Q & A

Answers to commonly asked questions from the experts on Thumbtack.

What is a general contractor?

When starting a home remodel or new construction project, you will probably hire a general contractor. A general contractor is a professional who is qualified to take a set of building plans and construct them as outlined. The general contractor may help perform the day-to-day building, or they may just hire workers and oversee all the work activities. In either case, the job of the general contractor is to see that your project gets built.

When you have a building project, ask for bids from various contractors. The bids tell you how much each will charge and what their scope of work will be. Once you have selected a bid, you sign a contract with that general contractor outlining the specifics of the project and the milestones during the project when they will receive payment installments. Once the contract is official, the general contractor will bring in their crew to begin construction. The contractor will manage the workers and subcontractors (anyone who doesn’t work directly for their company but that they need to outsource, like a marble installation pro), order all the materials, obtain work permits, and confirm that all the workers and subcontractors are completing their projects as planned. They typically handle all the payments to the workers and subcontractors, and send you invoice. For all these reasons, it’s also especially important to follow a few smart hiring practices when it comes to finding a general contractor. If you are organized and competent to oversee construction projects, and are able to make sure everything is being built properly and meeting code, it’s possible you can be your own general contractor.

Why should you hire a contractor?

Hiring a general contractor is a good idea for many remodeling projects. Home renovation contractors have a broad range of skills to manage, coordinate and complete a project. They should help make sure your project comes in on time and within your budget as they hire and supervise all the necessary subcontractors, including electricians and plumbers. They also handle procuring all the materials required for your job. Some homeowners look to save money by acting as their own contractor, but an experienced home renovation contractor is worth the cost. They should know local building codes, be able to pull all necessary permits, and work with inspectors to make sure the construction meets local codes. Also, because they get professional discounts, they can typically buy materials at a better price than you can; better prices on materials and labor save you money, and make up for at least a percentage of the cost of the contractor.

How do you choose a commercial general contractor?

A commercial contractor provides similar services as a residential general contractor but specializes in working with large-scale projects for businesses, schools, nonprofits, governments and development firms. When researching commercial general contractors, review their portfolio of work and confirm they have ample experience working in the area you need. For example, if you are building a small strip mall, ask if the contractors have experience successfully incorporating all the needed elements such as a parking lot, meeting ADA requirements, accessing the proper permits, and completing work on time.

Once you’ve identified several qualified candidates, request bids for your project and then compare the scope of work with your needs and budget. Your commercial general contractor should oversee design, permitting, construction, materials purchase, and adherence to building code and zoning regulations, as well as sticking to an agreed-upon budget and schedule. It’s important to establish clear communication with your future commercial general contractor, as this will mean a smoother process for everyone. For all these reasons, it’s also especially important to follow a few smart hiring practices when it comes to finding a general contractor.

Do I need a contractor for a kitchen remodel?

A kitchen remodel is one of the most important investments you can make in your home, and it’s critical to get the details right; that’s where a home renovation contractor comes in. A minor remodel usually includes new cabinet faces and hardware, replacement appliances, and paint, while an extensive job may enlarge the kitchen’s square footage, install new cabinets or an island, change the layout, and lay new tile or hardwood floors. Any renovation that includes filing permits, construction, or electrical or plumbing work is best completed by an experienced contractor who knows local codes.

How much will it cost to remodel my house?

The cost to remodel a home is highly variable — size and scope of the project, quality of materials, and the number of subcontractors required to complete the job all affect the total cost. The average national cost of a home renovation project is $13,500. The national average per-square-foot cost of a remodel ranges from $25 to $100. Nationally, kitchen and bathroom remodels are the most popular types of projects, in part because they typically have the highest return on investment when the home is sold. The national average cost of a major kitchen remodel ranges from $25,000 to $62,000, while the average bathroom remodel tends to cost $6,000 to $18,000. In addition to materials and labor costs, many remodeling project costs include permit fees, which, average $900 or more, depending on your location.

Bryan S.

Verified review

I wanted to remodel my row house and spoke to Ed about remodeling the kitchen first. He gave me lot of options to choose from. The options are very high end and i wanted something in a budget, he gave me options within my budget and it's been 2 days since they started working. There planning and workmanship is excellent. I will recommend this contractor for remodeling kitchen. I've proposed him to Remodel my entire house and also to build a deck as well. Had to pay a retainer to EBRR for the drawings and permits, but I'm happy with the services I'm getting.

Dee B.

