How To Choose the right contractor for your next construction job Part 2
Last week’s choosing the right contractor blog explained how undertaking a construction project on your home or commercial property can be a stressful and unpleasant experience, if you choose the wrong contractor for the job! If you end up hiring the wrong construction company, your project can suffer delays or be seriously botched, all of which will require you to spend even more money on expensive remediation.
“Pro Tip Questions” on how to hire the right construction company
We urge you to undertake some due diligence before you hire a construction company, to make sure you are picking the right one! In order to help in this regard, last week’s blog provided 7 top “Pro Tip Questions” on how to hire the right construction company for your important next project, and this second blog in the series provides 7 additional Pro Tips!
- Do you work with your own crews, who are also your full-time employees? You will find that many construction companies hire “Day Laborers” for their jobs. These Day Laborers often congregate at known areas around town, and are picked up for a day or two of work. They are often inexperienced, and have unknown backgrounds. Don’t take a chance on hiring a contractor who uses Day Laborers as work crews! A quick way to determine if a construction company’s employees are their own staff, is to take a look at whether or not they are wearing a uniform!
- How long have your work crews (who will be working on the project) been working for your company? For obvious reasons, you want your construction company to put its most experienced workers on your job. If you ask this question and insist on only long-term employees working on your project, you will be more likely to have a good project outcome!
- Will your work crews be commuting in from far away, or are they fairly local to the area? Having local work crews on your project is always better than having work crews that must travel two or three hours in each direction to get to work. Work crews who live hours away from the project site are more prone to miss work days, change projects, or simply be tired from a very long commute. Try to use a contractor with local crews!
- Are your work crews OSHA-trained and certified? You will find that many construction firms don’t train their employees on health and safety risks, and that can pose a serious potential problem on your project. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) regulates, inspects, and trains employees, helping to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. You should only hire a construction company that requires its employees to complete California OSHA training courses, as such workers are better able to keep a workplace safe for themselves, their colleagues, and their clients.
- Do you have Workmen’s Comp? You will find that many construction companies do not provide their employees with Workers’ Comp coverage, despite the fact that it is legally required. If you hire a contractor without Workers’ Comp, you could be on the hook for paying an injured worker’s medical bills! Because on a construction job, the risk of physical injury is high, you must only hire a construction company that offers its employees Workers’ Comp coverage!
- Does your construction company own its own equipment, and is your equipment insured? You will find that many “fly-by-night” construction companies just rent their equipment for a few days here and there. Moreover, some don’t even insure their equipment, so if it equipment fails, or if such equipment damages your property, the contractor leaves you in the lurch, having to pay for the damages! You should only hire a construction company that owns its own equipment, and insures it! A good way to check this out is by taking a look at the contractor’s work trucks: are they new model trucks? Are they clean? Are they painted with the firm’s logo? Don’t hire contractors that show up with a beat-up, old, rusty, or rented truck!
- Does your construction company only perform work as per City-approved plans, with a City Permit, and with City inspections? You will find that many construction companies will do a project for you “off the books”, without working to City-approved plans, and without getting the work inspected by City Inspectors. If you take a chance and have a contractor do a project for you without a permit, your project may be delayed, you may be severely fined, you will compromise workers’ safety, as well as the safety of everyone that steps onto the project site, you will have unlimited liability for any damages or health and safety violations, and you may even have to start the project over! It’s always, always, a bad idea to hire a construction company that works without City-approved plans, a City permit, or inspections – trust us on this one!
As before, if you are wondering how Weinstein Construction Corporation stacks up against all of the questions above, rest assured that we work with our own crews, who are full-time employees! Many of our employees have been with us for 10 or 20 years, and some have been with us even longer! Our crews are always from the Greater Los Angeles region, and they are OSHA-trained! Our business has always, and will always, provide our employees with Workers’ Comp coverage! We own and insure our equipment, and when we need to rent a heavy and specialized piece of equipment, we make sure it is in perfect working order and we insure it as well! Finally, we work to City-approved plans, we obtain a City-permit for our work, and we have great relationships with the City inspectors who visit our job sites and inspect our work! Don’t delay, call Weinstein Construction today at (800) 862-6582 for a free inspection and review of all your construction needs!
