Questions for Kitchen Renovation Contractor

[Anonymous]

I am meeting with a contractor for our kitchen renovation tomorrow. This is the contractor that our kitchen designer likes - so I expect will probably be our contractor. I have my list of questions ready - and a list of things I want for the estimate. Anyone have a question that they wished they would have asked before the project? Or something to get a lot of clarification on?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Yes. Who will be in and out of your house (employees) and what parts of the house they will be accessing. And I know it seems petty, but if they will be using the restrooms, that they are expected to keep them clean. I can't tell you how many times I came home to urine ON the toilet seat (apparently they were too lazy to lift the seat up when they went). We actually caught one of the employees trying to access the house - he didn't realize my 21 year old daughter was home and came upstairs (they were finishing our basement and had a seperate entrance so they should NOT have been in the main part of the house) and when he rounded the corner my daughter looked at him and asked if he needed something. He was completely surprised and said he needed to get a light for his cigarette and wanted to use the stove. She informed him that we did not like smoking in the house and found him a book of matches. He was murdered in a drug deal that went wrong 1 week later. At that point, we really became concerned about the quality of the employees (the other two employees that witnessed it apparently decided to leave town). They had to hire new people, but we completely lost confidence in the contractor. WORST construction nightmare that I have ever been through.

[Anonymous]

Ask to see insurance certificates.
Ask for lead times in ordering materials and discounts for contractor ordered vs customer ordered
Get clarity on start times and meeting times as the job progresses
For quote, confirm that detail in quote matches designers plans and specs

[Anonymous]

The employees the contractor intends to use on your job - how long have they been working with the contractor, experience, etc. How often the GC comes by to check the job site. Have him put in the estimate/contract what materials he will be providing and have him put in the contract that all tools will be provided by the contractor. We had people rooting through our house for tools for the job - they used our a-frame ladder, paper towels, vaccum. I was pissed. They never stole anything - but they shouldn't be using our stuff.

[Anonymous]

I know that you didn't ask, but you should consider contractors that your designers do not recommend if you are concerned about keeping costs low.