Questions To Ask Contractor And His References

 We are currently in the market for a contractor to install our new kitchen cabinets. We have looked up different contractors on Angie’s List and Craigslist. I prefer Angie’s List since it is legitimate. People need to pay for their listings. They are based on a rating system and are reviewed by customers. Anyone [...]

 We are currently in the market for a contractor to install our new kitchen cabinets. We have looked up different contractors on Angie’s List and Craigslist. I prefer Angie’s List since it is legitimate. People need to pay for their listings. They are based on a rating system and are reviewed by customers. Anyone can place an ad on Craigslist and it’s up to you to make sure they are legit. We are speaking with people from both lists and getting estimates. One major thing I intent on doing is asking for and speaking to references. I’ve come up with a list of questions to ask the contractors and their references.

To ask contractor:

Does your company carry workers compensation and liability insurance?

Are you licensed and registered with the state?

Do you give written warranties?

How long have you been in business?

To which professional associations do you belong?

To ask references:

Were you able to communicate well with the contractor?

Were you happy with the job?

Did the crew show up on time? Were they pleasant?

Was the project completed on schedule?

Were there unexpected expenses?

Would you use the contractor again and refer them to others?

Did workers clean up after finishing the job?

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I know many people suggest asking to see a finished project that the contractor has done, but I’m not sure how I feel about going to someone’s house and seeing their kitchen? I suppose it is the only real way to get a feel for the quality of work, since quality is relative and you really do need to see for yourself to decide if it is up to par.

What do you think? Would you mind having strangers come to your house to check out the work that a contractor did? Can you think of any questions I’m missing?