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Visit
these links to know more about
4homecontrators.com
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Each
year unlicensed
Home Contractors cause major
headaches for homeowners and state and local investigators.
Click on the link to see more about the
contractors.
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Our
Home Contractors provide
you information about Designs for Home Improvement which involves origin
of your likes and dislikes and it also involves communication
with your family members for your Home Improvement.
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Are you planning a major home improvement project in
the near future? If your answer is “yes,” you’re probably
in the market for a
Home Improvement contractor.
Finding the right professional
contractor to handle such
a project can be tricky. Trickier still is getting a great
job at a fair price.
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See this page if you have any questions about
4homecontractors.com or about
the
Contractors or
Home Contractors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the mailing address for the
4homecontractors.com? |
A: Our mailing
address is:
info(@)homegiant.com
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I Need Some Work Done, What's The First Step I Should Take? |
A: The first
step you need to take is to decide exactly what you want to do. This
sounds silly, but you need to have a very good picture of exactly what
you want to do as the first step to ensuring your satisfaction. We'll
use the example of remodeling a kitchen but the steps would be the
same regardless of the project. You need to know exactly what you want
to do in order to get bids from different
contractors so you can
compare apples to apples. Are you going to gut the entire kitchen and
start over or just replace the cabinets? Do you want a center island?
A professional stove? Do not even start to think of who to hire before
you know what the job is. How do you know what you want? There are
several ways to get going:
Hire an
home improvement
contractor to design it for you.
Home Improvement Contractors are trained to look
at a space and help you decide what you want to do with it. The
advantage is expert advice. The down side is added cost to your
renovation.
Buy a computer program. There are many programs on the market that are
basically "architects in a box". The advantage is low cost but you
lose the expert advice.
Magazines are an excellent source of ideas. They are inexpensive and
offer a wide range of styles and information about different products
that are available.
Look around. Tour houses for sale or friends' houses that have a
kitchen like the one you want. Take pictures and notes.
Ask some
contractors. Some
contractors even offer a free design
service. It is fine to use these
contractor's services and advice but do not be
pressured into signing up yet.
It does not really matter what the source of the design, but the point
is to have a firm idea of what you want to do. Real wood cabinets or
laminate? Real marble counter top or Formica? Ceramic tile floor or
linoleum? Solid brass fixtures or plated? Once you have it written
down from floor to ceiling you're ready for the next step.
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I Have A Design And Am Ready To Hire A
Contractor, What Now? |
A: After
completing the first step you're ready to hire someone to do the work.
This is the most important part of the job so take your time! How do
you choose a
contractor? Pick up that big, yellow book and let your
fingers do the walking? How do you know that
contractor is qualified?
What's that
contractor's record? How
that contractor performs? Are they on time? Do they
finish the project? While the phone book or newspaper ads can be one
source of
contractors be sure you thoroughly check their credentials.
Particularly:
Are they qualified? Ask to see their state license. Then call the
state to be sure it is a valid license. Ask what trade organizations
these
contractors belong to, then call the organization to confirm. (See our
section on Licensed
Contractors)
Find out their record. Ask for a list of past projects and go take a
look at these
contractor's work. Call the state and ask if there are any complaints
against them. Call the Better Business Bureau, both local and state
chapters, to see if they have any complaints. Call the local trade
organizations to see if they have any complaints.
Check out their performance. Ask for a list of references. Call the
references and ask if the job was done well, as promised, when
promised and completely. Ask the references to be specific. What
project did they do? Did they arrive on time, at the same time every
day? Did these contractors clean up the job site? Did they finish the project when
promised? Did they work continuously on the project until completion
or only in spurts? Then ask the references if these
contractors know of any
additional references and call them.
Be cautious of a
contractor that
supplies three or four references and then the reference you call
supplies the same references to you. The references could be
"arranged" and may not have even had any work done at all.
Are they insured? Ask to see a valid Certificate of Insurance. Then
call the Insurance company to confirm that it is valid. You are
responsible for all workers on your property. Are you ready to be sued
by the guy who falls off your roof?
You could save yourself a lot of time by limiting your search to
contractors already approved by ACE. George Waldhauser, the President
and Founder of ACE, has personally done each of these steps for you.
Only the most reputable and qualified companies can become members of
ACE and the ACE seal is your assurance of a quality project. After
compiling your list of possible
contractors you're ready for the third
step.
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How Do I Shop For The Best Price? |
A: After you
have completed step one and step two you're ready to shop for the best
price you can get. You've already separated the wheat from the chaff
in step two so the
contractors you have left are the cream of the
crop. Price is where most people fall prey to disreputable
contractors. They get an unbelievably cheap bid and jump at it.
Remember the old saying that if it sounds too good to be true, it
probably is. You shouldn't be looking for the cheapest price, you
should be looking for the greatest value! The best way to shop for
value is to ask for bids on your project. Give each
contractor, from
the list you made in step two, a copy of the written list, the one you
completed in step one, of what you want done. This ensures that each
contractor has the same understanding of the project and you will be
able to compare the estimates on an apples to apples basis. Give the
contractor a firm, but reasonable deadline to submit bids by, usually
two to three weeks later. That brings us to step four.
