Do I hire the cheap contractor?

13 years ago

Many of the beautiful project pictures displayed on Houzz are done by professionals that charge a fair price and you get outstanding workmanship. The adage of you get what you pay for is so true!

The best way to judge if a contractor and designer is worth the price is by asking for example of their past work and looking at reviews from Houzz or Google or other sources.

We were hired to remove the existing stone on the fireplace because the first contractor didn't apply wire mesh and a skim coat of mortar to the work area. The result was the stones were becoming lose on the two story fireplace and represented a hazard. The homeowner had to pay for the removal and then the replacement of the new stone. Had the owner hired a masonry company that didn't cut corners, they would have many thousands of dollars ahead.

Our suggestion is to dig deeper into all the contractors you are dealing with to make sure you are getting a project that is well done and worth the money. You will probably spend a little more money, but it is worth it.

The stone in the after picture is our unique blend called Wisconsin Prairie Style Stone and the stone was installed without a mortar joint. We used the same mantel as in the original stone fireplace.

For more questions about transforming your existing brick or drywall fireplace, please feel free to call us or send and email

North Star Stone, Inc.
Libertyville, IL
847-996-6850
aandrews@northstarstone.biz

www.northstarstone.biz

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Comments (5)

PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
13 years ago
Nicely said. Too often, in the flooring industry, we hear the horror stories of what went wrong with a product. Because Cancork/Icork Floors offer a specialty product, we hear it far too often - "Your product must be defective, because it is doing X,Y and Z". That's when I have to explain that it isn't the floor but the installer that is/was the problem. Always investigate the person you are hiring. Cheap does not always mean economical! If it has to be re-done, your savings turn into a nightmare! If in doubt, GET IT IN WRITING. If the contractor is sound, then they will have no problem with signing a contract. If s/he starts to get nervous about caveats, etc. then you are probably wasting your time and your money by hiring them.
Ken Lewis
13 years ago
This is such an obvious point when you are working within a profession and see the inferior offerings of some within your industry. And, it obviously gives a bad name to all who are associated with the line of work.

Interestingly, it is hard to see the value in paying more to get the job right the first time when dealing outside of one's industry. For example, I do Internet Marketing for Interior Designers and other small businesses. I constantly hear designers caution homeowners to not waste time and money and mistakes in DIY projects, yet they then try to do DIY marketing. They come up against the very same issues that they were warning others to avoid!

It is always best to find a reference you can trust. Testimonials on the company's website are too easy to manipulate. Ask friends for referrals, and always side with quality over price. Every business needs to make money, so if you cut costs you are encouraging the provider to cut corners.
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orangecamera
13 years ago
I have a labor-only quote from my contractor. It's up to me to manage my budget on materials. This way I have control over all the specifics. I have chosen which items to splurge on, and which I can do at lower cost. It works best for my personality to do it this way.
PRO
Woodcliffe Design
13 years ago
I encourage people to get recommendations on a contractors quality of work from a designer, architect or other trade professional. There are plenty of contractors people assume are of better quality because of the higher estimate. I've had client's show me pictures of a contractor's project they were considering hiring and knew immediately they would not deliver a custom product - a DIY store product installed is not a custom job. As professionals, our recommendation of contractors reflects our level of quality in the product we deliver to our client's as are our referrals of professionals we trust to maintain that level. Always consider the source of the recommendation as well as the price.
PRO
Charles Graves Painting Company
5 years ago
For Woodcliffe- I’d actually disagree. There’s a lot of… how shall I say… CORRUPTION or NEPOTISM in both the construction trades and in many other industries today (government, politics, etc).

A) Many people refer someone because they’re friends with them, family/related to them, or because they’re attracted to their good looks. Instead of being completely unbiased regarding quality

B) Sometimes contractors give “kick backs” to who referred them, and it becomes a game of “who will pay me the most to refer them?” I’ve had realtors openly tell me that our work is better than “their” painter, but they are receiving funds from “their” painter to refer them. Or they say, vaguely “our real estate office tells us to refer this guy”- and you know exchange of money is involved.

Other realtors have recommended “their painter” to a homeowner, who then did sloppy work so we had to go fix their work. In one instance, the homeowner was frustrated because they originally wanted to go with us anyway, but the realtor strongly pushed to have the other (bad) painter go, so the homeowner ended up paying twice for the same work when we had to fix the work the other painter did. =/

Asking for only references invites corruption. One person can easily lie, or refer a mediocre person just for kickbacks. As I go to church weekly, I make it a point to avoid any sort of corruption or favoritism and I refer people simply based on them being the best referrals I can give for trades that we don’t do.

If you want to have the best results then it’s vital to look at the entire picture, which includes:
1. Licensing and insurance and workers comp- all are must have’s
2. do they have good online reviews? A must have
3. do they have a long time in the business? This is very important, because sometimes a contractors work can look good AT FIRST…. But does it hold up well over time? Contractors in business a long time, with good reviews, means that they do a great product 99% of the time AND that in the rare occasion they have a customer submit a warranty claim, they FIX IT rather than avoiding it.
4. referrals by someone are definitely good- BUT, again if your realtor or buddy refers you to a contractor who has bad reviews, doesn’t have a license, etc, then you probably should nicely tell your friend or realtor “thanks but no thanks”. Don’t feel peer-pressured to hire someone who will deliver inferior work

Do I hire the cheap contractor?

Comments (5)

Cancork Floor Inc.

Ken Lewis

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Woodcliffe Design

Charles Graves Painting Company

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