A Homeowner’s Guide to Choosing the Right Local Siding Contractor
The average person’s knowledge of what makes a contractor worth hiring leaves a lot to be desired. Not knowing how to determine whether a contractor is suitable or not increases a person’s chances of hiring a rogue contractor. Rogue contractors are unethical, unscrupulous tradespeople who take advantage of clients and steal their money. This post’s intention is to tell you how to avoid such individuals, as well as offer some advice you can use to choose a local siding contractor. With inclement weather becoming more and more common, siding is a great investment. Read on to find out more about sourcing it.
Popular Contractors
The best way to avoid rogue contractors is to stick with ones who are popular in your area. To find out the names of popular firms, get in touch with loved ones who’ve had their siding replaced or make a post on social media. For example, if you live in Everett, you need the help of Everett's leading siding contractors, and if you live in Port Townsend, you need the support of the city’s best. If you do not know anybody that has recently hired a siding contractor or do not use social media, conduct a basic internet search. Research the firms that show up at the top of Google or Yahoo’s search listings and see what past clients have to say about them. The most effective way to do this is to read reviews. A company’s reviews can tell you a lot about it.
Collect Recommendations
Instead of hiring the first contractor that’s recommended to you, collect multiple recommendations. The more recommendations you get, the greater your likelihood is of finding a skilled contractor. Make sure that once you've collected a list of recommendations, you take some time to read their reviews. As mentioned in the previous section, reviews can tell you a lot about a business. That is because a company's reviews will give you some insight into customer experience. You will also be able to reach out to people and ask them directly what their experience was like dealing with the contractor in question, assuming they left their name on their review. As well as reviews, look at star ratings. Star ratings can also be very helpful in determining a particular contractor’s suitability. The higher, the better.
Verify Level of Experience
Before you hire a contractor, you need to make sure that they are experienced. Hiring somebody who is inexperienced is one of the worst things you can do. This is because they might not be able to complete your siding installation to a satisfactory degree. The more experienced siding contractor is, the better they will be at their job. A good way to assess a contractor's level of experience is to look at their portfolio. On most contractors’ portfolios, there will be pictures of each and every house they have worked on. You can also request pictures of past jobs by reaching out to your chosen contractor on social media or via email. As well as verifying their level of experience, make sure that they have a license and are insured. This is so that you are protected financially in the event they make a mistake. If a venture is uninsured or does not have a license, you should avoid them. This is because they will not be able to provide financial coverage if they damage your house. Also worth noting is that if a contractor operates without a license, it is a clear sign they do not value their customers or their profession.
Ask for Past References
Finally, before you hire a contractor, consider asking them for past references. You do not necessarily need to do this if they have a public review page where you can see what their customers are saying about them. However, if your chosen contractor does not have a review page, asking for references can be an effective way for you to assess the suitability. Bear in mind that the clients they refer you to could offer biased or even fake testimonies, especially if they are friends or family members, so ask for some kind of evidence that the contractor worked with them. Pictures of the siding they installed is the best kind of evidence, because not only does it authenticate the client’s review of them, but it also shows you what the quality of the contractor’s work is like.
Siding provides protection to your home. It can also improve its appearance, and even add value to it. If you plan to invest in new siding, find a suitable contractor. Hopefully the guidance given here will help you to do that.