Helpful information if you are going to hire a handyman
The following information includes tips you can use when choosing and hiring your contractor. Get at least three bids. Before hiring any contractor, get at least three written bids, or estimates for your project. Provide the contractors with accurate plans or drawings to enable them to determine the scope of work and costs involved. If prices differ by a wide margin, you may consider obtaining additional bids. Beware of any bid, which is substantially lower than others. This may indicate that the contractor has made a mistake or has not included all of the work quoted by other contractors. Ask for references. Ask potential contractors for references in writing. Call the contractor’s previous customers, and ask if they were satisfied with the work. Go out and look at the work for yourself. Hire a licensed contractor. Even licensure cannot guarantee satisfaction. However, a licensed contractor has met experience and examination requirements and must fulfill certain conditions in order to maintain the license. A licensed contractor must have Worker’s Compensation insurance, a bond and have established financial responsibility. This protects you from unnecessary liability. A licensed contractor is regulated by the Nevada State Contractors Board. A licensed contractor who violates the law (Nevada Revised Statute 624) may be disciplined by the Board.
The Contractors Board licenses contractors in several different classifications:
“A” – general engineering contractor
“B” – general building contractor
“C” – specialty contractor (electrical, landscaping, air conditioning, etc.)
Upon licensure, a monetary limit is established for each contractor based on his or her financial ability to maintain and complete contracts up to a certain amount. Contracts written in excess of the established limit are invalid. The type of contractor you hire will depend on the kind of work you want done. For example, if you want only roofing work done, you would hire a contractor who is licensed as a roofing contractor. If the work you want done involves more than two types of work, then you may hire a licensed general building contractor, who will coordinate the appropriate licensed specialty contractors (subcontractors). Before signing a contract, make sure the contractor is licensed in the correct classification and within the appropriate monetary limit. Ask to see the contractor’s “pocket card” that will state the classification for which the contractor is licensed, the license number and the monetary limit. If you have questions as to the validity or status of a license, call the Nevada State Contractors Board. You may also wish to check with the Better Business Bureau in your area to see if any complaints have been filed against the contractor.