Hiring the Best Kitchen Remodel Contractor
A kitchen remodel is one of the best ways to increase the value of your home and position yourself favorably for a successful sale of your house. If you plan to remodel your kitchen, there are useful steps to take that will help to ensure you will have the right contractor working on your kitchen.
Remodeling your kitchen can be a complex home improvement project. You want to make sure you adequately attend to all details, and let's face it, if you are going to spend money on a kitchen renovation, you want to have as much of a return on your investment as possible.
There are many decisions that need to be made when remodeling a kitchen. 3Rs Construction & Remodeling is here to help as your trusted contractor in Salem, Oregon.
Services a Kitchen Remodel Contractor Will Offer
A competent and experienced kitchen remodel contractor will oversee all aspects of this improvement project, including navigating building codes, permitting and inspections, and coordinating a team of highly skilled craftspeople. In addition, you will need to rely on your contractor to schedule and coordinate the whole project.
The scope of work is quite comprehensive in a kitchen remodel, and it includes the following:
- Demolishing the old kitchen while protecting the rest of your home from debris.
- Restoring or repairing the existing structure to prepare for the new build.
- Updating Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC.
- Construction of the new kitchen.
- Building and or installing cabinets, countertops, flooring, sheet rock, trim work, lighting, and wall coverings will need to be orchestrated.
You will find some contractors who will provide design or architectural services. These supplemental contractor services would be useful if you have ambitious kitchen remodeling ideas. Keep in mind that architects specialize in planning structural changes, and designers improve functionality and aesthetics.
Looking for a reliable contractor for your kitchen remodel? Contact 3Rs Construction & Remodeling, your local contractor today!
How to Be Sure You Work with a Competent Kitchen Contractor
Seek Referrals
An effective way of ensuring you find a qualified, experienced professional contractor is to solicit referrals. This might include talking to relatives, friends, colleagues, and neighbors and asking who they would recommend.
In your inquiry, ask these people you know what they most appreciated about the contractor and if they would use them again.
Look for Credentials
You should only work with a licensed and insured contractor for your kitchen remodel. A contractor needs to pass rigorous testing to show their knowledge of the trades to earn a contractor license.
Also, make sure you obtain their CCB ( Construction Contractors Board ) license number. The CCB is the governing body that all legit contractors submit to. They will stop a contractor from working if their insurance laps, their required bond is not on file, or they have not completed their required continuing education requirements. From the CCB website, you can do a license search and find out how the contractor you are considering has done in the past and if they are operating legally in Oregon. https://www.ccb.state.or.us/search/
Add to the process of researching contractors; you can look into the following industry organizations and see if your prospective contractors are members:
- Oregon Home Builders (OHBA)
- National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Home Builders Association (HBA)
- Chamber of Commerce
Being affiliated with these professional association memberships shows an additional layer of legitimacy for a particular contractor.
Interview Prospective Contractors
Set out to narrow your list of potential contractors by scheduling interviews with them. You can find a list of questions to ask contractors on the NARI website.
Here are some examples of questions you can pose to a contractor:
- Do you operate with a license, bond, and are you insured?
- What are your expectations about payment?
- Have you or your employees been convicted of a crime?
- Will you offer a quote OR an estimate? It's important to know the difference
- How long will this process take to complete once started?
Ready to get started on a bathroom remodel? Contact 3Rs Construction & Remodeling for a quote today!
How to Prepare for Contractor Bids
After you have interviewed contractors and narrowed your list to 1 or 2 choices, the next step is to ask for bids on the kitchen remodel project. You should never decide who to hire based on price. The final price is a moving target for many contractors. Therefore, your highest priority has to be focused on who you trust will give you the best value without losing sight of your desired finished results.
That means you will need to provide each contractor with the same complete information that will ultimately influence the bids you receive.
It is helpful to you and the contractor to offer them as much detail in your pre-bid information as you can when it comes to specific brands, materials, or other relevant choices of yours.
Be sure to include essential information for your kitchen project, such as the following:
- Kitchen design
- Cabinet types
- Countertop and flooring brands and materials
- Budget
- Acceptable working hours
- Placement of electrical components and lighting
- Timeline
The bid you receive from a professional contractor should include the following elements:
- Scope of work
- Price
- Payment schedule
- Change order clause
- Express limited warranty
Check References
These steps will add to the legitimacy of a contractor and help you determine if they meet your needs and qualifications.
Look to 3Rs Construction & Remodeling for Your Next Kitchen Remodel
If you intend to embark on a kitchen remodel in the next year, we invite you to allow 3Rs Construction & Remodeling to perform a beautiful, transformative kitchen renovation in your Polk County or Marion County home.
We'll give you a realistic time frame for our work, and you'll let us know an appropriate time for us to perform it. Our detail-oriented contractors will work diligently to finish your kitchen on time and within budget.
Call us at (503) 363-1059, so we can get started on realizing your dream kitchen remodel today!