When doing any kind of renovation, repair or remodelling, you will probably need the help of a professional contractor. When experiencing such a situation, if you don’t know any reliable contractors, you are probably on the lookout for someone you can trust with your work. If this is the case, in this article, we are offering all the information you need to find the ideal contractor.

The very first thing you should do is finding possible contractors. You can do this in two ways. The first thing you could do is to ask for suggestions and recommendations from neighbors, friends or family. If they had a great experience with a certain contractors, chances are you will too. If you want to find contractor, another way to do this is browsing the web. By doing a simple search, you can find out which are the contractors available in your area and by going on their website you can find all sorts of useful information, such as previous jobs they have completed, the amount of experience they have and also contact information.

Once you have gathered the contact information, it is time to inquire about other important information. One thing you should ask is whether the company has insurance coverage, because in the case your property is harmed in the building process, you have to be sure that they will cover your losses. Other useful information can be acquired by going on sites like Yelp, where you can find feedback from previous customers. The higher the feedback score, the higher the chances to get a great contractor, which will do a great job and finish it promptly. Also, you should go on the Better Business Bureau site, to see if the company or contractor have all the documentation they need and also go over their feedback score.

The last step, when you already found your last options, you should compare their fees, in order to find the perfect match for your budget. However keen you may be on saving as much money as possible, do not fall for the offers that seem to be too good to be true, as they probably are. Choose the offer that has an acceptable fee and includes insurance coverage.

In case you don’t know, general contractors are the type of contractors that will handle any type of projects from the beginning to the end. They oversee the projects and bring together all the workers needed for the different stages of a certain project. In order to do so, they hire a series of sub-contractors. A general contractor generally has different contracts and agreements with many sub-contractors, although some general contractors may have their own crew of workers, paying them at an hourly rate. The contractors that have their own crew usually hire people that are specialized in many trades in order to efficiently cover all the stages of any kind of project.

In case you are wondering what is a general contractor cost, you should know that there are three types of contracts in this business: fixed price contracts, time and materials contracts and costs + fees contracts. Each type of contract is different and has its advantages and disadvantages for the client, according to the type and size of the project you have in mind.

The first type of contract we are going to talk about is the fixed price contract. As its name states, this contract starts with a bid from the contractor, accepted by the client. The sum of money agreed upon is supposed to remain the same until the end of the project. In the case of smaller projects, this formula in efficient, but for larger, more complex projects, it is highly unlikely to maintain this fixed price, because a lot of changes can occur.

The second type of contract, the time and material contract, is a document that contains the hourly charges for the workers, the fees for the materials used and the mark-up of various sub-contractors that may be needed for the different stages of the project. So, if your plans change and you add work to the project, the time increases and the costs will grow. This type of contract has its disadvantages, especially for the client. If you don’t employ a trustworthy, reliable and honest contractor, you may lose some money, because any extra time spent on the job is paid from your pocket.

The third type of contract, cost + fee contract, works the other way around. This contract has the costs of the materials and a fixed fee for the general contractor, which means that the renovation company is interested in finishing the job as efficiently and quickly as possible.

The kitchen is a space where utility, order and functionality must be ground rules for planning and designing. However, there are mistakes that homeowners do when designing a kitchen and we are going to talk about them in the following article.

1. Classic is best

Many kitchens are created on the same principle: a long countertop with drawers under and closed shelves above, aligned with the sink and the stove. Experts in kitchen furniture recommend the form of a triangle, with the cooking area (countertop), stove and sink put at the ends of the triangle.

2. Tile from top to bottom

Do you ever think that your kitchen has the air of a hospital? If this is the case, you should remove the tiles that cover all four walls and put them only in the places where the walls could get dirty. For the rest of the room you can use a washable or steam resistant wallpaper.

3. The white fridge

Lately refrigerators can be found in all colors and patterns, with interesting, retro looks. These are indeed more expensive, but a black or red fridge will become the center of interest in your kitchen.

4. Big tables in the center of the kitchen

If you have a large family and all members have time to eat together every day, the presence of a big table in justified. However, if you rarely use it, you should change it. Try a table that you can put on one wall or a folding table.

5. The door is absolutely necessary

Many people are wary of open kitchens because they think the fumes and smell of food will go in the house. To solve this issue, you can invest in a high performance hood and get rid of the door. In its place you can build a bar or you can even set up a dining table.

6. The kitchen is only for cooking and eating

Why exclude any other activity in the home kitchen? For example, if you place a chair there, you can enjoy reading while you wait for the food to be ready. Your guests will enjoy comfortable chairs to sit at a glass of wine in the kitchen. By doing this, the kitchen can quickly become a space of socialization.