How to Select the Right Contractor for Your Project

Below are our thoughts on how to select the right contractor for your project and embark on the construction phase with confidence.

It’s hard to think of a greater investment that clients undertake than committing to a contractor to renovate their home and there are many things that can potentially lead to calamity down the road. We are sure that everyone reading this blog has heard of nightmare stories of renovation projects that have run afoul for people. To mitigate this, we believe that the bid selection process should be a thorough step for clients to undertake.

Below are our thoughts on what clients should be doing in order to select the right contractor for their home renovation project.

1. Digging Into Experience and Reputation

Leverage your architect, talk to your friends and use Google to help you identify contractors that could meet your requirements. The contractor needs to be someone who has proven experience undertaking similar projects. For example, if you are undertaking a comprehensive residential renovation, then you would need to find someone with this skillset. It’s not necessarily the contractor who has the largest number of Google reviews, but reviews that are also for comprehensive projects. 

There are many contractors in the market who undertake a large volume of smaller projects (such as kitchen upgrades or deck extensions) but don’t have the skillset to complete a comprehensive renovation. 

Another important factor is that there is a significant difference between new construction and renovation projects. A contractor only focusing on new construction wouldn’t necessarily be well suited for a renovation project. 

Ideally this list of relevant contractors should have a local presence. By that we mean someone who has undertaken a similar project within the same local authority as your home. Larger projects require multiple inspections from city building inspectors and each city has its specific mode of operating. A local contractor with a proven track record will likely have developed a rapport with the local inspectors, and understand the requirements to be met throughout the construction process.

2. Obtain at Least Three Bid Proposals

Once plans are complete, we strongly recommend clients obtain a minimum of three bid proposals so that they can gauge local market pricing.

3. Not all Prices May be Equal

This is where it gets tricky but it’s vital to make an informed decision at this point. Although it’s tempting to select the lowest bid, we implore clients to be very careful with this temptation. Sadly there is a tendency of some contractors in the industry to omit elements from the price in order to submit a lower bid and secure the project. This omission is then accounted for with “Change Orders” throughout the project. Change Orders really put clients in a tough position as they want to complete the project but are now burdened with unforeseen project costs that blow out their project budget. This issue is why it’s important to formally receive multiple bids so that you can gauge what is “market price” for your renovation project. 

If you are undertaking a larger project, then a much lower price could be an indicator that the contractor doesn’t have experience with this scale of project and therefore unwittingly omits elements from the proposal. 

At JKM Building & Renovations, we address this head-on by submitting our proposals as a 'Guaranteed Maximum Price’. This is industry lingo for a price that is all encompassing and omits future change orders to the client other than accommodating design changes from the client during construction. We are comfortable with this approach as we are able to leverage our knowledge of similar completed projects to hone our pricing and understanding of the potential project risks that could be incurred. 

4. Read The Contract and Check Their Credentials

It’s a painful process but necessary so that you aren’t surprised during construction. A reputable contractor will likely have a comprehensive Terms & Conditions section drafted with attorney input.

You are also more than welcome to ask for verbal references from former clients and request a copy of their contractor licences as well. 

5. Tour A Current Project

We believe that the final step should be to meet with the prospective contractor at one of their local projects to undertake a tour. Ideally it would be to tour a project that is nearing completion. This will allow you to gauge their workmanship and in particular their finishes.

During this walkthrough you will be able to ask questions and see in-person if they have the capability to execute the project to your satisfaction. For example, if your project budget is on the generous side and you are looking for ornate details in the home (i.e. custom joinery, trim, flooring details or tiling). Ideally you should be able to inspect a similar home in-person to see these details.

We ourselves allow prospective clients to tour our own home which we completely renovated ourselves here in Jersey City. Given that all our projects are local, it’s an easy way for people to see what we are able to achieve. Even if the interior isn’t what they are specifically looking for, it helps them see the quality of the workmanship.

If it’s an active project, then we recommend you pay attention to site cleanliness and organization—this is often a strong indicator of a contractor's overall attention to detail and project management skills.

We hope that the above has been informative for people wishing to undertake a renovation project and commence this process with more confidence!

Kind Regards,
Kate and Josh