Hiring a Contractor to Build Your House

When you want to build a new home, you have to go through quite a few things to get it just right. You have to find the property that you want the home built on, find out what the cost of running electricity and water to the property will cost, as well as telephone lines, among other costs. Figuring out just what kind of home you want to build is also a problem, particularly if you are not the only one that is going to be living in the home. After you do all that, the next step is hiring the right contractor and determining what kind of materials you want the home built out of.

Select at least a few different licensed contractors to choose from first and get three or more different bids. This will give you a few options and will give you a general idea of how much it will cost to build your home. Make sure that the contractor’s license is current and that there has not been any claims filed against it. Get a list of references from each of the contractors you are considering and call as many of them as you can. Visit their homes and ask if you can view the property and determine the quality of the work. You should not worry about this too much, since most new homeowners really enjoy showing off their new home. Ask if they have had any problems with mold or water damage due to faulty construction and factor this into your decision on whether to choose that contractor.

When asking for a bid on a building project, you should give every contractor that you are considering the exact same set of building plans and materials. Giving them different sets of plans will be pretty pointless, since you only have the money to build one home (we assume).

When you finally do choose a contractor, you need to ask when they will be able to start and about how long it will take them to complete the project. Also obtain copies of any insurance policies that they have (and they should have them, if not, do not hire them) and store them in a job folder that you will use to keep track of payments and other important project-related information, such as a copy of your contract.

The bid on the project should be broken down to each specific aspect of the building of the home, such as the framing of it, the electric system, the plumbing, installation of drywall, molding, and etcetera.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.