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Need a General Contractor

Mark E Smith

Mark E Smith

Member
Messages
190
Location
Arkansas
OK at that stage in my life, I have to start hiring out projects. I simple can not do the work myself, at age 60 with COPD emphysema I get out breath just getting dressed in morning...lol...so after a life of always doing the work myself, when I need a new roof do it myself, need a new side walk, mix the concrete do it myself...etc...I now have absolutely NO EXPERIENCE with hiring out any work, because i always did it myself. I have proofed to myself that I am really bad at doing this, year before last I had my back yard sodded, worst job ever, they didn't even remove the old yard, just weed wacked it and layed the sod down, in addition to raising the yard by two inches, now two years later, all the weeds grew right back and the yard looks exactly like it did before the sod job. Sealing drive way, again looks like all they did was paint it, one year later looks like it did before the seal job...so pretty much proves I have NO IDEA how to hire the right people and tired of wasting my money.

My question, obviously I need a General Contractor, how do I find the right one since I am really bad at hiring people, will probably hire the worst contractor too. How do I find the guy that will be with me for the next ten years and knows who too hire and will oversee the jobs to my satisfaction. All of my jobs are big jobs that I can't afford to be done all at once, I can afford a few thousand a year. The patio alone will be a few thousand for what I want done, the drive way about five grand, the roof eves and siding a few grand, bay window a few grand you get the idea, I need to do these project over the course of several years and I want a general contractor that will be with me for all of it. How do I find that guy? Please help, tell me the questions I need to ask, who do I contact, how do I avoid hiring an idiot...
 
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I'm having some of those problems myself. At 72, I just don't see myself climbing around on a roof, or painting up under the eaves, etc.

I've used Home Advisor a couple times, with good results. Had some concrete work done (quite well) and currently am looking for a roofing contractor. Home Adviser gave me three names, and I've narrowed them down to one that I'm currently negotiating with.

Advice: Make sure whoever you hire is properly insured - Liability, Workers Comp, etc. and bonded, if necessary. Make them give you a copy of their documents, and even include you as 'also-named-insured on a Acord 25 form (if your state uses that, or a similar, form). You don't want an injured worker suing you because the contractor isn't insured.
 
Jim DeLaney said:
I'm having some of those problems myself. At 72, I just don't see myself climbing around on a roof, or painting up under the eaves, etc.

I've used Home Advisor a couple times, with good results. Had some concrete work done (quite well) and currently am looking for a roofing contractor. Home Adviser gave me three names, and I've narrowed them down to one that I'm currently negotiating with.

Advice: Make sure whoever you hire is properly insured - Liability, Workers Comp, etc. and bonded, if necessary. Make them give you a copy of their documents, and even include you as 'also-named-insured on a Acord 25 form (if your state uses that, or a similar, form). You don't want an injured worker suing you because the contractor isn't insured.
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lol...Jim Home Advisor gave me the name of the sod people, so not going that root again. But I do agree with your advice section, they or the general contractor will have to be bonded and insured for sure..
 
Good luck on finding someone for the long haul. What seem like big jobs to most of us is going to be small potatoes for a lot of general contractors and most of the competent contractors are booked well in advance. I've only hired out work once in the last few years. Did a $2K driveway extension and used a small, family owned and operated contractor that was working in the area. I watched how they worked on other peoples jobs and was happy with the care they took so had no worries about having them do the work for me. If I needed other kinds of work done I'd probably cruise the neighborhoods looking for active jobs and stop and look at the quality of the work and ask some questions. More importantly, you have to do some research on the job you want done. Know appropriate methods and materials and insist the job be done to your standards, i.e." I want you to Roundup the old lawn and then come back three weeks later, spread compost to a depth of 4" over the entire lawn and power till to a depth of 8", then grade the surface to eliminate low spots, compact with #100 roller and lay sod with no overlaps or gaps and water it in." If you don't have a good understanding on how the work will be done, in advance, you are setting yourself up for possible disappointment. These guys are always looking for short cuts that will boost their profit on a job or make it easier. Adding water to the mix on the concrete truck to help make it easier to move is a classic, because it affects the strength of the mix.
 
