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How to hire a contractor
Practical advice for hiring a contractor.
It’s a sunny day and you’re sitting in a chair outside on the deck, reading a book. Amid the sounds of nature, you hear a loud crack, followed by a sudden jolt as the chair leg punctures the underbelly of the deck. Your once admirable deck is now a tottering structure of rotting wood.
It’s time to call a contractor. But it isn’t always easy finding a reliable person to do the work in the manner you expect. From getting estimates for the job and finalizing every detail in the contract, you may soon discover that the person you hire can make or break the project.
WHERE TO START
Finding the right contractor can feel a lot like finding a lost watch at the beach. Le Doan, a senior research consultant at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Halifax, says to look close to home. Ask friends and family for referrals, she says. Not only could they offer someone reputable but they might also mention who to stay away from. “You can search online for your local homebuilders’ association,” she says. “It will list reputable companies in specialized areas.”
Jill Atkinson, director of communications with the Better Business Bureau in Halifax, suggests checking the bureau’s database for reports on potential contracting companies. “If they’re not registered with the bureau, then they’re most likely not a registered company,” she says.
INSURANCE AND LICENSE
Hiring a licensed company should be a priority. Ask for the contractor’s business license number and check it with your local licensing office for authentication.
Guy Allain, owner of AJ and Sons Allain Ltd. in Moncton, New Brunswick, says all contractors need insurance. “If someone gets hurt on your property, your house insurance does not cover people you hire to work on your house,” says Allain, whose family-owned business has been around for nearly 35 years. “If he doesn’t have Workers’ Compensation or say he damages the house, how are you going to fix those things? That’s what people get the most trouble with.”
Make sure you see the actual physical ticket or form—don’t take anyone’s word for it.
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS
After you’ve found a few reputable insured and licensed companies (Doan recommends narrowing it down to at least three), make a wish list for your contractors to fulfill. “Interview them,” Doan says. “Usually you will be able to determine after a few interviews whether or not you’ll be able to work with the person. If you’re asking for detailed information and they aren’t answering your questions…be concerned.”
For bigger projects, consider hiring a contractor who is also a project manager. “He’s going to take care of the project and he takes over the responsibility of making sure everything is done properly,” Allain says.
Check references. Ask the contractor for a list, particularly of previous customers who hired the contractor for similar projects. But don’t stop at a phone call—ask if you can come see the work. If customers are wary of this, it could be a sign that they are uncomfortable recommending the work, says Allain.
COMPARING APPLES WITH APPLES
After the candidates have your detailed plan and wish list, it’s time to talk money. But don’t just get estimates from one company—aim for at least three. If they’ve all seen the same plan and wish list, Doan says the estimates you receive will be “comparing apples with apples.”
The cheapest option isn’t always the best deal. Contractors could undercut the work or use cheap materials. “You need a comparison of companies and what they can offer and what they are charging, so that you can make an informed decision,” Atkinson says.
A reputable company will give you a spec that breaks down what they are doing for the amount they are quoting. “If a contractor gives you a lump sum—bang, that’s that—you shouldn’t even consider using that contractor,” Allain says. “That opens too many loop holes.” His estimates are always about four pages long and include a cost breakdown.
When Heather Mortimer wanted to build a six-metre-by-three-metre multi-level deck onto her Lower Sackville home, she hired her neighbour instead of a contractor. “We were paying him by the hour and not by the job, which was really dumb,” she recalls. “But you know them, right? So you think it’ll be different.”
Hiring a retired man with no licence and his team of retired workers, Mortimer was shelling out money for materials about three times a day, without ever seeing a receipt. “We have a hardware store at the bottom of the hill but he wouldn’t go to that one…he had to go to one farther away,” she says, adding that this fact made the building process extremely long.
And extremely expensive. Finally, Mortimer and her husband were fed up and asked for receipts. “For one purchase, he charged us three times for that same purchase and for a couple others, he charged us twice,” she says. “In end, we hadn’t finished paying him, so we stopped and ended up at about even. But I would always get the price by the job. Never ever do what I did. That was just too casual.”
THE CONTRACT
It’s important to get everything in writing—not just your quote and timeframes. “You want it detailed, word-for-word because what you don’t want to do is assume something,” says Doan. “[Don’t] assume that the painting and the clean up is included in the contract because it’s almost like common sense. But if it’s not in writing, then you might have an issue down the road.”
If it’s a large project, changes may surface that you must include in an updated contract. “You want to have these change orders done all in writing so then you are not surprised with what the additional cost will be,” Doan says.
DURING THE BUILDING
Keep changes to a minimum to ensure a good relationship with your contractor throughout the building process. “When you start making lots of changes to the original plan, that’s where communication problems can arise,” Allain says. Have your contractor update the schedule on a regular basis. If you look out your window expecting to see half of a deck, but instead only see a frame, refer back to the schedule. “Perhaps it was raining so the work couldn’t be done,” Doan says.
Following all of this advice may still not protect you from creating a contracting horror story. Doan says the best way of maintaining a sense of security during the building process is placing a holdback on a pre-determined sum of money for a pre-determined amount of time after the project is finished.
“Once the project is completed, a holdback is that period of waiting time—about a month—where you hold onto that money and release it provided that you are happy with the work,” Doan says. The amount can be five or 10 per cent or a lump sum.
Mortimer’s best piece of advice? Don’t hire under the table and don’t hire friends. “They treated me like the little woman, like I didn’t know what I was talking about,” she says. “I’d never hire anyone you know—no matter what. It was just a very uncomfortable feeling.”
Must-ask questions for contractors
Source: Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation
- Will you use your own crew for the work or subcontract all or part of the job?
- What work are you/your subcontractors licensed to do (i.e. electrical, plumbing)?
- Have you done a similar job before?
- What work schedule will you follow?
- How and when will you clean up?
- What kind of warranty do you offer and what does it cover?
- Do you carry Workers’ Compensation and liability insurance?
- Will you take out all required permits (i.e. building, plumbing or electrical)?
Fly by night: What the experts think about hiring under the table
“If they don’t finish the job, the contractor could deny they ever did the work and there is nothing to prove he did it or not.” —Guy Allain, president and owner of AJ and Sons Allain Ltd.
“There is rarely a paper trail when you hire under the table…If something happened during the building process and you want to take them to small-claims court, you would not have any evidence.” —Jill Atkinson, Better Business Bureau
“You run the risk of hiring unskilled workers. In the end, you may not get what you wanted and there is no warranty on the work.” —Le Doan, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Get it in writing
- Company name, address and contact information, as well as yours
- GST numbers
- Detailed description of work
- Drawings, if appropriate
- Down payments you make
- A clause stating that work will conform to the requirements of all applicable codes, such as building, safety and fire codes
- Agreement on who (homeowner or contractor) is responsible for all permits
- Start and stop dates
- Warranty information
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