Hiring a Professional Craftsman
Published: Thursday, Apr 10th, 2008
When a homeowner envisions a building project beyond his personal skills, he is faced with the problem of finding competent professionals.Here are some suggestions of the steps to satisfactorily solve that problem.
- Decide exactly what you want done,
- Select at least three craftsmen. Ask to see their Construction Contractors Board license. Take the registration number and verify that their registration is current. This will guarantee that you will have legal recourse, if necessary.
- Give the project list to the professionals and ask them to submit a written bid price, a time line and two references.
- Compare the bids and time lines and check the references. Ask if the professional was able to complete the job on time, if the people were happy with the quality of work, and were there any problems with the job.
- Call the Contractors Board in Salem, (503) 378-4621, and ask if the builder you have selected has any complaints filed against him that have not been satisfied.
- Get a written contract stating all work to be done, when it is to be done, when you pay him, who pays for the materials needed. Most bids include materials and labor.
Remember: The bid will include his labor cost, insurance and the base profit percent that the professional includes in all bids. You are paying for his skill and expertise; he’s the professional.
If you have followed these steps, you will have done all that you can do to protect yourself and have your project completed with a minimum of problems.
