General Contractors Near Me: How To Plan Your Remodel Project And Find The Best Contractor
Searching for “general contractors near me” is a great way to launch your hunt for the best contractor for your project. Since your home remodeling or renovation process may entail many activities, it requires proper planning before the start.
For a seamless and successful renovation, you should clearly understand your remodeling goals and prepare for the renovation. You can then proceed to cost estimates, choice, and quality of materials and then find the best contractor to handle your project.
Sounds a bit complex?
..Let’s break it down into smaller chunks.
- Decide on your nice-to-have and the must-have
Homeowners schedule home renovations based on different reasons. Perhaps you’ve just bought a new home and want it customized to fit your lifestyle and décor, your family is growing, and you have to create extra space or want to downsize your house. Or maybe your current home isn’t serving your as you’d expect.
Regardless of your reason for renovations, there’s always one crucial step that comes first: Determining what your must-haves are and what the nice-to-haves are.
It would typically be best if you planned for the must-have first before extending to the least essential elements. To make the decision-making process effortless, it’s imperative to have a wish list for the nice-to-have items to allow you to focus on the most basic elements before the luxuries.
With that in mind, you can decide on the space you want to renovate or remodel, the type of upgrade (whether cosmetic, layout changes or gut). With all these details with you, you can have solid ideas to discuss with your contractor.
Pro-tip takeaway: Decide on your must-have plus nice-to-have in advance.
- Determine the right expert for your project
After making a list of your must-have elements, you’ll now clearly understand the type of expert you need for your project. Depending on what you want for your reno project, follow the tips below to get the right experts for your home renovation.
Contact general contractors when you want to:
- Remove and replace finishes while maintaining things in their initial place.
- Able to select finishes and fixtures yourself
- Start constructions and structure modifications
Contact architect or design-build firm and a general contractor if you want to do the following;
- Move gas or plumbing lines
- Renovate a landmark property
- Making major structural or layout changes
- When you need expert design help
While general contractors near you can guide you through selecting your desired fixtures and finishes, you can also hire a professional interior designer for complicated designs.
If you’re planning to hire an architect for your renovation, you can opt for a full-services remodeling firm to take care of everything: from design to construction or repair work. With this information in mind, you can decide on the person who best fits your project.
Pro-tip takeaway: Choose a full-service general contractor to get all the services under one roof.
Read Also: What Permits Can A General Contractor Pull?
- Research on your precise remodeling cost
Your project’s budget can be a deal-breaker. Therefore, you have to do your homework right. Figure out how much it will cost to remodel a house before making any financial decision.
Typically, your home renovation may cost you about $100 to $200 per sq. foot. However, bathroom remodels cost and kitchen remodels costs may be a bit higher while your living room and bedroom would cost less.
To be precise, you should consider the cost of the materials you need, labor, finishes, and other costs like design fees, board approval, and city permits. Sounds overwhelming? Let’s break it down into simpler parts.
Materials and finishes
Many homeowners love working on what’s visible. Therefore, you can decide how your finishes should look like—whether you’ll choose low, medium, or top-quality. Typically, material and finishes consume around 50% of the total remodeling cost. Therefore, make the right choice of materials and the type of finishes that you’d prefer based on your desired finish and budget.
Labor
Labor presents an invisible cost that you can at times forget when planning for a remodel. However, many variables come into play when budgeting for labor. For instance, labor costs will always be higher during the summer when most contractors have busy schedules and drop during the winter when most projects are muted. Also, a general contractor is likely to charge you cheaper than an individual.
Extra fees
A designer fee is one of the costs that you can easily forget when bombarded with many things in mind. That can take anything from 5-20% of your total remodel cost. Besides that, you should also have some money to pay for permits and design approvals.
Contingency funds
Before starting any remodeling project, ensure you set aside around 10% of the project’s cost to cater to any emergency of extension you hadn’t paid for. When you have the contingency money, you can rest assured that your project will run to completion despite setbacks.
Pro-tip takeaway: Get precise cost estimates from a reputable contractor to stay on your budget.
- Find the best full-service contractor for your project.
After you’re done with your budget, the next step is to search for the “best general contractors near me” to find your perfect fit. If searching for a general contractor near me doesn’t give what you’re looking for, try asking for a referral from friends and relatives. As the rule of thumb, always go for a general contractor with up-to-date licensing and insurance, has a wealth of experience working on similar projects, one who works in your city or neighborhood, and one who has an interest in your project based on the budget and the scope of work.
Pro-tip takeaway: Choose a contractor with a high level of experience.
- Get multiple estimates and make your choice
After getting several potential contractors for your project, it’s now time to know how much they charge. You can do this by requesting multiple estimates from which you can settle on a contractor that fits your remodeling budget.
Pro-tip takeaway: Hire the contactor who’s interested in your project and ready to work within your budget and time.
Want to Start Your Project Today? We’d Love to Hear from you!
Whether small or big, at Smart Remodeling LLC, we get it done perfectly within your budget. We also have offers that can dramatically cut your remodeling cost.
Contact us today for a perfectly done job or visit our showroom at 12711 Fuqua St, Suite 106 Houston, TX 77034, to discuss the possibilities of home remodeling today! We will make every effort to accommodate your schedule when scheduling your consultation.