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Do
I Really Need A Licensed
Contractor? |
A: Only if
you like your home and want to keep it. A license does more than just
ensure that the person you're dealing with isn't a fly by night
operator, it gives you important legal protections that truly could
mean the difference between keeping and losing your home. Here are
just a few of the potential problems:
Unlicensed
contractors are considered your employees. That means you
are required to provide them with workman's compensation insurance. If
you do not provide this insurance not only are you in violation of the
law, you could be held responsible for paying their salary for the
rest of their life should they get hurt.
Unlicensed
contractors have no liability insurance. That means no
protection of your investment from faulty materials or workmanship.
Theft from the job site isn't covered and a worker's carelessness that
leads to injury or property damage could leave you holding a very
large bill.
Unlicensed
contractors leave you unprotected against a mechanic's
lien. If the
contractor you hired to do the work doesn't pay his
suppliers they can put a lien on your house.
Contractors not licensed do not have bonding protection on their jobs
through the state fund, which means you don't have this protection.
Unlicensed
contractors can not apply for permits on the job you hired
them for. Without a permit, not only are you again breaking the law,
you are afforded none of the protections the permitting process offers
you.
Your job will not be covered by your homeowner's insurance because
insurance companies won't cover bootleg work.
You may encounter problems when you attempt to sell your house. Some
counties may even require you to rework the job, costing you twice.
Officials can, and do, even require the entire removal of the
non-permitted structures.
Permitting is done to ensure that the building codes are met. Building
codes are there to ensure that the job is done correctly. The
unlicensed
contractor probably doesn't even know what the codes are,
and is even less likely to follow them.
If the codes aren't followed and the job isn't done correctly severe
injury to you or your family could result from using the incorrect
materials or through faulty workmanship.
People often "poo-poo" the building codes when it comes to "simple"
projects like a deck or garage but it is no laughing matter when an
improperly built garage or deck collapses, leaving a family member
buried under five or six hundred pounds of wood.
The bottom line is that there are lots of reasons not to hire a
unlicensed
contractor but only one reason to...price. We think the
safety and well being of our families are worth a little extra. How
about your family?
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How Do I Hire A
Contractor? |
A: Once you
have decided upon the job, solicited bids for the job and selected the
bid you are going with, you're ready to hire the
contractor. The most
important aspect of this step is the contract. We couldn't possibly
cover all of the potential pitfalls of a legal document, so we'll
leave that up to your attorney, but we can give you a few pointers.
Be sure that the contract specifies everything you and the
contractor
have agreed to, including time of completion, work to be done, types
of materials to be used, etc. Not only will this protect you legally,
but it will avoid misunderstandings between you and the
contractor.
Get any change order in writing. If you decide to go with cherry
instead of oak cabinets get a change order in writing. A
contractor's
verbal assurances that something will get done doesn't mean that it
will really get done. Again, to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings,
get it in writing.
Be sure the price on the contract is the same as the one on the bid.
If the contract and the bid are different documents be sure to read
the whole contract to be sure it matches the bid. Be sure that how
much money is due, and when, is spelled out in the contract as well as
the amount of any deposit that is required.
After you are satisfied that the contract is what you want, now comes
the time to spend some money. Almost always the
contractor will
require a deposit to begin the work. The amount will vary depending
upon the size and type of job. State laws vary but State law in
Maryland, for example, allows a
contractor to require up to 1/3 the
cost of the entire job as a deposit. Most contracts will also have a
schedule of payments that will be payable as work is completed, but
you should never agree to making the final payment until after all of
the work has been completed and approved. Finally, welcome the
contractor into your home. You and he will be a much better team, and
as a result you'll get a much better job, if you work together. All
reputable
contractors want to do a good job and will give you their
best if you let them.
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I've Already Hired A
Contractor
And Now I'm Having Problems. |
A: First make
sure you are really having problems. This is like the "check to make
sure it's plugged in" step. We all know it's plugged in until... oops!
Are you sure the contract, or written changes to it, say cherry
cabinets and not oak? Go look.
Sometimes in the flurry of activity
that surrounds a home remodeling job we may want cherry and we may
mean cherry but we never actually get around to telling the contractor
cherry. Communication sometimes breaks down on both sides, but
assuming the contract does say cherry, your first step should be to
politely bring it to the attention of the
contractor. Don't assume
he's trying to rip you off. It's probably just an honest, and
correctable, mistake. If the
contractor refuses to change his mistake
(you must not have hired one of our members) try negotiating with him.
Perhaps he would prefer to reduce the price of his services in
exchange for you accepting the oak cabinets. Remember you may be 100%
right and would win if you take him to court but do you want to have
an undone kitchen for two years while your case slogs through the
courts? Try to work out a mutually beneficial solution. If that
doesn't work call the home improvement commission in your state and
your local Mediation Center for help. They may be able to do a little
arm twisting for you. At this point use your most powerful weapon, the
check book! Don't write any more checks until the
contractor agrees to
a solution to the problem. Now this, obviously, only applies to more
serious problems. You'd be hard pressed to explain in court
withholding a check because a nail was missing. Your last recourse is
to sic your lawyer on him. The most important thing you can do is to
report the
contractor so, at least, others will not suffer the same
fate. The best way to avoid even having to read this section is to
hire a ACE member in the first place!
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What about permits?
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A: 21st
Century Home Improvement takes care of all necessary plans, permits
and inspections. Our familiarity with the building code and SF
Building Department helps us navigate smoothly through this often
tedious and time consuming aspect of home improvements
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