We have established the fact that we are “DIY challenged” when it comes to finishing a basement with a bathroom and learned valuable important lessons in home improvement. It’s a good thing that we haven’t done high cost mistakes before it was too late. We have done more work for our contractor that’s for sure. I highly recommend that DIYers should read on building code before starting on a project to avoid naive mistakes.
We wanted a general contractor who is licensed, bonded and insured. Of course not to mention affordable and have quality work.
- Licensed: I would assume that they passed rigid requirements of the state to prove that they know what they are doing.
- Bonded: “Being bonded is like an insurance policy for the customer. The state dictates which professions need to be bonded, and it is very easy to find out by asking your state licensing bureau. Contractors are a good example. There are lots of shady characters out there who would easily take advantage of some naive homeowners. For instance, they might collect a big down payment and disappear, or start the work and leave before it is finished. It they are bonded the person who was ripped off has recourse with the bonding company for damages.
Bonding companies do not bond shady characters (normally) because they would be exposed to possible claims. The premium they collect from the contractor might be $600.00 for a $25,000 bond, so if there is a claim they might have to put up the whole 25K .” YahooAnswers
- Insured: Since workers will be inside our home, we want the general contractor to be responsible for the workers should an accident occur. The insured contractor assumes the responsibility to any liability while the work is being done and they will not sue you(the homeowner) for compensation if they get hurt.
I Googled general contractors and I was able to see a few websites. I was intrigued with one website that offered a listing of pre-screened Home Improvement professionals. Basically the site makes sure their list consists of home improvement professionals who have a license, insurance, pay their taxes, not in the sex offender list, etc. I signed up for a free account from Service Magic and described what the project was all about. Within minutes I was connected with general contractors. I was getting emails and the phone was ringing off the hook by eager people to help with the project. Two weeks were booked with free estimate appointments. Normally, 4 contractors get the information about the project but I wasn’t really happy with the first list because some of the contractors were specializing on trim work, painting or decks, so I had to put another request. I wanted an expert on the project and not someone who can say “oh yeah, we can do that too.” To make things more interesting, I also called 2 contractors with 2 professional looking websites with great portfolios to bid on the project who was not on the Service Magic list.
It was quite a learning experience finding a general contractor.
- The first contractor(not from Service Magic), was a no show. I even called up to ask why they didn’t come and they told me that they would call me back once they call the guy from the field but never called back. I was very disappointed of the lack of professionalism and it made it easy to cross them off the list.
- The next one(not from Service Magic), came 1 hour late and looked at the basement and said: “tell you what, $20,000 will get you done. Come up with a budget and we will work from there.” As a customer, that’s why I called in for an estimate so that I know how much it would be so that a decision can be made.
- The third one, he was on time and professional. I told him the wish list and went ahead to measure. Told me that to comply with a new county building code, to expect an additional $3,000 to break concrete and install a back flow valve. Not really what I wanted to hear.
- The 4th one, he was on time and professional, he even brought a pair of slippers so that he doesn’t have to enter with his street shoes. He was measuring the bathroom rough in quite intently. He said that the toilet is too close to the shower drain. His expertise is really with home entertainment theaters. He showed his portfolio and he did a great work for his own basement. He took his time to take measurements.
- The 5th one, 2 guys came. One looked like the boss and the other the main foreman. The foreman was looking around and asked for the dryer vent, he said that the bathroom vent will be tied in to the dryer vent so that they don’t make additional holes on the wall. The boss agreed and the foreman proceeded to measure.
- The 6th, is a father and son. During the conversation, I asked if it’s OK to tie the bathroom exhaust fan vent to the dryer vent and the father said: “it’s not code nor common sense to do that”. They were easy to talk to but the only thing is that the son kept bringing up the fact that they sell the most beautiful tiles and that they have skilled college educated craftsmen from Eastern Europe.
- The 7th was the only lady among the people who came by and she came all the way from Fairfax, Virginia. She was cool and composed and seemed to know what she was doing.
- The 8th, he owns a painting company but according to his profile, they do home improvements as well. He did some measuring and left after a few minutes. Never heard back from him.
- The ninth was from a highly recommend home improvement company. He came in with a long list of happy customers. He took time measuring too. But when I saw the quote, they are way out of our price range.
When it was time to decide on who gets the project. They all were within the same ballpark of the quote except two who were very pricey. The one who stood out from the rest submitted very professional proposal documents with a copy of their license and insurance. The project coordinator was eager to help yet not too pushy and their quote is reasonable considering that they automatically pull permits.
We liked their quote that we added more work for them including tiling the kitchen and the bathroom floors too. Right now we are in the process of waiting for the approval for the permit and then a pre-construction meeting will be scheduled before the work starts. We will be expecting construction “excitement” for the next 3 weeks.