You are the GC.

You know how the jobs are to be done, and what you need.

You NEED to learn how to manage those that are doing the work and need to learn to be a sort of person that is not so nice.

There are lots of words to describe the sort of person you need to be but the CoC does not allow those words.

Be Demanding, a bit inpatient, a bit pushy, and not give in. Call them back to fix it if you are not satisfied.

Make sure those you hire have a reputation, and are bonified businesses with liability insurance coverage and bonified credentials. You CAN demand to see the insurance rider before work is performed.

Make sure that those hired have a written explanation of warranty or guarentee.

When I had my Mr. Handyman franchise business I had all of that and had all of the above experiences with customers.

When a contractor fulfills of of the above criteria there is a special bond that get developed between homeowner (GC) and the services provided.

I - the business owner - was ALWAYS available to to the customer. They always talked to me if there were any issues and I would help them.

As a contractor, I always told the customer I would not compromise on materials just to lower cost. I always used the best. One thing a contractor does however is mark up materials. Don't push of that. One reason you CAN call them back, and one reason they will come back is because they made enough money on the job that they CAN come back. IF, they were on a slim margin to begin with they will not want to come back only to loose their shirts.

Do some research on the contractor you plan to hire. Service Master, Angies List, etc.

Hiring a "chuck in a truck" - one guy does all, no insurance is definitely problematic. Don't do it. The money saved will bite back.

There are good ones out there - you gotta do the work to find em.

But, you don't need a GC.

When I had my Mr. Handyman Franchise, I actually "helped" some of the home owners sort of as a GC, but I didn't hire out as a GC.
 
Leo Voisine said:
You are the GC.

You know how the jobs are to be done, and what you need.

You NEED to learn how to manage those that are doing the work and need to learn to be a sort of person that is not so nice.

There are lots of words to describe the sort of person you need to be but the CoC does not allow those words.

Be Demanding, a bit inpatient, a bit pushy, and not give in. Call them back to fix it if you are not satisfied.

Make sure those you hire have a reputation, and are bonified businesses with liability insurance coverage and bonified credentials. You CAN demand to see the insurance rider before work is performed.

Make sure that those hired have a written explanation of warranty or guarentee.

When I had my Mr. Handyman franchise business I had all of that and had all of the above experiences with customers.

When a contractor fulfills of of the above criteria there is a special bond that get developed between homeowner (GC) and the services provided.

I - the business owner - was ALWAYS available to to the customer. They always talked to me if there were any issues and I would help them.

As a contractor, I always told the customer I would not compromise on materials just to lower cost. I always used the best. One thing a contractor does however is mark up materials. Don't push of that. One reason you CAN call them back, and one reason they will come back is because they made enough money on the job that they CAN come back. IF, they were on a slim margin to begin with they will not want to come back only to loose their shirts.

Do some research on the contractor you plan to hire. Service Master, Angies List, etc.

Hiring a "chuck in a truck" - one guy does all, no insurance is definitely problematic. Don't do it. The money saved will bite back.

There are good ones out there - you gotta do the work to find em.

But, you don't need a GC.

When I had my Mr. Handyman Franchise, I actually "helped" some of the home owners sort of as a GC, but I didn't hire out as a GC.
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Good advice from Jim and Leo.

Some things I'll add, if you ask the guy when he can start and he says "Tomorrow...." RUN away, I'm booked at least a month in advance, sure I can fit in small things here and there for good clients, but to start a large job, sorry, maybe we can do it in late June...?

Get a few quotes, you might be really surprised at the range, I'd say for sure don't go for the cheapest guy, not alway the most expensive either, but somewhere in the middle ususally works.

It's funny, my clients joke that they don't want to recommend me to their friends, because then I'll just be even busier and won't be able to work for them! LOL

Add these points to what Leo and Jim said, and take your time, unless your roof is leaking, make an informed decision.

Good luck.
 
Jim DeLaney said:
You don't want an injured worker suing you because the contractor isn't insured.
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The injured worker is going to sue you even if the boss has workers comp and everything else. As you also have a big fat insurance company for the lawyer to fleece out of a few grand.
 
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