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Where to get trainings to be a renovation contractor?

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  • We are buying a house -yay! But the house needs renovation work done - eek! While we have previously owned a house, it was 10 years ago, in another state, and never had any major renovations. We are scheduled to close on April 30, so we are trying to figure out what kinds of professionals we need and how to find/hire them. The house was built in the 20s, and seems to be generally sound structurally, according to the inspector and our agent (who is a former contractor). But the interior hasn't been updated since the 70s, and the exterior hasn't been painted in....a while. Luckily, we have time to get work done before we move in, because the lease on our current apartment is not up until Aug 31, although we would prefer to move in before that. The things we want/need to get done are the following, in order of importance: 1) Completely renovate the upstairs full bath. Everything must go, and I do mean everything: tub, tile, toilet, sink, floor, wallpaper (oy, the wallpaper!). The ugly hurts. 2) Exterior paint & minor repairs. As mentioned, it doesn't seem to have been painted in a while, and there are definitely a few places where some fascia boards will need to be repaired/replaced. Needs to get done before the next fall/winter. 3) Kitchen renovation. The kitchen isn't quite as ugly as the bathroom, but it is very outdated, and not all the appliances work. At a minimum we would replace the appliances and wait to do the rest, but ideally we would replace all the cabinets and the counter tops. In addition, if we renovate we will need to do electrical work, as there are no GFCI outlets in the kitchen and are required by the code. We also want to change some of the lighting in the kitchen. 4) Paneling removal/drywall installation in the basement (finished basement had to have some paneling removed due to termites, so we will want to just get rid of the rest of it and replace with drywall). 5) Floor refinishing. We are confident we can rip up the old shag carpeting ourselves, but want a professional to refinish the oak floors before we move in. We are planning to do all interior painting ourselves to save money, but there are two rooms with some vinyl wallpaper (looks to be only 1 layer). If possible, I'd like to remove that myself, but if it's gong to damage the walls to do so, I will pay a professional. So based on the things we want to do, we are trying to figure out the most cost effective and efficient way to go about hiring people for the renovations. Is it better to find one general contractor to handle everything? Is that even possible? Or a contractor for the inside work, and a house painting company for the exterior? I also saw that Home Depot has kitchen renovation services - are these worth looking at, or is a contractor better? If we end up with a contractor, what's the best way to approach the work? We have a budget of about $50K, and I'm not sure that we'll be able to get everything done for that. Ideally I'd like to know what each bullet would cost, so we could pick and choose based on priorities. How detailed will a contractor's estimate be? Any other useful things we should know going in to this process? Also, if you have an recommendations for professionals in the general Boston/Cambridge area, please feel free to memail me Thanks in advance!

  • Answer:

    You want a general contractor. Interview several, and talk to at least four or five people for whom he/she's done a similar-size job in the last few years. From these "first level" references, you want to know: 1. Did he finish on time and on or under budget? 2. Was he good at communicating with you? 3. Did they have any 'surprises' (there are always surprises), and how did he handle them? and finally (but most important) 4. Do they know of any other of the contractor's clients not on your list who you might talk to? Calling these "second level" references may be your most useful, because they weren't ones your prospective contractor chose as his "best examples". You want a contractor who is honest and ethical, and who communicates well. He'll hire any subs you may need.

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Second the suggestion to use licensed professionals you meet from the recommendations of people you know.

