You have finally decided it is time to add a new garage to your home. Choosing the right garage contractor for your project can be overwhelming and stressful. If you pick the wrong one, it could lead to additional costs or something worse. When choosing a contractor, you want to feel confident that he or she will make the building process simple and easy. While there are always a few bumps in any building process, a good garage contractor should be able to minimize these bumps. So how do you go about choosing the right garage contractor? Following these tips will ensure you pick the right contractor for your new garage.
Set a Budget
With any building project, the first thing you need to do is to set a budget. Setting a budget allows you to see how much you can spend on a contractor for your garage. Knowing your contractor budget will allow you to narrow down your options.
Pick the Type of Garage
You will need to be specific about what you want. Before you get any estimates, you should know what you want. Things to consider are a full garage, apartment garage, carport, and extra storage space. Deciding on a garage type will allow you to get the best estimate and ultimately choose the right general contractor.
Do Research for Your Specific Needs
Garage contractors can usually do any garage design. However, just because a general contractor can do any garage design does not mean he or she does it well. You should do your research and find contractors that specialize in the garage design you want.
Proof of Insurance
You should never hire a contractor who does not have insurance. An uninsured contractor means more money for you if one of the workers gets hurt. For example, if a worker falls off a ladder and is seriously hurt and the contractor does not have insurance, the worker can sue you since it happened on your property. Before hiring a contractor for your garage, you should ask for proof of insurance.
Ask for References
A contractor should be able to supply you with a list of references. These references should be previous customers. Don’t just look at the list, but follow up with the references. Ask them if the contractor finished on time, stayed within budget, and was very transparent. These type of questions will give you a sense of how good the contractor is.
Ask Other People
The references a contractor gives you is sometimes not enough. In most cases, the references are customers who were satisfied with the overall project. You should ask around to see what other people think. A couple of ways you can get more reviews of specific contractors are by asking friends and family, looking online at review websites, and asking for recommendations on social media. Combining these reviews with the contractor’s reference will help you better choose the right contractor.
Are You Ready?
You now know how to pick the right garage contractor. But one of the first steps is to pick a specific garage design. If you are looking for a garage plan to show to help you pick a contractor, then check out Behm Design. We offer many different designs that you can show to different contractors.