Repairing the foundation of your house can be a big job. From finding out it needs to be fixed to hiring a contractor fix it, it can be a large task. Luckily, there are things that you can do to ensure you hire a great and trustworthy contractor. A Montreal concrete contractor can make your house’s foundation great again and help avoid any headaches. Keep reading to find out how to choose a contractor to repair your house’s foundation.
One of the most important things to remember when thinking about getting your house’s foundation repaired is that this is not your typical job. There are not as many qualified contractors as you may think out there. This can not only end up costing you a lot of time, but money as well if you hire the wrong contractor from the start. It’s important to do your homework first and make an educated decision on who you hire. Make sure that you ask a lot of questions to the contractor. Never feel embarrassed if you don’t know what something means they are telling you. You are there to learn and find out exactly how they are going to help you. Don’t shy away from words that are out of your typical vocabulary. A contractor should make you feel at ease and if they are not doing that, you should move onto speaking with the next.
When you talk with your final few contractors, make sure that you set it up sort of like an interview. Here is a list of questions you can ask them:
- How long have you been a contractor for?
- How many people on your team will be working on my house?
- What are those team members qualifications?
- Do you have insurance?
- Could I have a few references that you have worked on and contact them?
- What kind of foundation are you used to working with?
- How will our payment schedule be?
- What are some of the factors that could drive this quote up?
- Will the work be under warranty? If so, what does that all include?
These questions are very important. You may be thinking that some of these questions are pretty obvious. They actually are not and it’s important that you double check. We are now going to go into why some of these questions are so important.
If a workers get injured on your property and the contractor does not have insurance, you could actually end up being liable. Not only can this cause a huge headache for you, it can end up being very expensive. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for the contractor to have insurance, general liability and workers comp. If you feel uneasy at all or want to verify, asking them for proof is always a great idea. They should have it with them at all times anyways so it is not an inconvenience for them.
Asking past customers that are satisfied with their work is a great idea to verify they are a good company to work with. Of course the company will give you information to customers that are only happy and not upset with any work the company has done, however this does verify that they have done a great job for customers in the past.
Learning any factors that can drive the quote up is very important. You are probably on a budget and you want to stick to that budget. Most plans may not go perfectly as planned, but it’s important that the contractor is up front with you about any grey areas. With that said it’s always a must to get what they will do and how much you will be paying for that service in writing. If you don’t, it can end up being a complete mess with miscommunication at the end and either a very unhappy customers or an unhappy contractor (or both!).
Like we talked about, repairing a house’s foundation is not a walk in the park. A lot of contractors do not offer this service because it tends to be a little more difficult. Because of this, make sure the workers and the company as a whole has experience. Even if the price is cheaper, make sure you don’t just choose a company that just started up. This is a huge investment you are making and you have worked hard for your money, make sure it is going to be the result you want in the end.
Soil can be different from house to house. It’s important for the contractor to understand how to work with your specific soil so that the outcome of the foundation can be handled correctly. A contractor should understand each soil and how it works differently. They should also know how the soil will react when a pier is being installed. You are welcome to quiz them a little on this to ensure they know exactly what they are doing.
Lastly, make sure that the work that the contractor will be doing on your home is under warranty. Make sure that you find out what the warranty will cover. Don’t just ask the question of “do you have warranty.” One of the reasons why you want to work with a contractor that has been around for a while is because if the contractors business goes under, that warranty is no longer available. If you needed a follow-up done, this will no longer be covered and you would need to start from scratch. Make sure the contractor has a warranty and find out exactly what that covers.
Do you feel more prepared to hire a contractor to repair your house now? We hope so! Hiring the right contractor from the beginning can save you a lot of time and money. Do your homework and you will end up with one you trust! For more information on repairing your house’s foundation, contact us today!
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