Monday, April 17, 2017

What To Look for When Hiring General Contractor in New Orleans

Are you looking for general contractors in New Orleans to complete your home remodel, extension or build you a new one? If so, this could be one of the more important decisions you ever make. The skill of your contractor will directly influence how well you love your home for years to come. With that in mind, here are things to consider:

#1. Experience matters

Any contractor one hires needs to be able to show pictures of past jobs for examples. Most, including ourselves, will have a book of photos for easy access that we show to any prospective client. This is critical because it is important to see the caliber of work and to ensure that the style is similar to what the client envisions. While contractors have creative license and can certainly do things to appease clients, there are certain things that tend to be consistent multiple projects.

It is important to make sure that those things are in line with your vision.  If none of a contractor's designs are of interest, make it clear what you were looking for and ask if any samples are available that are more in line with what has been discussed. It may be that the sample book just contains things that the majority of people like but there are other examples available.

#2. Being comfortable is important

A general contractor in New Orleans is likely to be on the job for months, even a year if building a new home. Being able to openly and comfortably have discussions about ideas, taste, and materials is critically important. During initial conversations, it should be clear if this comfort level exists between homeowner and contractor. If it does not, it is best to look for someone else. Again, without the ability to speak freely, the results are unlikely to be exactly as desired.

#3. Check reviews

Find out what others have to say and what their experiences have been by reading client testimonial provided by the contractor along with reviews found online. Keep in mind that some people will be unhappy no matter what but, in general, reviews tend to provide insight into what can be expected.

#4. Ask to see their license

A general contractor in New Orleans should be able to produce a copy of their business and contractor's license. This is a critical document required by any professional contractor. In fact, someone cannot simply decide to be a contractor one day. There is a process that must be gone through with the state and that includes becoming fully licensed and insured.

=Anyone unable to produce these documents is not a legitimate contractor, even if they are doing work around people's homes. The risk in not hiring a licensed contractor is that if something goes wrong there is less legal recourse and one mus ask the question, why does this contractor not have a license?

Schedule an appointment

As a licensed general contractor in New Orleans, we would be happy to help with any home remodeling or construction project you have in mind. To learn more about our services or see what we have done in the past, give us a call.

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