look to a contractor who can show you photos of their work. Or perhaps they can even introduce you to a satisfied customer who would not mind showing you the kitchen the contractor has completed for them.
- Commitment: Choose a contractor who is committed to starting a job on time and continuing with it until the work is finished. We have all heard horror stories of a rogue contractor who demolishes a kitchen, disappears, and leaves a homeowner with no kitchen for months.
- Guarantees: Reputable contractors will offer you materials that come with guarantees from the manufacturers. Be sure to ask about that. In addition, quality contractors who are confident in the quality of their work should always be willing to offer you a guarantee on their workmanship. At Potter Contracting, we proudly offer a full 10-year workmanship guarantee on all new work.
- Owner-operated: We are biased, but we believe that contracting firms that are operated by their owner provide the highest level of accountability to the homeowner. Choose a contractor who will give you his or her cell phone and who is available to answer your questions, come to your home, and help you through every step of the process.
- Professional care: A kitchen remodeling contractor is going to spend a lot of time in your home during the work period. Be sure to ask about the care they will give your home. We always use tarps to protect other areas of the home from dirt and damage that could occur during demolition and construction. Ask what care a contractor will take during the job. And be sure to ask about cleanup procedures once your new kitchen is complete.
- Licensing, insurance, permits and contracts: Any contractor worth his or her salt will be appropriately licensed, fully insured, and capable of working with inspectors and municipal authorities to get contracts and pass inspections. They will also offer you a professional contract with clear and reasonable payment schedules. Our payment schedules, for example are 25 percent due upon contract signing. This gets you in our schedule, materials ordered and permit applications filled out and delivered to your municipality when applicable. Then 25 percent is due when work begins and materials have been delivered to your home. We then require 25 percent due when work is half complete, and the final 25 percent due when work is complete.
- Experience: How long has the contractor been in business? Years of experience — longevity in the business — mean a lot. In the 25+ years that Potter Contracting has been in business there is very little we have not seen, experienced and worked through.
- Do you like the prospective contractor? As funny as it may sound, you are going to have a lot of dealings with your contractor. Do you like him or her? Is he or she pleasant, neat and professional? Are you going to feel comfortable having him or her around and working together for awhile?
