How to Hire a Good Garage Builder
Hiring a skilled and trustworthy garage builder is essential to the success of your construction project.
While there may be some minor setbacks during the building process, with the right garage builder, these issues can be minimized. Here are some essential tips to help you choose the right builder for your garage project:
1. Research Local Garage Building Companies
Before selecting a garage builder, be sure you have researched all potential builders in your local area thoroughly.
This includes speaking with family members, friends, and staff at local home improvement centers and lumberyards. Word of mouth is a great way to get firsthand experiences and recommendations from people who have previously hired garage builders for their own project(s). Not only that, but building supply industry professionals work with builders and contractors every day. With this first hand knowledge, they will be able to recommend a good builder for your project.
Another way to ensure you hire a good company is by checking out their Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews, as well as their testimonials. Reading these will give you a pretty good idea of how the custom garage installation process went for each client that left a review.
Hiring a reputable and qualified builder will help take the headache out of the garage building process!
2. Hire Both Licensed & Insured Garage Builders
Next, be sure that the garage building company you end up hiring is both licensed and insured.
You’ll want to request copies of their insurance documents and any licenses they hold. Likewise, you should also do this for subcontractors.
Hiring a licensed and insured contractor for the project gives you leverage should any problems arise. The garage builder will be obligated to resolve any issues during construction to prevent losing their business license.
3. Ask for a Detailed Estimate
Never accept any verbal estimates or changes to the contract! You should always get everything into writing – ask for a detailed estimate for the garage building project. The estimate should include all details of materials, labor fees, dimensions/size of garage, and more. For materials more specifically, the estimate should include brand names, colors, sizes, and styles for your shingles, doors, garage doors, flooring, and more.
If there are any changes to the contract, make sure to get it all in writing for a smooth, worry-free process.
4. Ask for a Timeline
When selecting your garage builder, you should always ask for a construction timeline. This timeline should detail a specific starting and end date of the project All deadlines should be clearly outlined in writing.
Also, if your garage must be completed by a specific date, make sure that you have communicated that with your garage builder. On average, it will take around 6-8 weeks to build your garage.
Read More: 7 Factors to Consider for Building a Custom Garage
5. Add a Motivational Clause in the Contract
Once you’ve agreed upon a completion date, you and your garage contractor should include a motivational clause in the contract.
For example, you can state: “If the garage construction is not completed by the agreed-upon date, $200 per day will be deducted from the contract price for each day the job remains incomplete after that date.”
6. Be Specific About Your Needs
When working with your garage builder, make sure that you communicate your ideas and thoughts clearly. You know what you want, so be prepared to discuss your needs and wants with your contractor.
Note that changing your mind multiple times after construction begins can cause delays and add additional expenses to the final cost of the project.
7. Expect Possible Delays or Unexpected Problems
While choosing a reputable garage building company will help to reduce issues during the building process, you should still expect possible delays or unexpected issues to pop up. For example, delays, employees quitting, late delivery of materials, or bad weather could all contribute to slight delays in the project.
To accommodate, make sure that your builder allows additional time for the project should any of these unexpected problems occur. Try to be flexible and cooperative with your contractor as well to make things easier on their side. Assuming everything goes as planned, however, your garage may even be finished ahead of schedule!
8. Don’t Pay Too Much Upfront
It’s common to pay a portion or a percentage of the total cost of the project upfront. This is to cover the cost of the materials.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s always a good idea to not pay the cost in full until after the project has been complete. Before the project begins, make sure you understand what your garage builder expects with regards to cost and that you’ve asked all your questions about pricing.
9. Specify Clean-Up Responsibility
Lastly, you should make sure that the contract clearly states that the contractor is responsible for cleaning up the site following the construction. This helps to ensure your safety from materials or tools that may still be left lying around. It also ensures that you aren’t left with the task of having to clean up after the building team.
Building a garage requires a lot of research into which company is going to be the best fit. Ultimately, making sure that your company is willing to work with you is going to make the process a lot smoother!
Contact ACS Roofing
Looking for custom garages in Appleton or the Green Bay area? If you need to a hire an affordable roofing contractor for your next garage building project, contact ACS Roofing today!
Besides custom garages in the Fox Valley and Appleton, we specialize in asphalt, metal, and rubber roofs for residential and commercial properties. We also handle windows and siding projects.
Get started with our garage builders by contacting us here or giving us a call directly at (920) 216-2243.
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