A common complaint amongst homeowners paying a contractor to complete a home renovation is that projects take weeks, even months longer than anticipated. A kitchen update that should be done in March drags on until May because of backordered tile; an addition of a new master suite gets stuck in the permitting process and the completion date becomes a giant question mark. On one hand, relying on a contractor means avoiding the headaches associated with coordinating a major renovation, but on the other hand, homeowners often feel confused or neglected when their projects aren’t progressing as they expect.
When your contractor calls and tells you about another delay, you might rightfully wonder whether they are telling the truth about an issue or merely dragging their feet. Here are a few ways to check up on your contractor and rest easier regarding your renovation:
Verify Your Contractor’s License
You should ask your contractor for information about their license, and then you should verify that information against the information you gain from your state’s licensing body. Not every state requires contractors to maintain a state license, but most do. If your state does not require licensing, your contractor might still have a license from a national organization; if they don’t, you can skip this step entirely — though you might wonder why your contractor isn’t seeking out as many credentials as possible.
You should be able to find the licensing body in your state by searching the web for your state’s name and the keywords “contractor license” or something similar. Generally, states have a searchable list of licensed contractors online, but you can also call the appropriate organization and ask for help. If the licensing information you can find online matches the licensing information given by your contractor, you have a good reason to trust your contractor.
Talk to the City About Filed Permits
A common reason for a delay in progress is “waiting on permits.” If you have never dealt with a city permitting office before, it might seem convenient to blame a government office for delays, but in truth, permitting offices can take minutes or months to approve plans, and contractors have no way of knowing whether their permit applications will go smoothly or not.
If your contractor has used the permit excuse one too many times, you can visit your city’s permitting office to get more information about the status of permits filed for your home. The office will be able to tell you if permits have been filed for your current project and whether they are pending review, requiring revisions or active. Active permits need to be used within a certain time frame, so if you discover that your contractor is lying about the status of your permits, you should look for another contractor for your project ASAP.
Contact the Subcontractors
If it isn’t the permits, it could be the subcontractors that are taking the blame for project delays. Your contractor’s main job isn’t necessarily to do the labor on your house; it is to hire the right people at the right time to complete your project to your satisfaction. Managing subcontractors is a difficult job that requires impeccable scheduling and communication skills, and even then, subcontractors can go their own way and mess up your contractor’s meticulous plans.
Still, if you suspect that your contractor is blaming the subcontractors undeservedly, you should ask for the contact information for the subcontractors. If your contractor is telling the truth about the subcontractors causing the delay, your subcontractors might be able to give a more detailed account of why they aren’t sticking to the schedule, which can be useful for your own peace of mind.
Ask About Their Software
Like every other professional in the digital age, contractors rely on software tools to keep their projects organized and under control. Some software makes it easy for contractors to send clients information about their projects and track progress over time. By asking your contractor about the software they use, you might gain access to digital resources that allow you to see how your project is progressing without interrupting your contractor’s efforts.
Get Everything in Writing
A handshake agreement is fast and convenient, but it isn’t the most trustworthy way to do business. Experienced and professional contractors will go out of their way to put important communications with you in writing, so both of you know what the other expects at every stage of the process. If you start to doubt that your contractor is telling you the truth about your project, you should request that they submit every communication in writing, even text or email. Then, you have evidence of what they have said — which could be invaluable if you need to launch legal action.
The last thing you want is a contractor you can’t trust. If your instinct is telling you that a contractor isn’t doing their utmost to complete your project, it might be best to cut ties and find a new contractor ASAP — but you should pay your current contractor what they are owed, first.
