That's great advice

The question "who to ask?" is probably more important than "what to ask?"

Check with friends and neighbors who have had remodeling work done recently. Ask them about how their project went and whether they would choose their remodeler to do work in the future. If they had a good experience, put that remodeling company on your list of candidates.

Thanks, all good advice.

They will be interviewing you as well. Have a realistic budget and timeline for your expected scope of work and treat them like actual human beings.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2014/

People in your position have to decide whether to hire a contractor first (the design/build path) or the architect/designer first. There are pros and cons to each path...

As an Architect I am biased toward hiring the Architect first but I understand the validity of the Design/Build approach (properly done).

When I built my own house (lake Tahoe) and was looking for a contractor, I did the following...

I drove around and looked at houses under construction. People were usually happy to show you their project and tell you what I thought of their contractor.

I also called a few local architects/engineers and described my project. I then asked them who they like to work with.

Finally, I also asked the local bldg dept. They're not really supposed to give out names but you can usually get an idea of who does good work and who to stay away from...

Good luck!!!

This is all really informative. My realtor works closely with local builders and has close friendships with the best affordable architect in the area, also a close friend is an interior designer that I may get just an hour with. I am comfortable with doing the design stuff myself as I have a good eye. I am planning on having at least two contractors take a look. Just itching to get going before the snow flies.

There is a lot of good reading online.

I would (naturally?) recommend articles I wrote on the subject as a good place to start.

You can find these here:

http://www.megabuilders.com/blog/category/hiring-and-selecting-general-construction-contractors/

Good luck!