You can spend weeks planning your refurb or renovation, even the building stages of your house, and in most cases, this can be very exciting and rewarding. You get to see the stages of your build in your head and things start coming together and your dream that has been in your head for years is finally coming to its creation. It’s in this stage that the hardest part of everything will begin, and I’m not talking about the actual building. Finding a reliable company to complete your construction can be the hardest thing about a job, so here I’ll take you through 8 ways you can actually find a reliable construction company. 

Planning 

Your plan will actually do more for you than you think, when it comes to getting estimations you’re going to get far more accurate pricings if you are specific about what you want than if you have a more basic approach. A reliable company will give you a direct estimate and will inform you of anything else that might be an add on price at the beginning. We all know that jobs don’t always go the way we want and there are often curve balls thrown our way, but this is why the plan is so important and the construction company being honest is also so important. They should be able to say from the get-go, if anything goes wrong this is our contingency plan, if they don’t have that then they probably aren’t worth dealing with. 

Ask For References 

This is pretty important in my opinion, word of mouth is one of the best ways you can get really reliable information on any construction company because it’s coming from your friends and family. Ask around and see if they have had any work done recently, who the company was, what they were like to deal with, and how the job ended up. Trusted information is invaluable and will get you a lot further than searching the internet for hours on end trying to find something you believe looks good without any real evidence. 

Approach More Than One 

When you walk into a shop you don’t pick the first pair of shoes up, pay for them and walk out, do you? So why is it any different in this situation? If anything you should be a little more choosy when it comes to the company that is going to build your dream home. My advice would be to create a shortlist of companies that you like the look of and have had good feedback and set up a meeting with each of them. You can then see how they are when talking to you and see how they plan on approaching your project. It’s in these meetings that you can ask about costs and anything extra they might think to get added on during the building process. Being able to compare companies is a brilliant way to make sure you make the right choice.  

Specific Companies 

There are often aspects of a build that will require a specialist to complete the work. It’s ok that a construction company doesn’t have every specific skill within their ranks because they often outsource work to other companies. However, if you want to really maintain a firm grip on the build you might insist that you find your own contractor that is going to deal with anything that needs to be done. The professionals at http://www.alamocitycustomwelding.com/ state that reputation is absolutely key in this industry and people should do their utmost to continue to build it. This means working with other companies if needed and making sure everything is done to a very high standard. The most important thing is that the customer is satisfied. 

Availability 

When you meet your contractor for the first time you have to be completely honest with them, the more you are with them the more honest they will be with you. It’s so important to be realistic and find out what their availability is like. You have to ask these questions because some companies are so busy that they will book jobs in so they have something to do after their current job, but that might be a few months down the line. If you need a job done in the next two months then you have to be honest and say that. Good companies will tell you their availability. 

Licenses 

There are obviously certain licenses you have to obtain before being able to work anywhere in the public sector. These are easy to check but if you want to make sure you’re working with the real deal, take a look to see if they have all the paperwork in check. 

Public References 

Earlier we spoke about asking your friends and family for reviews and references on construction companies and if you can do that, I still would. However, there are many ways to check if a company is treating everyone in the same manner by looking at their reviews and references online. There are many websites that will give you these and let you see what they’re like in the real world. Not only that but you’ll be able to see if any potential companies have had any bad incidents with customers and how the situation was dealt with, it’s always good to know how a company may react and be ready for it.

Contract  

Once you have decided on your contractor, the best thing you can do now is to sign a detailed contract listing everything you both expect from your working relationship. If things are in writing then there is no way they will be able to run away or come up with any excuse as to not complete your work. 

It’s a minefield, finding a decent construction company. But there are many ways you can mitigate the process. Follow these 8 points and you should be on your way to at least finding a half-decent contractor that’s going to work their hardest. If you can, take your time whilst choosing, your dream is worth more than a 10-minute google search! 

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