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When it comes time for you to hire a commercial contractor, you might be surprised with how many choices there are in your local area.
But don’t let it overwhelm you as this can definitely work to your advantage. Competition does create opportunities for the general public, after all.
The overwhelming majority of contractors around the country are reputable and do beautiful work for their clients. But as with anything else in life, there are a few bad apples you need to watch out for.
So when the time comes to get started on your commercial construction project, a good deal of due diligence is necessary in order to find the right contractor at the right price. Take your time during the selection process to be sure you’re choosing the right contractor for you and your particular project.
There are several questions you should ask each potential contractor during the vetting process. There is no such thing as a bad question, after all, when thousands of dollars are on the line.
Questions you should consider asking during your contractor search include:
This is one of the most important questions to ask potential contractors. Every professional contractor should have a license to do the work; if not, you need to move on immediately and find someone else.
Holding a contractor’s license is proof that the person you’re considering hiring has filed the proper paperwork with your state and is qualified to handle commercial construction projects.
If the contractor can’t produce this license, move on immediately! Never, ever hire a contractor who can’t show you the proper credentials.
Just as important as proper licensing documents is proof of proper insurance. I can’t stress this enough – you never, ever want to have someone performing construction on your property who isn’t properly insured.
Doing so can open you up to all sorts of potential problems should an accident occur on the work site. If your contractor isn’t insured, he could even sue you and your company for damages that occur on your property.
This is something to avoid at all costs. If a contractor doesn’t hold the proper insurance, don’t ever let them on your site to perform any type of work.
Insurance serves to protect the contractor but it also serves to protect you. If a contractor doesn’t have proof of insurance, this should be a non-starter for you in any and all instances.
If any subcontractors will be working on your property on behalf of the contractor, they also need to hold the proper licensing and insurance documents.
You’ll want to know ahead of time who will be working on your property because you’ll also need to properly vet any subcontractors who are part of your commercial construction project.
Ask your contractor for a list of subcontractors before the work begins so you can be 100 percent certain who will be on your property, when they’ll be there and what they’ll be doing.
Questions are almost certainly going to arise from time to time during commercial construction projects. So you need to be certain that someone is going to be available to answer your questions in a timely manner.
Whether it’s the contractor himself or a representative of his company, there needs to be someone you can talk to when situations come up.
Ask the contractor about this before work begins so both the client and the contractor are clear about who the designated representatives are on both sides.