uknowa

Checking References

In many respects, hiring a contractor for your home improvement project can be like bringing a new employee on board. Whether you’re hiring roofers, landscapers, painters, the contractor is going to be coming to your home on a regular basis and may even be interacting with your family. So how do you ensure you’re hiring the right contractor for the job?

Take the Time to Check Their References

Most homeowners are concerned about quality and price when interviewing prospective contractors. But reliability and character are two attributes that should also be examined. No one wants their contractor to disappear for an extended vacation while in the middle of a finished basement renovation or while remodeling their kitchen – when the project is started, you should have confidence that it will be completed in a timely fashion.

If the contractor and his/her team are going to be in your home on a daily basis, good character may be the most important trait to look for when hiring a contractor. You’re inviting a stranger into your home and in some cases, may be working there while you’re gone during the day. So how can you ensure the safety of your family and belongings? The time you take to check your contractors’ references can mean the difference between a great home improvement project experience and a very, very bad one.

Check or ask for a list of the following when interviewing contractors for your project:

• Past customers – insist on receiving a list of past customers the contractor has done work for and it wouldn’t hurt to have a few current projects on the list as well. Contractors listed in uknowa also have customer reviews posted in their profiles, so you can get a sense of their work even before you contact them. Call at least several of the customers and ask about their satisfaction with the contractor and their employees’ performance, the quality of their workmanship, and whether the project was completed on schedule. You might also ask if the contractor kept their work area clean and if there were any unpleasant situations that arose during the course of the project.


• Building material vendors – most contractors have building supply vendors they favor and you should ask him/her to provide you with a few names. Check with the vendors to ensure the contractor pays their bills on time – the last thing you want to discover is that the money you’ve been paying the contractor for your project has been spent elsewhere and the supplier is claiming they’re still owed for the materials used on your job.


• City of Toronto Building Division – most contractors working in Toronto must have a city license – ask your contractor for their city license number and verify it with the city. Contractors who have voluntarily submitted their licence number with uknowa and have been verified, have a City of Toronto licence badge listed on their profile.


• Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus – don’t assume that the list of customers includes those where there may have been a bad experience. Always check with the Better Business Bureau for any bad reports on the contractors you’re considering. You’ll also see the BBB badge on uknowa’s contractor profiles – if you see the badge, you know these contractors are registered with the BBB and are in good standing with them.

Following these tips when hiring a contractor for your home improvement project should help ensure that your foray into the world of working with contractors is a good experience.