How to Choose the Right Concrete Contractor

Choosing a contractor is often a difficult choice, especially if you’ve never hired one before. A Google search will reveal dozens of options, but not all of them will work for what you need done. Some may not even have the skills to do what you need done. Though the process may be long, choosing the right contractor can be broken down into six easy steps.

Know What You Need Done

Before you reach out to a single company, make sure you know exactly what you need done. Do you need cracks in your driveway filled, or do you need your concrete sidewalk leveled out? Not all concrete contractors offer the exact same services, so it’s important that you know exactly what you need to save your time as well as the time of contractors who can’t help you.

Check for a License and Insurance

Checking a business’s legitimacy may feel like a boring step, but it’s an important one with steep financial consequences if you end up skipping it. It’s very easy for someone to put together a cheap website or show up to your home in a polo with a clipboard. Just because they look like a professional doesn’t mean they have the skills to back it up.

All legitimate concrete contractors will be quite open with their license and insurance status. The license shows that they’ve completed the required education to take on your project, while the insurance makes sure you (and they) are protected from any accidents that occur on your property during the project.

Look at Their Previous Work

Taking a look at the previous work done by your potential contractor will give you an idea about whether or not you’ll be happy with the results. Any contractor that’s been in the business for a decent amount of time will have a public portfolio for you to view, usually on social media or their website. This can help you determine if they’ve done work similar to what you need and what to expect throughout the process.

Get References

Talking to previous clients is another great way to get an idea of what it will be like to hire a specific contractor. Online reviews can tell you a lot about how clients feel about the contractor they worked with, but it’s important to remember that most reviews represent the most and least happy clients. While there may be outliers in the reviews you read, it’s easy to spot patterns. If a lot of people had issues with timelines being extended or workers leaving the area a mess, that’s something to keep in mind when choosing the contractor for your project.

Talk to Multiple Contractors

It’s important that you talk to multiple contractors before making your decision. Each contractor prices their work differently and works on a different timeline. By talking to a variety of contractors, you get a good idea of the average cost and timeline for a project like yours. It also allows you to find the best contractor for your budget.

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t automatically go with the least expensive option when making your choice. There are a variety of factors that go into a contractor’s pricing, including years of experience, quality of materials, time the project will take, and overhead costs. The cheapest option is not always the best option, and if one contractor’s pricing is wildly different from the others (higher or lower), that is often a red flag.

Ask Questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you’ve never dealt with a contractor before. Ask about the materials they use, the timeline they expect for your project, and anything else that comes to your mind. There are no stupid questions (and they’ve probably already heard them before). It’s better to ask a lot of questions up front than be surprised by things halfway through the process.