Remodel and rejoice: A guide to avoiding common renovation pitfalls
Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 26, 2010 by Melody Simmons
You’re ready to start that remodeling project, the one you hope will transform your home into a bigger, better castle. It’s an investment that could cost thousands in planning, labor and materials but that, with luck, will result in a nice payoff if you ever sell the property.
But what if your dream of a new kitchen, bathroom or addition turns into a nightmare? While most licensed remodelers in Maryland take care to set up a job to prevent problems, trouble can arise once work gets under way.
“There’s always going to be add-ons and stuff that’s hidden, like bad water pipes, rotten beams, holes in the roof and broken sewer lines, that we find after demo begins,” said Peter Forbes, owner of Forbes Contracting Inc., a residential contractor in northeast Baltimore that focuses on remodeling older homes in the area. “People run out of money and there’s always a fight.”
What to do to avoid unpleasantness? We turned to Forbes and two other Baltimore remodelers with nearly 50 years of combined experience. What should homeowners ask a remodeler?
For Forbes, the main questions concern a project’s budget.
“That’s the number one thing — that and you’ve got to believe and trust your contractor,” he says. “Jobs always take longer, so ask for a timetable, knowing it may change.”
Forbes says he advises customers to make a budget and stick to it. But first, he says, take 20 percent of the total and put it aside “because you’re going to need it for add-ons and hidden costs.”
He also advises homeowners to order any new appliances ahead of time. “Sometimes folks want to add a new appliance and that can stall a project if it is not ordered first,” Forbes says. “That can stop things for three or four days.”
In business since 1977, Forbes advises consumers to get at least three quotes for a job and to be discerning. “Never pick the low or high [quote]; always go in the middle,” he says. And do your due diligence: “Always ask for a reference from their last job. They’re only going to give you a ref that’s good, and in my opinion you’re only as good as your last job.”
David Foley, of Foley Construction & Residential Services, advises homeowners to make sure their contractor is licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, or MHIC. A simple check on the commission’s website will tell you. Licensed contractors, who are required to carry insurance and workers’ compensation, work under the state’s Home Improvement Law, which protects consumers for up to $20,000 in losses incurred for poor or incomplete work.
In addition, Foley recommends asking whether the contractor will use subcontractors for certain parts of the job, such as electrical or roofing work. The key question in this case is whether the subcontractor carries insurance. A dispute between the general contractor and subcontractor could be nasty – and costly for the consumer.
“If the contractor walks off the job and the sub doesn’t get paid, you get a lien against your property and you have to pay it,” Foley says
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Jul 28, 2010
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