Finding a good contractor...

[Greg Koch]

Thinking about having the tile counter in our kitchen replaced with granite. Total area is about 50 sqft. HD lists granite installed for between $70 and $90 sqft, depending you the material you choose. I want this installed by a pro, and want a really good job.. I have no faith in box store installers from previous experience of friends. Besides just the looking up in the tel book and having a bunch of them come out for quotes, how would you find one and how to evaluate them? Any pointers, links to help?

[Jim Becker]

See if there is a contractor referral service in your area or if need be, try http://www.improvenet.com/ . You should also check with NARI. (http://www.nari.org/)

[Roger Bell]

Finding a good contractor these days is a bit of a crapshoot. I would never rely on the yellow pages or upon websites. I don't mean to be offensive or antagonistic to the contractors among us, but I have built two custom homes in the past several years and I believe I can offer some reasonable advice. It's just that since much of residential construction has, in my opinion, degraded into production work, finding someone with a conscientious attitude towards craftsmanship has become much more difficult to find.

I would go to a couple of higher-end cabinet shops in your area...those which cater to wealthier customers on a custom work basis. Typically a cabinet shop of this kind will know of, have relationships with, and will be able to recommend more than one good countertop installers. After all, the countertop compliments the cabinets and this kind of cabinet shop will not want unhappy customers as a result of referring them to poor countertop installers. By the way it goes without saying that you must be prepared to pay a fair and equitable price for quality work.

[Greg Koch]

Thanks, guys.

Jim, I went to improvenet, filled out the info and got a connection to a family owned business about 20 minutes away. Good ratings, refs, etc. I'll be contacting them for a quote.

Roger, I'll also try the cabinet shop route...good idea. We are willing to pay a good price for a good job, and a smooth/enjoyable installation. I hate waiting for a guy to show up, or seeing them arrive "on time" then spend 30 minutes drinking coffee and smoking in their trucks before they get on the job.

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Greg

[tod evans]

greg, i`d suggest physically going to the fabricators shops and looking at their operation and speaking to the owners. i know of no better way to get a feel for folks personality and work ethic let alone quality of work...02 tod

[Lee Schierer]

I'd also ask for some references or list of clients for their past 10 jobs, any one can give you one or two. Once I had the list. I'd contact the client and go see the work.

[Joe Pelonio]

My neighbor in Sammamish is a general contractor in Redmond. He mostly does commercial remodels but he would be a good person to call for a
recommendation or to ask about the one you have found.

It's Dave Smith, SR Construction, 425-558-9154

[Doyle Alley]

Several years ago I priced granite for my counters (would up doing tile myself). I made up an exact markup on graph paper and listed the exact specs I wanted (type of edge, thickness, sink cutouts, etc.) and faxed it to all the granite shops in two counties (about 40 businesses). I got back about 25 actual bids. I was surprised to find a HUGE variation in the bids. They ranged from a low of about $2,800 to a high of over $4,000.

You might want to do the same thing to get a feeling for what the prices are in your area. Then, start interviewing contractors that have given you bids. I figure that if a business isn't going to take the time to bid, then they probably don't want my business - therefore I won't waste my time with them.

[Greg Koch]

All good ideas...I'll do some checking and visiting.

Joe, thanks for the contact. I'll give him a call tomorrow and see what he can do or suggest.

Doyle, ah FAX or e.mail. I need to get out the paper and fire up the scanner. Tnx.

Greg