How to Find a Good General Contractor

Why a General Contractor is Necessary

When you find a reliable roofing contractor with reliable services, you also find invaluable peace of mind.

Whether you’re building a new home, remodeling your current home, or even getting a new roof installed, general contractors coordinate all of the moving parts to ensure a smooth construction process.

From finding and managing subcontractors, processing supplier payments, communicating with an architect, purchasing materials for the job, general contractors are there to help with every step of the project. An excellent general contractor not only deals legally, fairly, and honestly but also is easy to cooperate with and will complete the project to the end.

Therefore, finding the right general contractor for you and your project is the key to the successful completion of the work.

Finding a General Contractor

Define What Services You Need

The first step is to define the project accurately before contacting any contractors. For instance, are you planning on starting a large remodeling project for your home? Think about all of the potential details of the remodel (i.e. new bedrooms, tearing down walls, creating additions, etc.) You will use those details to help align you with a general contractor that offers those services.

Although most general contractors are able to handle a wide variety of services, most choose to specialize in a smaller subset of services that they are experts in. You can typically see which areas of expertise your local general contractors specialize in by looking at their website. For example, if you plan on adding a deck to your home, you may want to find a general contractor that explicitly mentions they offer decking services on their website. Do you need a new roof installed or repairs to your current roof? Look on the contractors’ website to see if they offer roofing services.

Most contractor websites will have a “services” page where they display the services they are experts in. Another place you can look for on their website is an “our work” section where you will see photos of jobs they have completed and get an idea of the quality of work they perform as well as what type of services they have been doing for clients.

Get Recommendations

Recommendations from friends, family, and neighbors are one of the best ways to find good general contractors. Start by asking a family member, friend, or neighbor who you think may have hired a contractor in the past and ask them about their experience with the contractor they worked with. Questions you may want to ask are: What work did they do for you? How long did it take them to complete it? How much did it cost? Would you hire them again?

What is a “Good” General Contractor?

Look at the general contractors’ online reputation. When you perform a search for the company’s name or the company’s owner’s name online, do any negative links appear in the search results that come up for them? What is their rating on Google? What is their rating on the BBB.org website? What are people saying about them on social media sites like Facebook? Doing online research for a general contractor is a great way to get an idea of which companies you should immediately rule out and which ones you may want to follow up with in-person or over the phone.

A good general contractor should also have a clean record with the state and local licensing boards. If they do have a record, check to see how many negative issues there are against them, if they are concerning, and that all of the negative issues, big or small, have been resolved. Due to the nature of the industry, it is not uncommon for even the best general contractors to be the subject of lawsuits. Therefore, if you see that a contractor was involved in a lawsuit, it should not immediately be regarded as a red flag. You can usually see if there are any outstanding demands on a contractor’s bond by visiting state and local licensing sites.

When you meet with a general contractor, they should listen attentively to your needs, goals, and vision. The meeting should be a dialogue in which both parties exchange questions and ideas regarding the project. One of the values ​​of hiring a contractor is that you pay for their expertise, so if they challenge you on certain ideas and don’t agree with everything you say, it’s probably a good sign they aren’t just trying to say whatever you want to hear so they can take your money.

Lastly, a good general contractor will be upfront and honest about all regulatory issues related to your project. This could include building codes, permits, inspections, zoning, and more. These issues are typically an important part of most construction or remodeling projects.

What is a “Bad” General Contractor

One of the easiest ways to see if a general contractor is “bad” or not is to look up their reviews online. Check places like Google, Yelp, BBB, Facebook, and other similar sites. If they have multiple negative reviews and low star ratings from the general public, that is a huge red flag.

Another way you can check to see if a general contractor is “bad” is to check your local state licensing board. They keep up-to-date listings of contractor licenses and let you know if the contractor is in good standing or not.

General contractors are very busy people and are typically handling many different client projects at the same time. Therefore, being late for an appointment or even missing an appointment is not an immediate indication of a bad contractor. However, if the contractor is continually late for the first few appointments or does not return your calls, you can be safe to assume that the contractor will continue to do so for the entirety of your project, should you hire them.

When you meet or talk with a contractor and they talk negatively about past clients, employees, or past jobs, that should be an instant indication of a bad contractor. A good general contractor will remain a professional from beginning to end.

If the general contractor wants to begin work on your project without signing a written agreement between the two of you first, this is a huge red flag. With the exception of the first few introduction meetings, your relationship with the general contractor should be defined by the contract that both of you sign. If at any point during the project there are changes, be sure to get them added to a newly updated contract, in writing, as change orders.

Lastly, door-to-door contractors who show up unsolicited often run scams to try and quickly pressure you to contact your insurance company and sign a contract with them. You should never feel pressured or rushed into a contract or getting work performed.

Do You Need a Good General Contractor?

We hope this post has helped you get an idea of things to look for when selecting a good general contractor in your area. Hiring a general contractor can be a daunting task but just remember to take your time and do your research. Rushing into a contract with a bad contractor will only cost you a lot of time and money in the long run, so spend the extra time up front to be extremely confident with the general contractor you end up hiring.

If you are in the North Carolina or Virginia area and need a good general contractor, we’d love it if you considered the expert team here at Kenneth Daniel Roofing and Remodeling for your project. Our main office is located in Littleton, NC, and we also provide roofing and remodeling services in multiple other surrounding areas. Feel free to give us a call today at (434) 448-4094 or fill out our free, no-obligation, quote form to discuss your project and see if we’re a good fit!