Questions to Ask a Prospective Studio City Contractor

If you are looking to renovate or upgrade  your home or office, you will want to find the best Studio City contractor. The best way to pick a contractor in San Fernando Valley is through referrals of family members, friends or co-workers. This way, you will have a firsthand account of working with a person or company before starting your own project. Also, reading reviews online from websites like Yelp and Angie’s List can help you make up your mind.

Make sure to interview several contractors; the more the better! This way, you can compare not only their prices, but you can also get several opinions on your project, and even helpful tips. However, what should you actually ask a prospective Studio City contractor when meeting with him or her? Below is a list of questions that can help you make the best choice about picking a contractor in San Fernando Valley.

1. Are You Licensed and Insured? 

This is perhaps the most important question you can ask a prospective contractor in San Fernando Valley. Anyone can claim to be a contractor, but you want to make sure that the company you choose is legitimate. First of all, you need to verify that the chosen party has the appropriate license to work on your specific project. You can see if your renovation or upgrade requires a contractor to possess a license by checking the National Contract License Service, then ask to see the actual license.

Insurance is vital when it comes to picking a Studio City contractor to work on your home or office. Generally, contractors should carry general liability, workers’ compensation and property damage insurance. For example, if the workers on your project get hurt, you don’t want to be responsible for paying their medical bills. Therefore, it’s vital to make sure that the contractor of your choice is properly insured. Or, if an accident happens where your structure is damaged, you want to be certain that insurance will cover the damage.

2. Do You Have Experience With This Specific Project?

Let’s say you want to soundproof your music room, and your neighbor recommends a great contractor he used to remodel his kitchen last year. While you may be pleased to hear that the firm came in under budget and on time, you want to interview the contractor in San Fernando Valley to make sure he or she has worked on soundproofing before.

Ask for references of clients where the contractor performed similar work. Remember to be wise about references, don’t just call and ask questions, but also ask the company to provide photos or plans for the projects to make sure they really worked on them. Also, see if it’s possible to drive to the actual location and see the work with your own eyes.

3. Who Will Do the Actual Work?

Typically, when interviewing a Studio City contractor, you will meet either with the owner or manager of the company. You may truly like that person, and see that he or she is experienced and knows the construction business. However, when the job actually starts, you may be surprised to never to see that person again. Why? Because many contractors use day laborers or employees to do the renovations or home upgrades. While this is usually not a problem, you want to make sure you know what to expect. Will the actual contractor be involved in the day-to-day work, or will he or she come by on a regular basis to oversee the progress? If the actual contractor will not be present, find out the name and work experience of the foreman, and who to call in case of a question or concern. Make sure you know who you are hiring!

4. What is Your Schedule?

It is very important to speak to your contractor in San Fernando Valley to find out what his or her schedule of work is. For example, do they work only Monday through Friday, or do they also work on weekends? Do they start at 8am, and end at 5pm, or do they expect to show up at 6am and not leave until 10pm? These questions are important to consider when planning your renovation or remodel because of your family’s or work schedule, neighbors or homeowner’s association rules. For example, if you have to drop off your kids at school at 8am, you probably can’t have your contractor start work at 7am. Also, you may want to finish all work by 5 or 6pm to account for the noise that can affect your neighbors.

5. Will You Provide a Written Contract?

Although when it comes to home renovations, there are no guarantees, you still want to have a written contract between you and your Studio City contractor. Summer Banks from Yahoo! Voices advises that a ” contract bid must include a time schedule, for both beginning and completing the work, a complete materials list, an exclusion list of items not provided by the contractor, the names and contact information for any subcontractors to be used on the job, clean-up and demolition provisions, a payment schedule, and the procedure specifics for any changes that may need to be made to the original plans.”

Of course, surprises can always occur, such as finding unexpected damage behind walls, or under floors, that will delay or make the work longer, but it’s still good to have a price and timeframe in mind.

Hugs Construction has over 20 years of experience and is a full service construction company in the San Fernando Valley and surrounding Los Angeles area. We work on projects of all sizes, such as kitchen and bath remodeling, wiring and electric work, soundproofing, installing windows and doors, specialty projects and new constructions.

We pride ourselves on utilizing green products to sustain the environment. We strive to maintain high customer satisfaction with every job, making sure that our work lasts for many years to come.

 To get a quote for your home renovation, contact us.