Having work done to your home? Take a close look at who does it.
According to the California State Licensing Board, "home improvement is a top source of consumer complaints".
Home improvement is big business these days. Especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, demand for tradespeople has far exceeded their supply since the late 1990s. These days, people from out of the area, and even from out of state, happily shuttle between here and their homes to take advantage of our shortage of skilled workers. Contractors who would have walked over hot coals to get a job in the early '90s won't even return your call today.
These ten tips from the CSLB will make it more likely that the contractors you hire measure up.
1. Hire only licensed contractors. There are forty-three types of contractor licenses in California. Anyone who does work valued at $500 or more for materials and labor must have a valid license for that type of work.
2. Check a contractor's license number online at www.cslb.ca.gov, or call 1-800-321-2752.
3. Get three references. Ask if you can see the work.
4. Get at least three bids. Here's my tip: always go with the highest one. Just kidding (a little) but years of working with vendors has taught me to be suspicious of an unusually low bid. Compare bids carefully, line by line, ideally on a spreadsheet, to make sure you're comparing apples with apples.
5. Get a written contract. Don't sign anything until you completely understand its terms.
6. Never give your contractor more than 10 per cent down or $1000, whichever is less.
7. Don't let your payments get ahead of your contractor's work. Keep records of payments.
8. Don't make a final payment until you're satisfied with the job.
9. Don't pay cash.
10. Keep a job file of all papers relating to your project.
Here are a few more tips based on my own experience: