SF Bay Contractor Says, “Call People, Get References”
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Brian Kenny’s noticed an alarming pattern lately. He’s been getting a lot of calls to fix other contractors’ shoddy work. As the Founder of SF Bay Construction, Inc., Brian explains how homeowners can filter through all the rotten apples, the first time around.
Call references and look at the jobs a contractor has completed.
Brian recommends asking for a list of 5 to 10 references. It’s important to hire someone who knows what they’re doing, and references, photos, and even driving by the former job site can be testaments to quality. “Sometimes I have to undo work that’s already been done and reinstall it,” Brian says. “It’s just shoddy workmanship: floors, sheetrock, or trim aren’t put in right or the doors and windows are leaking.”
Find a contractor who will finish the job.
SF Bay Construction always provides a finish date, even stating in their contracts that they’ll get penalized financially if they don’t meet their deadline. “We’ve always met our completions dates,” Brian says. In fact, Brian’s company is getting hired to finish jobs other contractors left behind. These jobs typically had no stated completion dates, and what should have taken 3 months had extended to 8 months or more.
So once you’ve checked references and trust a contractor’s expertise, look over the contract to ensure you’re protected against the no-shows. “We actually finish our jobs beforehand,” Brian says. “Unless the homeowners request a change order.”
Contact CalFinder to get free estimates from SF Bay Construction, Inc. or a professional contractor near you.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
For us, architects have been one of our best sources to find a contractor. We have remodeled our house in its entirety over a period of 20+ years and we have always had great contractors. Also, we get involved in what we called a “collaboration-partnership” type of relationship with the contractor, which has worked very well for us. You can read more about it at our website.
Ignacio Arribas
Author, The Happy Remodelers
November 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Thanks, Ignacio. I was curious to learn more about your “collaboration-partnerships.” I checked out your website and listened to Part I of your interview. I like your ideas about communication and understanding that everyone communicates differently.