R2WeTwo

Second the buy fixtures that are in stock. Exciting is all well and good until you end up looking at a hole in the floor for several months. General Contractors that specialize in remodels need to be verified with references. Take the time to review their work - the one question no one ever seems to ask is about cost overruns. Does the contractor perform to the job or do they find additional work? Remodeling out to the studs can quite often lead to other suggestions for work so make sure that you have it in mind when they show you the rotten timber that's holding up your roof. Oh, and don't live in the project while they're working. Extend your lease or couch surf if you have to. Trying to live around a 7 AM job start can be very frustrating.

ptm

Well, you're proposing to embark on a big project. Prepare for it to fill up every free moment. Choose your GC carefully. Verify references, insurance, and licensing, seriously. Sales / relationship-building skills are very different than the technical skills involved in the job. The staff might exude competence and charm, but don't let that stop you from confirming that if the work falls apart you'll be able to recoup your loss. I loved my first shower /tile sub until I figured out he didn't understand the basics of waterproofing. You want someone established and insured. The other key thing about the GC relationship is to treat it as a serious relationship. You need someone you can work with well. If you have qualms, do not proceed. (I have the lawsuit to serve as a cautionary tale.) You need to be able to communicate. There may well be intense moments. You may well argue (or want to argue) with them. My current GC, even when times are tough or the news is bad, I still trust his integrity and enjoy dealing with the guy, and that is important, something I didn't understand when I was comparing bids.

slidell

A good general contractor should be able to give you a quote broken down by project. The GC will know subcontractors for painting, floor refinishing, etc., and will oversee and guarantee their work. Use some combination of Angie's List and recommendations from the people you've talked to in your new town to find a couple contractors. Get quotes from at least two. You're not looking for the cheapest; you're looking for one that has been around for a while, seems organized and responsive, and talks to you about how things need to be done for best results, rather than how he's going to save you money.

maxim0512

You can absolutely break things down into sub-projects to be priced separately, so that you can prioritize. One piece of hard-learned experience: when you are choosing things, new bathroom fixtures for example, something that is in stock is preferable to something that isn't. Even if the store says delivery in 7/14/21 days that can unexpectedly turn into eight weeks that you don't have a bathroom sink because the vanity hasn't arrived yet. (Ask me how I know.) If at all possible have everything you want to install queued up in your garage before starting the demo, to avoid unanticipated delays.

ambrosia

Regarding your vinyl wallpaper question — just Google vinyl wallpaper removal for tips. You can do it yourself. Seconding the GC suggestions. In theory you could manage a bunch of different contractors on these different projects yourself, but they'd be getting in each others way. Let the GC worry about that, it won't cost you much more. Think about doing the outside painting yourself. If you can do inside painting you can do outside. Just have the GC do the necessary fascia board repairs. Ask around the neighborhood about contractors that have done work in other people's houses. Also, I would hire either an architect to design and spec the kitchen and bath, or go with a local (non-big-box) vendor of cabinetry and fixtures that offers design services.

beagle

A general contractor will definitely save you trouble, and may (depending on the contractor) save you money - they often get a better rate from the subcontractors, and good ones will pass on (some of) that savings to you. In addition to getting contractor recommendations from new neighbors and friends, you can ask your realtor, and you can ask here next week. But once you have those recommendations, be sure you are really comfortable with the contractor you end up with. Interview them thoroughly - this is a job interview for them, and they should approach it accordingly. If they are uncommunicative and unhelpful when they're quoting for you, they'll be worse when they're working. Possibly most importantly, make sure that whatever quote you end up with is 25% below what you can actually afford to spend. Renovations are notorious for ending up going over budget (usually for perfectly good reasons). If it were me, I would start by doing just the bathroom, the flooring, and the painting. The bathroom and repairs are urgent, and the floor will be much easier if you aren't living there yet. Renovating a kitchen while you live there can be a pain, but it's also a big chaotic project that adds a lot of uncertainty to your budget. You can just get the new appliances as a fairly container thing, and then do the rest of the work when time and budget permit. And congratulations on moving back into home ownership!

contrarian

Sending you a few actual names by memail, since you are geographically very close.

instead of three wishes

Second the suggestion to use licensed professionals you meet from the recommendations of people you know. 3rd-it. Personal recommendations are always the best. In any case, the General Contractor should be able to provide a list of references, so be nosy! Call up the referees, and please just be bold and ask to invite yourself over to their house to look at their projects. If they're really happy with the work done, they will be proud to show it off.

ovvl

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