Do Your Research

blog

3-29-12

Welcome to our Blog.  We are extremely excited of where we are going as a company .  This blog will be used to keep the fans of A.C.T. Builders, LLC. informed and in touch with what we are up to.  We are also planning on using this blog as a platform to educate people on different aspects of the construction process.

One of the major problems that we continuously run into is that we are unwilling to tell partial truths and whole lies to get jobs.  In just the past few weeks we have lost a job due to the fact that i gave a conservative estimate on the timeframe of a job while another contractor promised the world.  It is very important that as consumers we understand that not all that is said in speculation of time or cost can be taken as gospel.  For example the particular job that I am referencing is a home remodel.  the homeowners had no plans and simply knew that they wanted to add a bathroom to their attic space.  I have no problem with this at all, in fact I strongly believe that they were going about things in the correct manner.  the problem that we ran into was when I gave a very rough estimate as to it taking us around 12 weeks.  The other contractor that they have meet with has told them that they will complete the entire project in 6 to 9 weeks.  I am not saying that this is unrealistic but it seems very unlikely.  At A.C.T. Builders we would much rather under promise and over deliver on the work that we perform and any of you that have had us do work for you in the past are able to attest to that.  I am not telling this story to puff ourselves up or to put down other contractors, however we believe that we are very good at what we do and we take much pride in how we work and the service we provide to our clients, but to show the importance of being educated as a consumer.

When the time comes to have work done on your home there are a few simple steps that will make the process go much easier.

1) Establish a budget for what you want to spend on your home improvements

2) Talk to your friends and family about contractors that they might know or have worked with, This is where A.C.T. Builders should first come up in your conversation.

3) Set a meeting to meet with the contractor you think that you may be interested in working with.  This is when you are able to have a face to face meeting to find out if you think that you are compatible with the contractor on a personal and professional level.  This is also a time to get a list of references from the contractor and discuss the potentials for what you want your project to look like.

4) THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP.  DO NOT SKIP THIS ONE!!!  Call all of the provided references.  It is very important that you check out the contractor you are wanting to work with.  With Google, References, and government websites it is easy to make sure that their License, Bond & Insurance are up to date and active as well as checking to see what former clients have posted online about their experience. One more time, Call all the references!

5)Chose the contractor you want to work with and go to the design process with the budget.  If you work with your Contractor and Designer / Architect with the budget you have you have a much higher chance of being successful at coming in on or even under budget. I know that most people will tell you to never tell a contractor what your budget is, but by know you should have done you homework to make sure that who you are working with is honest and trustworthy. Think of this in the same way that you would buy a car.  You don’t go out and look at a Range Rover  if you only have a budget for a Kia so why would you go to an Architect and design your dream space without someone there helping you stay on budget.

7) Enjoy the process.  Understand that there will be snags and thing will go wrong but that in the end the contractor you chose will get the job done right.  If you have done your homework and have followed these steps you can have a lot of fun, stay on budget and have a space you love.

Make sure to continue to follow our blog and join us on Facebook.

-Aaron Marvin

Member, A.C.T. Builders, LLC.