The Contractor Questionnaire

We’re hiring a contractor to build multiple additions onto The Glade.  This is the most money we’ve ever spent on an unseen entity. We’re entirely out of our league in this part of the endeavour so we’re relying on the following questionnaire from our architect to guide us through the process.

We’ve made a copy of the questionnaire for each person we’re interviewing.

Name/Company:                                         Date:

 

1. How long have they been in business and/or doing similar projects?

 

2. Are they licensed and insured?

 

3. How many projects have you completed in the last five years that are similar in size and cost?

 

4. Who are their references?

 

a.

b.

c.

 

5. How many workers will typically be on the jobsite every day and who will be the contact person/job foreman?

 

6. Who will they use as subcontractors on the project and how long/often have they worked with them?

 

a. Electrical:

b. Mechanical:

c. Plumbing:

 

7. Are these subcontractors licensed?

 

8. What contract forms and payment schedule do they use?

 

9. How many crews do they have and how many projects will they be working on at the same time?

 

10. What warrantee do they provide and what does that cover?

 We’re excited to get started but also trepid. (I was going to use the word “trepidacious” but discovered it’s not actually a word!).  We’d hate to make a really wrong step.

We’re novices at this.  Have you got any suggestions that will help us?  Can you suggest what some of the answers should be?