SjS1987

How annoying is it to get Estimates for your house to get remodeled?? It's so time consuming. Is there anyone you can hire to do it for you? Is there an easy way?

Speedbump

I guess someone should start an "Ask Gary" (like the Lawyer referral services) kind of service for remodels. It might catch on quick.

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cibula11

Hire a general contractor to make the calls necessary. Be sure you find a reputable one, as they will be hiring the contractors to come in and do the work. Most likely they'll go with who they normally do business with. That could either be good or bad.

handyguys

There are some contractor review services such as homestars, angies list, service magic and others. They may be able to help you select a contractor.

If you are going high end, an architect can often manage this for you as well.

Bottom line is make sure you get apples to apples quotes. In other words, make sure they all are quoting on the exact same things.

We did a series of podcasts on basement finishing. Mostly oriented to DIY but you may find some information useful.
Basement Finishing Series

Good luck

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The Handyguys Podcast [url]http://www.handyguyspodcast.com[/url]

majakdragon

I agree with hiring a General Contractor. You need to be really specific on what you want and expect. I always wondered about the companies I see online that refer contractors to home owners. Got my answer when I saw one of them refer one of my local roofers. This roofer does really shoddy work and all of his employees are "Independent contractors". They are required to carry their own insurance and pay their own taxes. Once he hires them, he has no idea if they continue to make their insurance payments.

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Speedbump

I agree, Angies list and others are there for the money, not the homeowner. Unless you pay, you don't get on the list. It's that simple.





Better business bureau is another one. They used to drive me nuts trying to get me to become a member. It's not free!

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majakdragon

Speedbump hit on another organization that gets way too much credit, and does little for the consumer. BBB, primarily, only monitors their "members". Not that this will actually help the homeowner.

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Brit_9

My friends husband told me to find a contractor on econtractorbids.com. Have you guys ever used it? I'm thinking of trying it... what can it hurt?

SjS1987

Thanks for the comments. I have been so busy with the holidays I haven't had time to really research these different sites. I'll let you all know which way I go!

Speedbump

I always say that word of mouth is the best advertising. Ask your friends and neighbors who have done similar remodels. They can tell you whether a given contractor is good or bad. Both are out there, it's up to you to find the best one of the bunch.

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