Carefully Consider the Issues Before You Select a Contractor

When you're hiring a contractor like Family Home Improvement Corp, there are some issues that might be helpful as you consider your choice.

• Longevity of the company
• Type of work the company does
• Size of the company
• Licensing and professionalism
• Workmanship and recommendations

Take a look below and then give us a call at (516) 352-8877 to schedule a free estimate with our licensed, certified, and insured remodeling and general contracting firm.

Longevity of the Company

You must understand that experience does not mean the time the company has been in business. When we see a company advertise 30 years of experience that may well be, but the company itself may only be in business for three months - hardly a company worth considering on a major project.

If the company has not been established for several years, it is doubtful that it has arranged and streamlined all of its procedures and work crew adequately.

We've been in business since 1970!

Type of Work the Company Does

Although this seems obvious enough, it is unfortunate that many homeowners overlook this. Even though a company may be in business for 30 years and can prove it, the company may specialize in some other type of work rather than what you need them for.

We specialize in room remodeling and exterior home improvements.

Size of the Company

This is a hotly debated issue. Many customers that we have helped over the years used to believe that dealing with a smaller firm is best. Their reasoning was as follows: Smaller company = lower overhead = lower cost to me. Smaller company = more personalized attention to my project and my needs. Smaller company = more care in the work they do.

But a major factor not often considered when dealing with companies smaller than Family Home Improvement is the risk involved. Generally, smaller companies are owned by an individual, with virtually no back-office support to help in case something goes wrong.

• What if something happens to this guy? A car accident, a vacation, a broken leg, a death in the family?
• Will my project start on time like he promised? 
• What if something happens in the middle of my project? Will it continue, or am I just left to my own devices? 
• Will the contractor return to work at all? 

These human conditions, unfortunately, are the most common problems with hiring a small company.

Licensing and Professionalism

We all know and have been advised that you should always deal with a licensed contractor. However, what you may not know is that a license does not ensure you get a proper job. In the State of New York, there are virtually no requirements to become a licensed home improvement contractor.

There are many organizations, such as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), that train and educate the industry to become Certified Remodelers. By attending and passing these instructions a contractor can show his professionalism.

We believe that a homeowner should only deal with professionals like us who have credentials from at least three valid organizations and can prove it!

Workmanship and Recommendations

Undoubtedly, one of the most important aspects of choosing a remodeling company is the workmanship that they can provide.

Many homeowners try to evaluate this by getting two or three references from the contractor. Although this practice is widely recommended by many pundits, we respectfully disagree with this approach.

If you ever heard the story of a homeowner who hired the same guy who did a beautiful job next door, but then did a lousy job for him, you will understand our point of view.

There are at least three reasons why we feel this way:

• When your neighbor recommends a contractor to you, the neighbor very often doesn’t know himself if the job was done properly. Very often the recommendation is too recent. The job is not even a year old. Show me that same roof five years from now, or the same bath, or dormer...you get the idea.
• Even the worst contractors out there can find three or four jobs they did well...possibly even his aunt's, uncle's or cousin's job that he did not even do!
• The job next door, or the ones shown to you, may have been done by the same company, but by different work crews who are no longer with the company. Many of the smaller companies hire sub-contractors, and some of them even try to find the cheapest ones.

We believe that if all of the other issues we mentioned above are taken into account, then the workmanship will naturally follow.

Questions for the Contractor and for Yourself

We have listed some of the questions that you should ask a company when interviewing them.

• Do I have to be home during the work?
• Who supervises the job?
• Is someone always there?
• Do you use sub-contractors?

And then there are questions that you should be asking yourself.

• When I called was there an answering machine during business hours? (If so, the company may not be as big as you think.)
• When I called were they courteous and responsive?
• Was the appointment made in a reasonable time period?
• Did the company show up on time for the estimate?
• Did the company answer any questions that I had as to the project or give me advice?

Just these simple things are all that is needed to start the process of comparing one company to another.