Guides

The hiring checklist

Everything worth doing before you hire someone to work on your house, on one page. Save it or print it.

Before you call anyone

• Write the scope once: what gets done, rough measurements, the material you want.
• Decide what happens to the old material: tear-out and haul-away.
• Check whether your town needs a permit and whether your HOA needs to approve it.
• Plan to get three quotes for that same written scope.

Five questions to ask every contractor

1. Are you licensed and insured for this work?
2. Who will be on site every day?
3. What is not included in this price?
4. Who pulls the permit?
5. What happens if you find a surprise once you start?

Good contractors like these questions. They have answered them a hundred times.

Seven things the quote must include

• The scope: exactly what gets done
• Materials, by brand or grade
• The total price and what is not included
• The payment schedule
• A start date and how long it should take
• Who pulls the permit
• The warranty, in writing

More on each one in Seven things a real quote includes.

Two papers to see

• Their license, if your state requires one for that trade
• A certificate of insurance showing liability coverage

Paying

• A deposit is normal. The whole job upfront is not.
• Tie payments to progress, not to dates.
• Get a receipt for every payment.
• Put every change in writing: what changes, what it costs, how many days it adds.

Before the last payment

• Walk the job with the contractor and write a punch list.
• Pay the balance when the list is done.
• On bigger jobs, ask for a lien waiver.

Slow down if you hear

• "This price is only good today."
• "Cash only. No receipt needed."
• "We don't need a written contract."
• "We have leftover materials from a job down the street."