9 Questions to Ask a Home Remodeler Before You Meet

As professional home remodelers and builders, the people at our firm field many phone calls from potential clients. One of the first things that many people ask us is when we can set up an in-person meeting. But meeting in person about a remodeling project is a significant time commitment for all involved. These meetings are typically one to three hours, including travel time, and often occur in the middle of a busy weekday. So before setting up that appointment — and committing to what’s involved — it’s best for homeowners to ask a few key questions by phone or email to help ensure that an in-person meeting will be time well spent.



1. Am I in an area where you work? Some contractors are willing to work across a wide metro area, or may restrict their work based on travel time, a city or even a few zip codes. Others may travel farther for a larger project and limit small projects to just their immediate neighborhood. Keeping to a limited geographic range generally means faster response times, which can be a plus for homeowners, particularly for warranty work. If you’re not in an area they serve, you may want to ask if they can recommend anyone closer to you.



2. Is my project the kind you do regularly? Start with a general description of what you are planning. For example, “I’d like to remodel my bath, and it may involve a dormer addition.” If a contractor primarily remodels kitchens and baths, then a large addition may not be the kind of project they will be prepared to consider. Some contractors work only on interiors and do not build additions, or work only on single-family homes and are not insured for work on condominiums or townhouses. Many contractors restrict the kind of work they do, either by focusing on residential or commercial projects, or on a particular size or type of project. Make sure your project is something they are interested in working on and are set up to handle well.



3. Can you work with my timeline? There are two key pieces with timing: how soon the contractor can start your project and how quickly plans, permitting and material selections can be completed. If this is your first call, it may be many months before the plans and permits are ready, since you haven’t even interviewed a design professional yet. If you have plans in hand for anything bigger than a bathroom, it is still likely to be a month or two before you’ve selected a contractor, the pricing is complete, a contract is signed and construction begins. This is a good opportunity to talk with the contractor about thoughts on the length of the planning process and to hear about the current work backlog.


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9 Questions to Ask a Home Remodeler Before You Meet

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