[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by look 171

When you meet your contractor, ask to see if he's busy and how many is in his crew. If he has too many jobs and a small crew, run.

My father in law is a contractor with a crew of three, including himself. He has a nearly two year backlog. He has that two year backlog because he's damn good and totally honest, and people are willing to WAIT two years for him to become available. Not everyone aspires to own an empire. His philosophy - "when people hire me for a job, they expect me to show up".

Steve, ask everyone you know, even the poor young guys. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to identify good and bad contractors. People rarely forget being screwed.