How to Choose The Right Contractor

Ask Around Locally

I asked friends and family members for recommendations on contractors and I even asked contractors that weren't interested in building for me if they had suggestions for someone who might be interested. I got a couple names from my best friend's dad, who was also a contractor that was way out of my budget, and they both asked me to drop off plans at a local building supply store. The gentleman there also said he had another contractor he frequently worked with that may be interested. We sent my plans to him as well and he was the one who ended up being my builder.

Take Into Consideration How Quickly They Respond To You

I had some contractors that said they would take a look at my plans and they never got back to me. I had one contractor who was very hard to track down, wouldn't get back to texts and it took forever to get together with him. It was frustrating. I was building out of state so I needed someone who was going to respond. I had one contractor go back and forth with me over email, but when it came down to setting a time to get together, he would have some excuse why he couldn't get together or I just wouldn't hear from him at all. I sent my plans to the gentleman who eventually became my builder one day and had a call from him the next day to discuss what I was looking for. I asked for an estimate on building my place and while that took a little longer, he would email me in between to let me know he was still working on it. He was responsive which told me he was interested. Even when he was building my place and it took much longer than I was hoping, I could always get ahold of him which is absolutely something you want in a contractor that is spending your hard earned money to build your dream home.

Ask Price Per Square Foot Right Off The Bat

I started calling around to different construction companies and contractors and simply asked their average price per square foot to build. I knew the budget I wanted to stay around, and so this told me right away whether or not they could build for me. While there are always unexpected costs during the build and your budget may not turn out exactly like you had hoped, this is a really good starting point. There can be a lot of variance in price between builders!

Find The One Who Is Good With Total Customization

This is why we build, right?! Originally, I was talking to a long time family friend about building my place. He didn't like the idea of an A-frame. He said they weren't an efficient use of space. He said with a small budget and something you're paying per square foot for, you'll loose space and money. He said I would be better off to just build a modern style cabin. I sort of looked into it, but my heart was set on an A-frame. I also had my list of wants for my A-frame. I was absolutely stuck on concrete countertops. I wanted wood or vinyl plank floor. I wanted brass fixtures. He told me with my budget, I would be getting all run-of-the-mill items. Laminate countertops, flooring, etc. That was not what I wanted at all, and I eventually came to the conclusion that he wasn't the builder for me. The builder I ended up working with let me do everything I wanted to do and came up with some great suggestions for things I wanted. I told him I wanted a wood slab for my upstairs bathroom counter and I would be fine with butcher block. He said absolutely not, I'll find you a nice cedar slab. He drove to the next town over, 45 minutes out of the way, to get this for me and made me a totally custom countertop. Him and I made my countertops and they are one of my favorite pieces in my house. I have funky vintage and handmade light fixtures everywhere and funky old doors and I couldn't imagine it any different.

Make Sure They Understand Your Vision

As I said before, there were multiple people, including contractors, who tried to talk me out of the A-frame. My contractor never did that. He let me know right away that he had never built an A-frame, but he said he loves doing custom and unique builds. So that told me he was excited to build my A-frame, something different. He looked over my plans and gave me small, valuable suggestions to think about, but nothing that drastically changed what I wanted. He saw my vision and let me run with it, which I appreciated so much.