Contractor tips from intelligent people for home renovation and repair - hiring, working, managing - for women, children and pets

Desiring design means you want an architect. Desiring just space means you don't.

When a subcontractor starts off with poor quality work, you better fire him because it won't get better.

Use licensed contractors and subcontractors. You have more protection against poor quality work.

Your house is not the place to give a new business a chance to try his skills.

Don't talk politics with Russian carpenters.

Don't tell your workers what to do wearing a white shirt and a tie.

Tell painters there is ONLY one place to wash their brushes, including outside on the vegetation.

Do not leave notes to direct workers. Face to face, or verbal instructions, with drawings or pictures are best.

If your gerbil or cat disappears while renovating, it may have run away, or hidden and gotten trapped in the walls or floors.

Projected completion times are rarely correct, and usually based on what you want to hear.

The remodeling carpenter is not the same as a new house carpenter.

If you like your house's exterior, don't change it as you remodel the interior.

In construction, if your foundation isn't plumb, level and square, nothing on top of it will be either.

Never construct the newest anything in your house.

You're wrong to assume a foreign worker will understand enough English to follow your instructions when you leave.

Don't assume your instructions will be given to another subcontractor unless you do it yourself.

Inspect foundations, always.

Get what you want because you're going to have to live with it for a long time. If you don't, it done a certain way, say so.

Only licensed plumbers should be doing plumbing. Same for electricians and carpenters.

Once you pay your initial deposit, don't pay anyone in advance. No exceptions.

Do as much renovation work at once as you can afford. You won't want to do this again.

Don't pay anyone a final payment until you are certain you won't need him on the job anymore and that all his subcontractors have been paid.

No first deposits of more than 30% of the contract.

No full payment unless materials are already delivered to the job site.

Respect load-bearing walls. They are part of your foundation.

Open windows when running gasoline powered generators or compressors inside.

Assume workers will change the path of water flow toward the house when any outside work is being done.

Never rush, specially when working. Don't let anyone on the job rush either.

Your project is going to be more than you expected. Have at least 15% more than the estimated cost of the project readily available.

If you've renovated before, don't expect this renovation to be anything like the previous one.

Even though the architect speaks well and the builder speaks in profanities, don't assume that the builder knows any less than the architect about what's supposed to happen to your house. Ask both.

When hiring, references are better than a resume. Hiring without checking references is a gamble with possible disaster.

Get current references. If a contractor or subcontractor will not provide up-to-date references, it's not good.

Workers don't think about your stuff. About your personal possessions, the condition of your house, dust, debris or anything else that contributes to the quality of your life.

Money controls the project. Pay as little as you can upfront, but pay on time.

The main thoughts running through workers minds are, is it time to quit.

Don't bother threatening your contractor with a lawsuit. It's spouted all the time and, in most cases, a lawyer is going to tell you it's going to cost more to sue.

Plan to be at home more than usual during your renovation.

Good work counts the most.

Hire an expert to inspect someone's quality of work, or call the city inspector.

Don't hire subcontractors without cars because you will have to pick up supplies for them.

Guard against non-uniform materials. If a worker runs out of a particular color, he will continue to work using something similar. He's going to say either they are the same, or will be over time, or it's the light.

Home renovation that goes from bad to good, is going to go back to bad.

Please, change the locks when the work is done.

Workers are sloppy looking. But, there you go.

Because home renovation projects involve different people over time, the finished product becomes a period of service by a variety of groups. So the quality of people does affect satisfaction.

Before you build a deck around a tree, be sure the tree will outlast the deck. This applys to other things, too.

When you are afraid to watch something happening to your house, that's exactly when you should be watching.

The painter blames the drywaller, and the drywaller blames the plumber. Workers blame each other, that's human nature.

Most subcontractors don't return telephone calls.

The only message to leave subcontractors is when they should show up at the job. Otherwise, they will just show up, or they won't.

Wherever you see caulk, make sure the contractor has it complete and tight, not brittle and broken.

The exterior of your house that faces the worst weather, the south and southwest, will probably require the most work.

If exterior work has been done to your home, check the gutters have been replaced correctly.

No one other than a roofer should walk on a roof.

If you buy a fixture through a contractor, you have every right to see the invoice to learn what he paid for it to determine the markup is fair. Tell the contractor in advance you want to look at the original invoices for all materials.

Ask contractors to try an appliance or fixture before testing it on your own. Incomplete plumbing to the sink makes a mess.

A level is the most important tool to inspect the job.

Record everything in a $1 notebook, including inspections.

When in doubt, choose the material that is most compatible with what you already have.

Read the contract, maybe consult an attorney, and sleep on it.

Sometimes you may have to decide just getting the work done, or getting it done the way you want.

For big things, getting it done the way you want will make you happier for longer.

If you have a dog, watch it, maybe board it, because it's going to think of running away. They don't like the chaos.

Keep kids out of a renovating apartment or house as much as possible because it's busy, dangerous and attractive.