We have a couple big projects that I’m not comfortable doing myself (mainly roof/foundation repair).
I’ve had a couple contractors out that I found on google and have been very displeased. Their work might be good but jesus the salesmen they send out.
They range from overly aggressive to incompetent.
So how do you find good contractors? I’ve noticed the bigger the company, the worse the impression.
Having used this site before, it’s worse than useless in my experience. I got a bunch of phone numbers of businesses that ghosted me or lost me in their terribly designed phone systems, and then got cold called by other contractors that wanted to charge insane prices, didn’t understand the project, or tried to change the scope of the project completely to upsell me.
Community mailing lists. Maybe Nextdoor. I’m much more likely to try someone that a person I know recommended. For instance, we have a very active school “bulletin board” mailing list and people ask for and receive recommendations all the time. I may not know the person making the recommendation personally, but we’re all part of the same community group and that holds some water for me personally.
Nextdoor is a real crapshoot depending on where you live, but if you have nothing else, it’s worth a try.
Most of the time I just DIY for anything that’s not massive, but when it comes to big projects like Roof/Foundation you listed Friends/Family/Neighbours I trust who have used them in the past.
Once I find a not shit contractor, I latch on to them and maintain that relationship.
I’m a new homeowner and I also don’t know how to find good quality contractors. For now I resort to posting on my city’s subreddit to ask for recommendations. Also, recommendations from friends that have hired them in the past.
