Choosing Your Remodeling Contractor

by Amy Fanter
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), locating and hiring a qualified, professional remodeling contractor is actually much easier than you might think. The association has guidelines which can help you to select a qualified contractor for your kitchen renovation project.

Local Contractor Makes Good

Choosing a local remodeling contractor, one who has been working in your area and has the proper city, state and local licenses, is generally a good bet. Supporting your local economy is also a bonus.

General Contractor or Remodeling Contractor?

New construction isn't the same as remodeling work. By choosing a contractor who has extensive remodeling and renovation experience or a member of the NARI or the National Kitchen and Bath Association, you'll know they have the specialized knowledge that kitchen remodels require.

Check Out Potential Contractors Carefully

Before hiring a remodeling contractor contact your local Better Business Bureau, Office of Consumer Affairs, or even Chamber of Commerce. These organizations may be able to tell you if any problems have been reported in the past or how long a given contractor has been in business. Also, don't forget to ask your remodeling contractor for references and call those customers to see if they are satisfied with their kitchens.  NARI also recommends seeing kitchen projects the contractor has completed so you can see the quality of workmanship for yourself. This will make it easier to visit past clients' homes to inspect the contractor's work in person. In general, if a contractor does good work, on time and on budget, a client will be more likely to welcome a potential customer into their home.

Shop Around, Ask Contractors Questions

Not all contractors bid jobs in the same way nor do they always work with the same materials. If you see an estimate that is comparatively low or unreasonably high be sure and question it.  Sometimes the price difference is depending up the quality products being used.

While these guidelines can help you to make an informed decision regarding your kitchen remodel, in the end the most important thing to keep in mind when choosing a contractor is how comfortable you feel working with them and how qualified they are for getting your kitchen remodeling job completed on-time and within budget.  

About the Author
AJ Fanter is a freelance writer based in Reno, Nevada.