10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Remodeling Contractor

A guide from DBC Remodeling & Construction — built from nearly 20 years of answering them.

You’ve been thinking about this project for a while: the kitchen that doesn’t have enough counter space. The basement sitting empty for the third year in a row. The bathroom that hasn’t been updated since the previous owners. You’ve done your research, collected your inspiration, and you’re finally ready to move forward.

Now comes the part nobody tells you about: figuring out which contractor you can actually trust.

Home improvement contractors are the No. 2 most complained-about industry in national consumer surveys. The top complaints — poor communication, unexpected costs and work that doesn’t get finished — aren’t freak accidents. They’re patterns. And the homeowners who experience them often say the same thing afterward: “I wish I had asked more questions upfront.”

This list is our attempt to change that. We’ve been in the homes of Erie, northwest Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio for nearly 20 years. We’ve heard what went wrong with other contractors. And we’ve built our entire business around being the answer to every one of these questions.

Ask any contractor you’re considering all 10 of these. The answers — and how they answer — will tell you everything you need to know.

A good contractor welcomes every question on this list. A great contractor has already answered most of them before you have to ask.

1. Are you licensed and insured? Can I see proof?

This one sounds obvious. But you’d be surprised how often homeowners skip it — or accept a verbal “yes” and move on.

In Pennsylvania, home improvement contractors are required by law to register with the state. That registration gives you a number you can look up. In Ohio, licensing requirements vary by county and by the type of work being done. Insurance — both general liability and workers’ compensation — protects you if something goes wrong on your property. Without it, you could be liable.

Don’t just ask. Ask to see the documentation. A reputable contractor has it ready and hands it over without hesitation.

2. How long have you been in business, and can I see examples of similar projects?

Years in business matter — not as a vanity metric, but because they represent accumulated experience with problems you haven’t thought of yet. A contractor who has been doing this for 15 years has encountered more edge cases, more unexpected structural surprises and more material challenges than someone who started three years ago.

But longevity alone isn’t enough. You want to see examples of work that’s similar to yours. A bathroom remodel and a basement finishing project require very different skill sets. Ask to see a portfolio, and ask specifically for projects in your area — a contractor who works locally understands local building codes, local inspectors and the particular challenges of homes built in the region.

3. Who exactly will be doing the work in my home?

This is one of the most important questions on this list, and one of the least often asked.

Some contractors run lean crews and supplement with subcontractors — sometimes different ones for different phases of the project. This isn’t automatically a problem, but it becomes one when you don’t know who’s coming through your door on any given morning, when their accountability to your project is inconsistent or when their standards don’t match what you were quoted.

Ask whether the work will be done by employees or subcontractors. If subcontractors, ask how they’re vetted, whether they’re licensed and insured, and how many different crews might be on your project over its duration. You deserve to know who is in your home.

4. What does ‘clean’ mean to your crew — on the job site and off it?

Most homeowners think to ask about the work. Almost none think to ask about this. And it ends up being the thing they remember most.

Remodeling is inherently disruptive. A project in your home means strangers in your space, dust in the air, materials staged in inconvenient places and a daily rhythm that’s been interrupted. You can’t eliminate that disruption entirely. But there is an enormous difference between a crew that’s mindful of your home and family and a crew that isn’t.

Ask specifically:

• How do you protect areas outside the work zone — floors, furniture, adjacent rooms?
• What does debris and dust containment look like during the workday?
• What does end-of-day cleanup look like? Will I be walking into a clean space each evening?
• What are your expectations for how your crew presents themselves — appearance, conduct, language?
• What happens if something is damaged or left in a condition that isn’t acceptable?

That last part of the question — appearance, conduct and language — is one that most people feel awkward asking. But you have every right to know. You may have children at home. You may have elderly parents. You may have neighbors who come and go. The crew in your home represents the company you hired, whether the project manager is present or not.

A contractor whose employees show up in marked vehicles, in clean uniforms, without profanity and without behavior that makes your family uncomfortable is a contractor who respects that they’re in someone’s home — not just on a job site. These aren’t small things. They’re a direct reflection of how a company is built.

5. What products and materials do you use — and what warranties come with them?

This question separates contractors who care about the long-term outcome from those who are focused on the short-term job. The products installed in your home will outlast the construction crew by decades. The quality of those materials — and whether they’re suited to the specific environment they’re going into — matters more than most homeowners realize.

A good contractor will tell you exactly what they use and explain why they chose it over alternatives. They’ll be honest about trade-offs. And they’ll show you warranty documentation before you have to ask — because warranties are how a contractor signals confidence in their own work.