I hired another company off thumbtack, PA commerical / residential service LLC the owner is Tim and that company bailed on me less then 24 hours from the appointment and only after I sent a message to confirm if I hadn't that mover would not have shown up. I called Charlie who answered his phone so that was,a good sign, I told him my situation and what happen. He told me he just sent his men home but would call them and see if they could move me, TONIGHT!!! But told me if he couldn't tonight he could tomorrow. Tonight tomorrow I didn't care. I had taken Thursday off to be moved and I needed it done. Well Charlie gets in touch with me and tells me 3 of his men are on the way. These guys were awesome!!!! They got me moved were professional, extremely helpful and very sweet. This company ROCKS!!!!! Charlie and his crew ROCKS !!! I can't thank them enough for coming to my rescue. Oh and price, it was fair. So if your looking for a company to get you moved look no further Charlie is your guy.

Sekinat L.

Trenton is very patient and understanding. We had a lot of changes for remodeling our office and Trenton was able to adjust on the fly. Solid guy. Would hire him again for sure!

Jorden E.

Remberto and his team were phenomenal! They came in and tore up the horrible job the first contractor did on the floor, and made it look perfect. I also had him do some other items in the basement remodel, that the previous contractor walked away from. This included porcelain tile with an inlay in a shower. My wife and I were blown away with the quality of his work. They removed all trash immediately, and kept the work area as clean as possible. Not like the previous contractor that left trash everywhere, including all of their food containers. I would definitely use RB Contractors again, and have been recommending them to everyone that asks.

Pam O.

We had a long list of things to be done before listing our home for sale. Jenrii with Ordonez Home Improvement did an excellent job tackling every project. Jenrii enclosed the landing where we had removed a handicap ramp - this was not an easy repair and required good carpentry skills. He also installed new closet wood bi-fold doors in a basement bedroom. Again, not an easy task as they had to be “fitted” to the closet. His troubleshooting skills were evident here. He replaced two old light switches, four electric outlets, and a bathroom vanity light fixture. These were only a few of the things he did. Jenrii is very professional, polite, thorough, and responsive. He texted us each morning on the days he worked to let us know what time to expect him. He works quickly and does excellent work for extremely reasonable rates. I would not HESITATE to recommend him for small jobs to larger remodeling projects. I was a commercial real estate project manager for 15 yrs, building shopping centers and office buildings - so I can definitively say that Jenrri knows what he is doing and does it very, very well.

Keith M.

First off: great quality. I don't think I could have asked for a better realization of my plans for my bathroom remodel, which included extensive tile work and construction of a new closet. Pricing was reasonable; they were in the middle of the estimates that I got. That being said, there are a couple of negatives. The schedule was quoted for ten days, but it took sixteen. I did need to take half of one of the days originally scheduled to go into the office to support a client meeting, but a week's extra labor time to finish seemed excessive to me. Especially since after the original two weeks were finished, I had limited flexibility at work and needed to push work off to weekends. All told, with my restrictions at work, it took an extra two weeks beyond what was expected. Part of the problem was punctuality: workers were frequently late, so less got done each day. I also asked to keep a couple of pieces from the demo of the original bathroom that I never got. Overall, I would recommend this contractor if you have a reasonably flexible schedule. They truly do beautiful work, and I'm ultimately very happy with how my bathroom turned out. My designs were executed very nicely. I was just a little disappointed that it took so long.

Cristi M.

As I write this review, my husband and I have added additional projects in our house to be completed. We moved into our home a year ago and it needs a lot of cosmetic and appliance upgrades. The work is done professionally and correctly. If you have a concern, Jose will address your concerns and even give you ideas if your stuck on what to do. He knows what he’s talking about and will do all he can to work around your budget. **Be upfront and realistic in regards to the work you need done and he will be more than reasonable with pricing. All the workers are friendly and respectful. They work non-stop, only stopping for a lunch break. While working, some of the workers engaged with my kids and they were really excited. They are very timely and punctual. If they say they will be at your house at 6am, they are waiting in their cars at 5:50a waiting to knock on your door at 6. Overall, I would hire Brandon Contractors again and highly recommend to anyone in need of house repairs/remodeling services. The prices are reasonable and the work completed will not disappoint you!

Griselda A.

After meeting with four different general contractors, Mr. Marvin Guzman with Baiza Construction, Inc showed his best attitude to take part on a serious complete home improvement we had for our 1956 home. He didn't only provided a quick estimate, But time frame to complete and over all his price. My project was based on a full 2 bathrooms remodeling, plaster walls removal/replacement, insulation, plumbing, electrical, kitchen remodeling and about 2500 square foot of hardwood floor installation. My best recommendation to future hires and families of his great quality work. My contract worth 86k were put on the best hands.

Sonia A.

Erick and his team did a kitchen remodeling project for me in Fairfax. They installed recessed lighting, removed the bulkhead moved the air vent that was in the bulkhead, installed the cabinets and backsplash, installed new appliance and a new sink, faucet and installed new breakers for the new appliances. They did everything in a professional, neat and timely manner. He even came on a Sunday to accommodate my tenants schedule. My tenants told me that they have never seen any contractors who left the house clean and tidy at the end of each day. He was a true pleasure to work with and made the project easy even though I live 800 miles away. I highly recommend Ordonez cleaning service. He has earned my trust and I told him that I will count on him to take care of my house. In Virgina.

