First I'd ask around the neighborhood--see if your neighbors have had good luck with a trusted contractor they would recommend. Also if you are doing a large expensive project you will need an architect. Architects usually can refer you to contractors they have worked with.

Among all of them that said no, did any of them volunteer or did you ask any of them for their reasoning?

An architect is a good start. A lot of contractors want smaller jobs cause, added together, they are more profitable than a big job. And some don't like architects being involved. Or it's beyond they're scope of work or manpower, hiring subs, or whatever. One thing that scares away some contractors is if you tell them you're getting several quotes. If you do that, the contractor may think that you expect them to low ball the estimate. And it takes so much time to work up an estimate, especially in this project's scope, they may not consider it worth their time to bid it. So I would start with the architect cause they already have a professional relationship going.

Janet,

Maybe you trying to contact wrong people. Sounds like you have a big job and you need a Builder or General Contractor who usually deal with a larger projects involving a few trades and they can provide all that.

You can start with an Architect like ODR suggested if you plan on adding or removing walls, or make changes in elevation, building an addition, etc.

Or you can start looking for local Builders/General Contractors who specialize in doing larger projects, and they can suggest an Architect should Architectural services required.

Good luck

A 100K project is sizable, but not huge. It could be that those that you have contacted know that a ''cottage'' isn't worth spending100K+ in ''improvements'' on. Perhaps you should be contacting the new home builders about doing a teardown and rebuild.

Or perhaps you are giving off a shoppers vibe. Contractors are hugely busy. Too busy to bother with someone who isn't immediately dangling a check in their face for their time. Perhaps start off with a statement that you are willing to pay for their time to assess the project. $500 wouldn't really cover the 10-20 hours for a true accurate quote development, but it would cover a more in depth on site guesstimate of the project.

If you are comfortable being more hands-on, you can consider becoming your own general contractor. By that I don't necessarily mean doing the work yourself (although you could) - I mean look for specialty subcontractors and buy out the project by trade. Find an excavator who will dig the foundation hole, and then a concrete sub to do the foundation itself, a framer, an electrician, a roofer, etc. This is what a GC will do for you anyway, and they usually build in a management fee of 15 to 20% into their overall price. If you manage and schedule the work yourself you should be able to save overall. There are some pitfalls, but there are books out there - try the Fine Homebuilding magazine website for books and ideas.

yeah its tough sometimes. making calls to people in the less affluent direction can help. for example, we're in the boston area where the contractors are all fat and happy with a 1 year + waiting list, calling a Providence RI based contractor gave a good result, they are a lot hungrier down there and were happy to drive.

The remodeling industry is insane right now - in all areas not just large cities. Many general contractors that can and would take on a $100k project are booked 6-12 months out. Most of the professional remodelers we know are asking folks if they would like to get on the list for March-April of 2017 to start planning phase with a construction start date around mid-2017. Most are flat turning down small jobs and can't afford to break away and even go look at them. The more professional subcontractors are also booked 8-10 weeks out so getting on their schedule is a juggling act and heaven help you if you miss a deadline and need to reschedule a sub (and then all the rest of the subs affected).

Do your homework, ask for referrals and find someone you think you would like to work with. Then get on the list and stay in touch with them. If there is a cancellation, then you may be able to get your project done more quickly. Gives you time to do lots of research and planning in the interim. Much better to wait for someone that you trust than to jump into what might be a bad situation.

I guess my first question is what are you doing for the 100,000 . A 4 hour round trip to give a quote is a day out of someones time and if you are vague about what you want they are not going to bother, I sure would not do that trip without compensation for my time and not without a plan from the client.

How much preplanning have you done? A fixer upper can't be estimated by doing a simple walk around and then through a number at it. If the contractor gets there and there are no reasonable plans then they are not going to take you to seriously. Likely think you are just testing the water.

Graham

Really she is in Ontario , Canada are you wanting a working holiday.

First of all, cottage country in Ontario IS probably worth putting 100K into. Second, I know of someone just north of Toronto that had a hard time even getting tradespeople to quote on his house because everyone of good reputation is already booked up for months. He ended up hiring some to work alongside him and is being his own general contractor. Have you checked Kijiji at all? Do you have a deadline on when you wanted this done? Are you able to wait until winter and book them when they're not so busy? My family is in the roofing business and they had the summer jobs booked by March.

Within a 2 hr drive of Toronto the word "Cottage" can be bit misleading. This is a very hot market, especially if you are on a preferred lake. There are many spending 100K or more on the dock & boat house. Many are also sourcing their contractors out of the Toronto and surrounding area as all of the locals are way to busy.

Graham

I was actually making a comment on a post from FLA that is now deleted not a comment on the place since I am from Canada

Patricia Colwell Consulting - Thought that was the case. I was going to comment on that one also. Maybe that GC would have been interested in trying out some fresh water fishing.

Graham

Hi Janet, have you had any luck yet? Feel free to give me a call at the number listed on my page; I'm not a contractor but I can probably recommend a couple that would suit.

It is apparently a universal problem. I took 13, and going outside my immediate area, before I had any luck at all!! The ones that mystify me were the ones who spent an hour at my house going over the scope of the project, then never returned an estimate!!
Also, look for a younger guy, they aren't as covered up, or just have more bills to pay;), in my experience. They were the only ones who actually sent estimates back.