While there are many excellent additions and projects you can do on your own to improve your home, there are times when DIY just won’t cut it. For the most advanced and delicate projects, you need an experienced and reliable contractor to do the heavy lifting.
Selecting the right professional to work on your home can seem like an arduous task, but we have assembled a short checklist that should help steer you through common issues.
The first thing to look at when considering contractors is whether or not the person or business is certified by a professional body. Several organizations exist to benefit the hardscaping community and must provide a certification process for contractors that demonstrate their ability to perform the task to industry standards. Knowing what credentials your prospective contractor has is the first step towards making a good decision. In addition to certification, you also want to verify that the contractor in question is fully insured with both liability and workers compensation plans. Verifying these crucial items will help you ensure you are working with a bona fide professional.
With the technical checks made, the next step in selecting your hardscaping contractor involves the creative side of the project. Hardscaping and landscaping are as much art as they are science and getting a feel for your contractors aesthetic will allow you to verify that it matches your own expectations. Ask your prospective contractor for a portfolio of their past projects, taking special note of any that compare to your own. Ask the contractor to walk you through their creative design process and ensure that they are willing to take your input and produce a result that you are satisfied with. Many designers can produce sketches or computer renderings to help you visualize what you are discussing, so be sure to inquire about this possibility. Whatever the process, be sure you are satisfied with the vision your prospective contractor shares with you.
Once you have established confidence in the contractor’s capabilities and design, the last thing you need to do is establish some hard facts. Verify the timeline your contractor has in mind and ensure that it matches both your expectation and your own personal schedule. While many external factors can potentially delay a project, a good contractor will be able to provide you with a flexible timeline that takes these things into account. Finally, ask the contractor what guarantees they offer, including how long it lasts and what it covers. An expert craftsman takes their work seriously and is usually more than willing to correct problems in order to protect their reputation.
If you find yourself in need of products and materials for an upcoming project, we encourage you to consider us for your supply needs. We are Farmingville Masonry & Concrete Supply, a family-owned and operated business located in Farmingville, NY. Give us a call at (631) 320-0440, it would be our pleasure to serve you.