Questions to ask your potential remodeling contractor

Five good ones, five better ones, one best one (by Thorn Jarvis)

Good question #3: How long have you been in business? Past history is one indicator of future expectations. The failure rate of building contractors is staggering, even in normal economic times. Consider your situation if someone does shoddy work in your home (which you may not discover until after they’re paid), and then disappears from the scene. In some cases, the cost of repairing poor work, or the “collateral damage” caused by substandard work, can far exceed the cost of the original shoddy work.

Better question #3: How long have you been in the remodeling business locally? Working on your home while you live there is completely different than building new homes. And blending new renovations with the imperfections of many existing homes requires a finesse that people used to new construction may not possess. The downturn in new home construction has prompted many contractors who used to do new homes to “turn into” remodelers, some literally overnight. It’s a tougher transition than most people realize. And if new home construction picks back up in a few years as expected, will that “overnight remodeler” be available to provide service on the work he did at your home?

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Questions to ask your potential remodeling contractor

Five good ones, five better ones, and one best one (by Thorn Jarvis)

Good question #2: Are you licensed? When you ask this, you need to know that the State of Illinois does not issue licenses for general remodeling contractors. There are, however, licenses for some of the specialized trades that often work on remodeling projects, such as roofing, plumbing, heating/air conditioning, and electrical.

Better question #2: May I see a current copy of your license? And while you’re on that topic, ask What professional associations do you belong to? Trade groups like the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Council, and Guild Quality, help screen out the fly-by-night contractors in a way somewhat similar to licensing. And by the way, the current status of all licenses issued by the State of Illinois can be verified at www.ildpr.com.

(This is the second installment in a six-part series. Stay in touch for the next "good" and "better" questions.)

Questions to ask your potential remodeling contractor

Five good ones, five better ones, and one best one (by Thorn Jarvis)

Good question #1: Are you insured? You know you should ask this. You may not know why. The “why,” in short, is if something bad happens on your job such as an injury or accidental damage to your home, and your builder is not properly insured, the liability could fall on you.

Better question #1: May I see a current copy of your certificate of insurance? If you don’t know what you’re looking at, ask the builder to explain it. It should show evidence of coverage for both worker’s compensation insurance (covering injuries to workers on the job) and commercial liability insurance (covering other hazards such as the risk of damage to your home in the course of doing the work). The certificate may also show automobile coverage or “umbrella” coverage. Look for a large dollar amount of coverage between general liability and umbrella, such as $2 million or more. (Ken Spears Construction carries $4 million.) And don’t compare the value of your project, or your house for that matter, to the coverage limit – there are hazards covered by general liability insurance that could far exceed the value of the project or your house. Coverage limits for workers compensation insurance, however, are set by law, so as long as that coverage is in place, you can consider yourself protected on that front.

Make sure the contractor's coverage is current. In these hard times, some contractors who carried proper insurance in years past have let their policies lapse; and some of these may unscrupulously claim to still have coverage.

(This is the first installment in a six-part series. Stay in touch for the next "good" and "better" questions.)