Katie B.

I had contracted with R&D Remodeling to paint my entire house in preparation for selling it. I met with Marvin, personally, too walk through the house and give me an estimate. The week before the work was to begin, my house sold, so I didn't need his services. He was very responsive to my texts and phone calls, and did not charge me for canceling the contract.

Misty C.

Paul was simply amazing! Very easy to work with, he even corrected mistakes from previous painters. He went above and beyond to ensure perfection! I plan to hire him for future projects! He's the best Contractor I've hired to date!

Laura W.

Naser was great. He was on time, fixed our problems while only doing a estimate walk-thru, and didn't charge us anything. We insisted on giving him $50 because now we no longer need a plumber. Our big issues were the garbage disposal and leaky toilet. He found a tiny drill bit in the garbage disposal left over from kitchen contractors and fixed our toilet on the spot.

Janet N.

Tim and his crew did a great job on our basement finishing! Tim was very knowledgeable throughout the process and was very accommodating to with our busy schedules. He and his crew were very trustworthy as most of the time they worked in the house while we were away. Special thanks to Neil and the other gentleman on the team. They were always very friendly and responsive when I needed anything or had a question. My only negative, hence 4 stars, would be that I would have liked to only have had Tim as the sole POC versus us having to deal one on one with the other contractors on the project as it made for a lot of calls and additional tasks to manage. This was our first project so we were not really sure how everything worked. All in all, they did a great job and made our space beautiful! We would definitely use again for any project!

Carrie W.

Sam has an excellent team. Quote was a great value, work was completed on time and cleanup was excellent. I met four of his team members through our demo and construction project and they were all professional and courteous. I especially appreciated one female team member. Her paint skills are impressive! Kudos to Sam for hiring skilled workers, no matter gender. We will definitely hire him again for future projects.

Norman C.

This past October my wife and I contracted Curtis and his team to completely remodel two bathrooms and our kitchen. We could not be more pleased and happy with the results. The quality of the work is excellent. All the work was well coordinated and finished in a timely manner. Team members, Apollo and Miguel, are very good workers and take pride in doing a good job. I was impressed that Curtis was willing and did go the extra mile for us. He was very helpful in assisting and procuring everything needed for the remodeling. I would recommend Curtis and his team for any remodeling project. Regards, Norman and Barbara Cain

Mary C.

Cristian and Luis were responsive, reliable and hard-working. I had to have a bathroom remodel finished very quickly and they were able to start immediately and completed quickly. Also, the estimate was very reasonable. I had asked for some extra work and they were accommodating and when the total bill came, they were spot on with the actual cost compared to the estimate and the extra work added to the bill was very fair. It’s difficult to find a good dependable handyman that you feel comfortable working with, and I found this in C&L. I already have other projects with which, I will be asking for their services. The work they did for me was drywall and tiling of floor and walls of a full bathroom and extensive drywall repairs in other areas of the home.

Erin F.

We hired Roger’s company to do a total condo renovation: knock down walls in kitchen to do an open concept kitchen/living area; new doors + trim; convert tub into walk-in shower; electrical; plumbing—you name it, Roger updated it. The place is unrecognizable! Courteous and always available (even on weekends!), Roger took the time to discuss and advise during each phase of the renovation. We made a couple of changes to our original plans as the project progressed, and Roger was flexible and continued to advise us on all our options. Several months after completion, we had issues with the newly installed thermostats. A phone call to Roger was all it took to find a solution that same day. When he says his work is guaranteed, he means it! We’ve recommended R&E Remodeling to several friends and will contact them again for our next project.

Eyasu Y.

Scottie Contracting IIc are the most professional and punctual home development contractor I have ever worked with. The price is very reasonable, and communicating any change orders, or design changes are received with utmost professionalism. I recommend this contractor for anyone who has small or big home development work.

Zack M.

I was very pleased with my Kitchen and Flooring remodel in large part due to the professionalism, expertise and reliability of Ashyana Home Improvement team who made it success.

Henry J.

I have been looking for a honest roofing company for several years now. I finally found one in N&M Remodeling. Nelson and his team did an outstanding job replacing my roof in 2 days and the one thing I liked the most about dealing with him was his honestly. When several other companies overcharged me in their estimates for the plyboard that was needed, he told me that I did not need as many pieces as I had been told. After seeing the job they did with the roof replacement, I also asked him to replace the aging gutters. My 30 year old house looks completely new and different and I am very pleased. I HIGHLY and STRONGLY recommend this company. The customer service is amazing and Nelson and his team take a great deal of pride in their work. I will definitely be hiring them again for various projects in and outside of my house.

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