Choosing a Hardwood Flooring Contractor – Greater Houston Flooring

Choosing a hardwood flooring contractor is not easy

There are 5 tips when choosing a Houston hardwood flooring contractor that can lead you to a successful project. There is nothing wrong spending your time finding a quality hardwood flooring contractor that best fits for you project . Although the cost is a factor it is not the only one to look too. There are many more to look out for.

Here are five tips to consider when choosing a Houston Hardwood Flooring Contractor:

Experience

The main question to ask. Does my  hardwood flooring contractor have any experience to meet with your project?

• You must know the skills of your contractor when it comes to the work that needs to be completed.
• Ask your contractor about the things they are capable of and if they have done similar types of work.
• Online the presence alone of your hardwood flooring contractor should tell you a whole different story of the him when you are looking to hire him. But, to go a step further, check for quality reviews and referrals listed online is acceptable to do. If by any chance the reviews don’t provide enough information, then I recommend contacting the contractor personally and asking for 3-5 previous clients who would be willing to share their personal stories and experiences.

Resources

Does your contractor have adequate resources?

• It’s important that your hardwood flooring contractor have a network where they have reliable subcontractors that they work with regularly.
• Proper staff to handle the project for example large projects.
• Suppliers or manufacturers are mainly first to know whether or not the contractor is pretty good.  Asking  the contractor the company or who they usually buy their materials from is not a bad idea and then ask if speaking directly with their supplier is alright. The right contractor will be open to that idea mainly because it should show they have absolutely nothing to hide. Manufacturers at often timings have reviews of their certified contractors on their own website.
• Does the hardwood flooring contractor have enough staff for the project in management and administrative side. Are permits involved?, are they familiar with the local municipality and permitting agency?

Communication

Does your contractor have communicating skills?

• Effective communication is very important to complete the goal to a successful completion of any hardwood flooring project. With good communication works can improve teamwork and lead to better project collaboration. But, poor communication can result in misunderstandings, delays and problems down the line towards the time to complete the project. Having a flooring contractor that is always responsive, and available to access and questions or situations goes a long way.
• The value of effective communication between subcontractors and customers keeps the projects running calmly and on time.
• It’s important to determine a chain of command for communication when it comes to  a construction project. These are mainly written or printed  out in the contract documents and usually require the owner himself and your contractor to communicate with each other through the architect to bring an understanding. The architect is responsible for communicating with consultants and with the contractor, he is responsible for communicating or send information to the suppliers and subcontractors. The superintendent on a project is typically the main point of contact for the contractor.
• It’s important that the hardwood flooring contractor is skilled at helping clients, speaking their ideas and do it on paper and lastly communicate what needs to be done with subcontractors to complete the project.

Value-Engineering Ideas

Can the contractor bring a hardwood flooring-specific perspective to project planning?

• When working with architects and engineers. A good hardwood flooring contractor gives different perspective from a construction standpoint.
• This perspective allows your contractor to make specific recommendations to how something should be constructed differently that can be more effective for the project and can save a considerable amount of money.
• If your contractor and his subcontractors can understand the values the job can be done smoothly with no delays or misunderstandings. Not only will the job finish in time the ideas can be reasoned to something more efficient.

Financially Responsible

Does you Houston hardwood flooring contractor have a strong financial record?

• Having a healthy balance sheet is a very important quality to look for in your contractor.
• If he is financially responsible in his business practices, he can manage the costs of your project responsibly as well.
• Look for these red flags: a contractor that asks for all of the money upfront or one willing to take a job for too cheap.
• Keep in mind that your quoted cost does not always turn out to be the actual end cost – the most responsible hardwood flooring contractors do their homework on the front-end in order to give accurate estimates.
• A contractor with a warranty is one that can stand behind the qualities of their work, the work of their subcontractors and also the products they install. A warranty is a good sign to have a mind set about the reliability and high workmanship.
• Reading the fine print is extremely important .Because if there any problems should arise in a year or two. You need to make sure you are covered. That’s why . It’s small for a reason, but break the odds and read it. For example, typically the standard warranty for windows is at least 10 years.  Also, check if the hardwood flooring contractor supplies a workmanship warranty that covers the actual installation.