Home renovations can be smooth and professional if you ensure the company you are working with is above board & has a proven track record. Consider the following things before doing business with any renovator. 

1. Do they have Google Reviews? Check the rating and comments.
2. Can they provide pictures of previous work?
3.  Are the products & materials sourced locally? Do they have samples?
4. What brands are they using? Could you find them at a big box store?
5. Do they have liability insurance? How much? Policy holder/provider?
6. Are the employees of the company in uniform?
7. Do they make every effort to protect your home during the renovation?
8.  Are they polite, friendly and professional?
9. Is a clear time-line laid out before the work in done?

There are many companies who will do your home renovation for a lower than market cost. This is often a red flag which means the quality of the work could be shoddy. Here are other red-flags to look for when picking a company to do your renovations:  

• Non-Responsiveness: If a contractor is difficult to reach or doesn’t respond promptly, it may indicate poor organization or a lack of prioritization for your project.
• Get it in writing: A detailed written quote is essential to ensure all project terms are clearly defined and legally binding; without it, you lack protection and clarity.
• Over-Promising Capabilities: Be cautious of contractors who claim to handle all types of projects, as this may indicate overconfidence or desperation rather than actual expertise.
• Inability to Provide References: Contractors who can’t or won’t provide references from past clients are a red flag, suggesting potential issues with their reliability or quality of work.
• Suspiciously Low Pricing:  Low cost quotes compared to others might indicate cost-cutting on materials or workmanship, leading to potential quality issues. Or the use of low paid sub-contractors.
• Lack of Insurance: Ensure your contractor has adequate insurance and employs licensed tradespeople to protect yourself from liabilities and ensure professional standards.
• A Sudden Large Price Reduction: If you are quoted a high amount and then the price suddenly drops 10,000 dollars, you are experiencing a common sales tactic where they give you a special “discount.”  Instead of quoting a fair price from the outset, they tried to make you pay more and if you push on price the sudden discount is their ‘good deal.’
• Time to finish the job is too fast: Reno cans take a long time to complete depending on the scope of the project and anything less than one week should have you questioning the quality of the work.
• Never go with the first company through the door: Always get a second quote from another well-established company to see how they compare in terms of timeline pricing and material costs.
• Paying high for cheap material: Do your research. If they are offering a great price on something that is normally very expensive, they could be saying one thing and installing another.

Avoid the use of sub-contractors!

A sub-contractor is a 3rd party company who works for the company selling you the renovation. The person quoting the work should be the one doing & inspecting the job with their own team. This way you are dealing with one company and not two.

It’s like taking your car to the certified dealership to get work done only to find out they drove it across the street and had Bob’s Auto do the repair instead. There is nothing wrong with Bob’s Auto until you find out the dealership charged you an extra $200 while Bob’s Auto would have done it for far less and you could have cut out the middle-man in the first place. This is ultimately what some bath fitting companies do, mark up your renovation and then sell off the work to the lowest, cheapest flat rate contactor who makes more the faster they can leave your home. 

Here are some common problems that occur when a company uses sub-contractors:

1. If the company selling you the bathroom is out sourcing the labour & installation of your home renovation, you are now dealing with two companies & not one. The person selling you something and is considered a middle-man.
2. If a problem occurs, or you are unhappy with the work done,  the two parties (sub-contactor & the company who hired them) will blame each other. This means your problem will not be solved as they try to get the other to pay for the mistake. Your stuck in the middle.
3. Sub-contactors are paid low & this encourages them to complete jobs as fast as possible leading to shoddy work. 
4. If something really bad happens, the sub-contactors might ghost you as you are just a job, not a client to them. A big costly, timely head-ache is not something a low paid sub-contractor will want to deal with. They may simply quit on you in the middle of the work. 
5. If the sub-contractor quits, the company may take a long time to find a replacement since they cannot do the work themselves as they lacked the skills or manpower to complete the job. That’s why they used a subcontractor in the first place!
6. Lack of oversight or quality control. If a company uses one sub-contractor, they are using multiple. This means the photos of previous work they show you could be from anywhere and done by anyone. You think you are getting a professional and seasoned experts, but you could be get a rookie who cannot live up to the fantastic photos you were shown. 
7. Strangers in your home. You can never be sure who the sub-contractor will bring along each day of the renovation and you cannot verify their background.
8. It is different if the sub-contactor is a specialist like a plumber, electrician, or Gas Fitter, as these are licensed trades. A home renovations company is unlikely to have full-time technical experts as well. (Unless your dealing with a multi-trades company like Donaldson Home Services!)
9. If you must get a lawyer involved, you now have to sue two parties double the legal costs.