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It's frustrating as a "good guy" contractor to hear stories from family and customers about their terrible contractor experiences.  Just this past week I have heard from my mother-in-law and a customer about the contractor that asked for all the money before they were done with the job.  So now the contractor won't finish the job and they didn't build the job right.   This is why contractors have a bad reputation.   There are a lot of good contractors out there, so here are some questions to ask the contractors you are interviewing.  And then you can make an informed, educated decision.

20 Things To Ask Your Basement Contractor

1. How long have you been in business?

2. Is your company a full service or specialty firm?

3. Are you licensed?

4. Are you insured? For how much?

5. Do you have a showroom?

6. How many employees do you have?

7. Do you offer a warranty?

8. Can I call references?

9. Can I go visit some of your past or current jobs?

10. When will you start?

11. When will you finish?

12. Do you offer financing?

13 .Do you do all the work yourself or hire subcontractors? ?

14. Will you be pulling the permits?

15. Do you have any products specially designed for my basement?

16. What makes you an expert at what you do?

17. I don't want any surprises. Will I be getting a detailed drawing, scope of work and guaranteed price?

18. Where will I be making my selections?

19. Do you have a designer to help me with my selections?

20. Why is your price so different from the other quotes I got?  What did you include or leave out?

The answers to these questions will help build comfort in choosing a good contractor.    The contractor should be licensed and insured.  He should be pulling the permit and be able to give you references for past and current jobs.  Do your homework.  Be smart and ask the proper questions.  Shopping price isn't always the best decision.

How awful would it be to have your sump pump fail and ruin your finished basement, and then to learn that you are not properly covered for it?

If you are like me, you sat down with your agent to discuss your homeowners insurance coverage and how it works, only to forget the moment you walked out of his office.  Well now is the time to revisit the discussion.  Call your insurance agent before you start any home improvement project to make sure you are properly covered.   Two very important points to cover with your agent.

Home Replacement Cost -    You will want to let your agent know how much you need to add your policy to cover the  new construction and new furnishings.  Don’t assume your policy will automatically pay for  the increased replacement cost of your improved home.

Back up & Sewer/drain coverage – Most Homeowners Policies include a very limited amount of coverage for damage due to Backup of Sewers or Drains.  The average amount of coverage built in to most policies is $2,500 .  This would not go very far to clean up the mess and replace floor covering, damaged walls and furnishings.  Higher limits are available, but you need to contact your agent to find out.

If you can’t get the appropriate coverage you need with your current agent, then it’s time to find a new one!

Information supplied by: Don Bourdeau @ www.albourdeau.com

As I look out my window, at my dead tree, it makes me proud to think of the warranty service we give our customers.

A couple of years ago we had some landscaping work done at our home. We hired a professional landscaper to design and install the trees and plantings.  The landscaper gave us a one year warranty, and he explained that if anything was wrong or didn’t live he would replace it at no cost to us.  

 
Well, after the first winter we noticed that a bush and a sugar maple didn’t make it, so I made my warranty call. The landscaper did show up to replace the rhododendron and said he would be back for the tree at a later date.  Several promises and two summers later, I still have a dead tree in my yard. 

 
Here at Finished Basements Plus we honor our warranty.  We have even been known to come back several years later to address a problem.  Will your contractor be there when things need fixing?