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September 14, 2006
Know Your Pro
By Lauren Wolfe
Research Contractors Before You Hire
When Daniel Feigin and his wife decided to redo the kitchen
in their East End Avenue apartment, he did what most plucky New
Yorkers do: He did it himself. That, it turned out, was not a very
good idea. "It was miserable," Feigin recalled. "We
had to buy and return, like, six different fridges. And there was
no way to supervise workers because we were always out. We thought
we would save a ton. We didn't save a ton." This time around,
when Feigin and his wife decided to redo their bathroom, they called
a remodeling company, a decision he called "a no-brainer."
His experience with My- Home, a design-build firm, turned out to
be pleasurable, he said, with advantages over his do-it-yourself
experience, like not having to wait for deliveries and having someone
else deal with his management agency and co-op board.
Hiring a full-service contractor can alleviate some headaches, provided
you do some homework first. Vince Wiscovitch, chief marketing officer
of MyHome (www.myhorneus.com),
says the most important thing to do is check out the license number
of a private contractor before you hire them. Call 311 and ask for
the Department of Consumer Affairs. Find out how long the company
has had their license, and do your due diligence. "Many times,
contractors will go out of business when too many complaints are
filed and open under a new name," Wiscovitch said.
Word-of-mouth is always another way to find a reputable contractor.
"The best thing you can do is find other people who are satisfied
with the work," said Lauri Ward, founder of Use What You Have
Interiors (www.redecorate.com).
Ward also recommends putting each phase of the work on a timeline,
and even stipulating in the contract that if they don't finish on
time, they don't get paid as much.
If you're determined to take on a remodeling project yourself, no
matter what the pros say, try the DIY clinics at Lowe's (www.lowes.com/howtoclinics),
where you can learn exactly how to install that wood floor you've
always wanted, and actually finish the whole project. If you're
able to admit you could use a little help, just walk into a Lowe's
store, where employees can work with you to design your new kitchen
on a computer, then help you pick out the tools you need to do it.
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