Be especially cautious in specific environments. Standard above-grade building materials — drywall, carpet, fiberglass insulation — are not designed for basements, where moisture is a constant variable. The materials that perform beautifully in your living room can grow mold within a few years in a below-grade space. It’s not a matter of if. It’s when.

Also ask about the difference between a manufacturer’s warranty and a labor warranty — and make sure you understand what each one covers, for how long and how to make a claim.

6. How do you communicate during the project — and how often?

Poor communication is the No. 1 complaint homeowners have about contractors. Not bad work. Not cost overruns. Not scheduling delays. Communication.

“They just stopped responding.” “I had no idea what was happening in my house.” “I had to chase them for updates.” These are the stories that spread — and the ones that stick.

Before you hire anyone, ask specifically: How will you communicate with me? How often will I hear from you? What’s the best way to reach you if I have a question? What happens if something unexpected comes up — who tells me, and how quickly?

The answer should be specific. “We’ll keep you updated” is not a communication plan.

7. Can you give me a detailed written estimate — with no surprises?

A verbal quote is not a quote. A round number on a napkin is not an estimate. What you need — before you sign anything — is a detailed written breakdown of the work being done, the materials being used, the timeline and the total cost.

Ask what happens if something unexpected is discovered once the work begins (and in remodeling, something unexpected often is). Ask how change orders are handled, how they’re priced and whether you’ll be notified and given approval before any additional costs are incurred.

The contractors who resist this conversation are the ones you need to avoid.

8. What does your payment schedule look like?

The payment structure of a remodeling project tells you a great deal about how a contractor operates. Be cautious of any contractor who requires a large deposit upfront — more than 30% to 50% is a red flag in most situations — or who asks for cash. Legitimate contractors have enough working capital to begin a project without requiring you to fully fund it before work starts.

A reasonable payment schedule typically ties payments to milestones: something at signing, something at the start of work, something at midproject and the final payment upon satisfactory completion. That last check is your leverage. Don’t give it up early.

9. Can you provide three recent local references I can actually call?

References should be recent — within the past one to two years — and they should be for work similar to yours. A contractor who has been in business for 15 years and can only offer references from five years ago is telling you something.

When you call those references, don’t just ask if they were happy. Ask specific questions: Did the project stay on schedule? Did the final cost match the estimate? How was communication throughout? Would you hire them again — and have you?

Also check Google reviews, the Better Business Bureau and Houzz. Pay attention to how the company responds to negative reviews, not just whether they have them. A company that handles a complaint with grace and accountability is a company you can trust.

10. What warranties do you offer — and what exactly do they cover?

The relationship with a contractor shouldn’t end the day the last crew member walks out. And yet for many homeowners, it effectively does — because they never asked this question, and they have no idea what they’re covered for or who to call when something comes up.

There are two types of warranties you need to understand before any project begins: the manufacturer’s warranty on the products installed and the contractor’s labor warranty on the installation itself. These are different, and both matter.

Manufacturer’s warranties vary widely by product — from a few years on inexpensive materials to decades on premium systems. Ask for them in writing. Ask when the warranty period begins, what it covers, what voids it and how to make a claim.

Labor warranties cover the quality of the installation itself. If something fails not because the product failed but because it was installed incorrectly, the labor warranty is what protects you. A contractor who won’t commit to a labor warranty is telling you something about their confidence in their own work.

Also ask: What does the post-project process look like? Who do I call? How quickly will someone respond? What’s been the experience of other clients when they’ve needed something addressed after the project closed?

The Right Contractor Welcomes Every One of These

Here’s what we’ve learned after nearly two decades in this industry: The contractors who bristle at these questions are the ones worth avoiding. The contractors who welcome them — who lean forward, who answer with specifics, who hand you documentation before you have to ask — are the ones who have nothing to hide.

At DBC, we built our company around three beliefs that sound simple and require constant effort to live out: treat everyone well, keep everything clean and excel every time. Treat everyone well means the homeowner, the crew, the subcontractor, the delivery driver — everyone who touches a project matters. Keep everything clean means the job site, yes, but also our appearance, our language and the standard of conduct our crew holds in your home. Excel every time means the basics of construction aren’t enough — we use the best products, the best practices and we stand behind what we build.

Those values are why we have the warranties we have. They’re why we have clients who come back for their second and third projects and who refer us to the people they love. They’re why Doug started this company in 2007 believing that homeowners deserve better — and why that belief still drives how we work every single day.

We operate in Erie and northwest Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio and Chautauqua County, N.Y. Our consultations are free, there’s no obligation, and we’ll answer every question on this list — and any question we didn’t think to include.