Let's face it, hiring a contractor isn’t the easiest thing. You have to find someone trustworthy, who shows up on time, returns your calls, and does good work. Then, when you find a contractor that meets this criteria, they are often booked solid for the next 6 months. It's not an impossible task, but it can be difficult. After some looking, chances are you will find someone who says they can do the job and they are available. How do you know if you should hire them? We wanted to share what we think is the most important thing to look for when hiring a contractor.
The most important thing:
Here's the scenario. You need your house painted. You heard from a friend that XYZ Painting did a good job on their house so you give them a call. They came out to your house and looked at the job. It went well and the contractor tells you he will put some numbers together and send you over a price. Later that night you get a text that says “Hey Customer, it's contractor. It will be $5000”. What do you do next? Obtain a detailed scope of work.
When a contractor sends you a proposal like in the example above, it should contain a detailed “scope of work”. The scope of work should list all the tasks that the contractor is agreeing to perform. It's like a recipe for the job. In our painting example, it might look something like this:
SCOPE OF WORK
Perform prep work to ensure protection of belongings and collection of paint chips
Scrape all loose paint
Power wash exterior
Spot prime bare wood with oil based primer
Protect windows, doors, plants, and foundation from overspray
Paint siding with color #1
Paint trim, soffits, and eaves with color #2
Clean up site
SPECIFICALLY NOT INCLUDED
Staining or power washing exterior deck
Painting exterior doors
Painting the shed
Why the scope of work is so important
The scope of work makes sure that both the contractor and the customer are on the same page about the work that is going to be performed. It holds the contractor accountable for completing all the tasks detailed on the scope. It also makes sure that the customer knows exactly what they are paying for and what is included in the contractors bid. If there is no scope of work, things can go south.
Let's say you went ahead and accepted the proposal of $5000.00 for XYZ Painting to do your project without obtaining a scope of work. They show up promptly at 8:00 AM Monday morning to start your project. You come home from work at 5:00 PM shocked to see that your house has been painted all one color! Worse, it clearly had not been scraped. You call the contractor upset about the paint job. They might say something like “We never scrape our houses, we just power wash them.”, “$5000 is the base price for one color, if you want a different trim paint color that is going to cost extra”, and so on. This is an extreme example, but you can see the point. Anytime a contractor gives you a set price for something, make sure you get a scope of work. It is one of the only ways you can make sure that you are getting what you are paying for. Once the contractor has provided you with a detailed scope of work and you have both agreed to it, make sure all the tasks are completed before final payment is made.
Final thoughts
I know many of us have hired contractors before without getting a scope of work, I certainly have. Chances are everything went okay. However, the longer we are in this business the more we see the scope of work as the most important part of a project. It really is for the protection of both the homeowner and the contractor. It benefits both parties. If your contractor sends you a bid without a scope of work, that doesn't mean they are trying to take advantage of you, they are probably just not in the habit of doing it. There is nothing wrong with asking them “Hey, would you mind putting a scope of work together for this project so we can both be on the same page moving forward?”.
What is the most important thing to you when hiring a contractor?
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