Posted by George Salter on Fri, Oct 16, 2009 @ 09:45 AM
Before you start any remodeling project, make sure you are choosing the right contractor by asking the right questions. You want to make sure your contractor is licensed, qualified, and experienced. If the contractor was referred to you by someone you know and trust, you feel pretty safe, right? But what if something goes wrong? Are you protected?
Here are three important things you need to ask your contractor before you sign on the dotted line:
1) About subcontracted work: How much of the work will be subcontracted? Who are they? How long have you worked with these subcontractors? Do they have their own liability and workers compensation insurance?
2) About insurance: Can you provide a certificate of insurance? Do you have adequate limits of bodily injury and property damage liability insurance for yourself and your subcontractors? Do you have workers compensation insurance covering all of your employees, and covering subcontractors if they do not have their own insurance?
2) About warranties: Do you warranty your work? What is covered, and what is not covered? How long is the warranty in effect?
If you don't get satisfactory answers to these questions, you might want to reconsider which contractor you hire. You might be tempted to overlook these important protections because of a low price. But in the long run, hiring the wrong contractor can cost you far more than you save.