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How to Find Trusted Home Improvement Contractors

How to Find Trusted Home Improvement Contractors

 newly improved blue home with patio Taking on a home improvement project is a major step, and that journey often begins with finding a trusted home improvement contractor. But how can you find a trusted home contractor? Look for guarantees of quality, accountability, and communication like daily project updates and a direct line to your lead installer. We have assembled a guide that will take you step-by-step through the process.

Determine What You Need and Find a Specialist

HomeAdvisor suggests that the national average cost of home renovation falls somewhere between $15,000 and $45,000. That is a lot of money to invest in updating your home, so understanding the areas of your home for remodeling is essential. That may be exteriors like roofing and siding or interiors like kitchens and bathrooms.

Start by determining the scope of your project, then find a specialist who can handle them. The most trusted home improvement contractors will detail their areas of expertise on their website, and often have photos to show examples of their work.

Start Your Search

Begin by determining the qualities that are most important to you in a trusted home contractor before you even start looking. Consider transparency, accountability, or communication, and what those qualities will look like.

Listen to their experiences and recommendations in your search by reading reviews. Family and friends can be good sources, but you should also find and compare their reviews online. Angieslist.com covers well over a million professionals and provides user-written reviews for them. HomeAdvisor.com tracks 116,000 contractors nationally.

At this stage, look for contractors that will provide an onsite consultation with no obligation, as well as a free quote. It’s important that their quote be guaranteed for 30-60 days so that the price doesn’t go up while you make your final decision on the renovation.

Schedule an Onsite Consultation

Your contractor should send a representative to meet you at your home to learn about your goals for the renovation, take measurements, set a plan, and provide a cost quote. You know you’re working with a trusted home improvement contractor when you get this level of commitment from an expert in the renovation. Don’t talk to a salesperson or their sales department, and don’t settle for talking to anyone less than a professional that knows the work your project will take inside and out.

home improvement contractor cutting wood with a power tool

Get Contractors Who Respect Your Home & Schedule

The most trusted home improvement contractors will work with you on your schedule. Home renovation can be really disruptive to you and your family — You’ll have builders, materials, and equipment coming in and out of your house, and their work can be noisy. The opportunity to plan their work schedule windows can be a significant benefit to the quality of your renovation experience.

Any contractors you work with should be exceptionally respectful about working in your home, including taking care to avoid tracking dirt or causing any damage to your walls, floors, or furniture.

Prior Work and Reviews

A potential trusted home improvement contractor should have an entire portfolio of finished work for clients, so be sure to not only check out their website but ask for some examples. If you’d like to renovate your kitchen, make sure their kitchen remodels reflect your expectations.

Any trustworthy home contractor will share their reviews. If they do not have a review section on their website, that might be a red flag. But don’t just stop at their website, either. Check local reviews on Google or other review sources of your choice.

Home contractor installing a door latch with a drill

Keep an Eye on Costs

Be prepared to talk about finances as contractors provide cost quotes. You can ask for quotes from multiple contractors before making your decision, but don’t discount the value that higher-quality work will add to your home. The median cost of renovating a kitchen is around $14,000.

One option you should ask about with any potential contractor is financing. A trustworthy home improvement contractor should provide a payment plan to finance a significant portion of your costs, if not 100%.

Track Your Paperwork

Be sure to thoroughly review your contract and understand the terms – a home contractor you can trust should keep your documentation available. Tools like One-Click-Contractor keep all of your paperwork in one place and available for easy viewing by all parties.

Your renovation may improve the value of your home, or even decrease your insurance rates.  Picking new shingles for a roofing renovation, for example, may make your home less costly to insure. Don’t forget to report receipts and invoices to your home insurance.

Trusting Your Contractor

If at any point in the process something feels off, you should be willing to walk away. A trusted home improvement contractor should work hard to be informative, forthcoming, and helpful. If you do not feel that, they may not be the contractor for you.

If you’re looking for a professional and trustworthy contractor in western Washington State or near Portland, Oregon, call Evergreen Home Exteriors & Remodeling. Give us a call or text at (253) 320-5383 and request a free estimate.