PBM Home Improvement

By: Matthew Sean Lewellen of PBMHI

Which Contractor Should I Call?

That can be a very tough question to answer. And if you haven’t had work done in recent years or know of a reputable contractor, you may not know where to start. One of the most common methods is to speak with friends and family. Find out who others have used in the past and get some feedback about their work and services. There is a common flaw in this however. Many opinions vary based on personal preferences and time always changes everything. What might be considered good work for a fair price five years ago may be sub-par construction today and way under or overpriced today. Time changes everything. Our main suggestion in effectively choosing a contractor today is to do your homework, do your “own” research. Do not just listen to what your neighbor might say, and don’t get a phone number from your barista at the local coffee shop. It could likely be his cousin and he’ll swear that he does the best work around for the best price. Shop around, please. You may be considering completely remodeling your home or putting in an addition. And projects of that magnitude can cost $5,000 to over $100,000. You shop around for a new car, so shop around for a contractor. I cannot stress this enough. Too many times I have listened to stories from homeowners as I’m doing an estimate about how a contractor charged way too much and didn’t do the work expected. How projects are half finished, or falling apart only years later. When asked what happened, almost every time the homeowner would tell me that they hastily hired a contractor and sometimes even rushed them to get the work done. I get it, you want the job done quickly, and you don’t want our home a construction site, a mess for long periods of time. But if you are going to get a substantial loan from a bank to remodel, and spend years paying it off, wouldn’t you want a completed project of outstanding results to last a long time, even if it takes some time to complete the job right.

When calling a construction company, contractor, or handyman for the first time there are certain points that I suggest going through in the initial conversation like: How long have they been in business? Do they have insurance, and how much? Do they work on weekends and nights, or just daytime? Can they come out and do a free estimate? Do they speak the lingo, talk the talk? Are they friendly, informative, and patient in the conversation, or do they want to get off the phone as quickly as possible? Now the trust part comes in.

There is no getting around one fact here; ultimately you are going to have to trust someone. Even if they have done work for all your neighbors and are highly praised, they are about to enter your home spending your money and you are going to have to trust that you will get the result you expect. The question is who to trust and who not to. I highly recommend meeting in person with a potential contractor. Have them come to your home, preferably when both you and your husband/wife are together. Never alone. A potentially good contractor will be excited to come out to meet you and upon arrival, he will want to hand you a business card or flyer, something with information about the company and such. Presentable and informative is an important point to look for. Does he seem to know what he is talking about, or is he just nodding his head and saying, “yes, we do that, ok I can do that, etc.” or is he explaining in some detail what he intends to do and take a tape measure out, writing some notes on a clipboard, even taking photos of work areas with your permission of course. I have received a large percentage of contracts of the estimates I have gone out to do for PBM because of my interest in details, knowledge of the potential work needing done, excitement to make the customers home great, detailed communication with the customer, and always eye contact and genuine interest in their needs and wants. When the time comes for me to present an estimate to a potential customer I make sure that it is in detail and that each phase or aspect of the project is broken down into price and time frames. I want my customer to know where their money is going. Never accept an estimate that would say, –Paint entire home – ($8,000)-. Sure it may cost that to do the job, but I know I want to know what that $8,000 gets me. You want to see the estimate broken down into details like: prep work cost, prime cost, paint cost, material cost, equipment cost, clean-up cost, etc. And time frames. Will this be done in one day or two weeks? And why. Look for all these aspects when choosing a contractor. I know there is a lot to absorb in this article, but again, research is so important when you are spending your hard earned money on the place that you call home.

About estimates:

I highly recommend that you never pay for an estimate from a contractor. And try to never give a deposit in advance, prior to the start day of the project. It is normal that a deposit is requested on the day that the work is beginning. I would show up on day one of a project with materials needed to start the project paid for out of my own pocket, then at that time, the start of the project, collect a 40% deposit of the job estimate as we begin work for that day. Not all businesses operate that way, but that is the preference at PBMHI. There have been very large scale projects that required tens of thousands of dollars in materials and the customer did not want to be involved in the process at all. So they gave me a substantial check to purchase materials and get the project started. But again, that is a rare occurrence. If a contractor shows up and does an estimate and is asking for cash that day and says he’ll be back in a few days to start the project, be weary. Look them up to see if they are a real, reputable company. Look up their license number too. Mention what I said I do. Tell them when they show up that day to start work that you will gladly produce a deposit and they should produce a contract.

About contracts:

They are not required and about half of the projects we do require a contract. Sometimes by the customer’s request, and others by ours. It is a safeguard to have a contract to protect both the home owner and the contractor. If I’m coming to paint a few rooms in a home and it will only take a day or two and it’s a $1300 project, very rarely will a contract be involved.

About contractors needing more money before project is complete:

Occasionally a contractor may request more monies of the balance as a project progresses whether it is to pay for more materials or to cover labor costs. This may occur if a project takes a long period of time to complete or it is a substantially large financed project. By the time this is requested and you’re paying more of the balance to the contractor, much of the work is completed and you’ve gotten your money’s worth. Be cautious if a contractor keeps asking for more money but little work is being done all in a short period of time. Too many horror stories are out there of unfinished jobs and running contractors. That is a big reason for shopping around for a reputable contractor that you feel you can trust.

In conclusion, use discretion and shop around. Be cautious but not paranoid, and try to keep using the same company that you chose and can trust.

-Matthew Lewellen

5/5/2017