Warning Signs of a Bad Wood Flooring Contractor – What to Keep an Eye On?

Big home improvement projects often come with a lot of underlying stress. Sometimes the stress is justified by poor performance, poor quality materials, or other factors leading to bad results. However, often times the stress we experience is not justified and we simply ruin the whole experience for us, however, the results of the professional services are great. The main thing we will prophet for every home improvement project is to reduce the stress for you and make sure you are working with reliable, experienced, and reputable specialists in their fields, which will certainly reduce the stress further.

The right contractor and service provider would act as a helpful and guiding hand throughout every project you may start. With the right specialist on your side, you will be able to ensure a smooth-running project and achieve the best results possible. However, hiring the wrong specialist, no matter if it comes to someone who is not experienced in general or someone who simply cannot do much about your project, will definitely cause you a lot of headache, nerves, stress, oftentimes waste of your money and time.

No one would like to hire the wrong contractor for the job, right? Therefore, if you are starting a sort of a home improvement project and especially when it comes to a wood flooring service, you should ensure you are working with the right professional. Here are some of the most common warning signs of a bad wood flooring contractor to help you avoid bad decisions and make the right ones.

Shows Up Late, No Show Without a Phone Call

In case the contractor is late for the project more than a few minutes later than the discussed time, no matter if it comes to just an initial meet up where they will inspect the site and discuss the project and how it all will happen, or when they are late for the start of the actual project, it is safe to say that this is definitely the first strike when meeting a client. All home improvement projects or at least the majority of them start with the contractor visiting your home or the property where it is planned to deliver a service and estimating then discussing what will be done.

Now, most of the good and popular contractors definitely have busy schedules and some of them often decide to juggle multiple projects and clients. However, this can definitely have a major impact on their performance and how they handle each project which can also affect your schedule and plans. Even if the contractor is challenged for some reason to come on time, they should definitely reschedule with a phone call or at least let you know they will be late and what is the reason.

Not Answering Technical Questions

Naturally, when you start some sort of a home improvement project and you hire a specialist for the job, you will have a lot of questions. It is the contractor’s responsibility to provide you with answers to all of them since this is part of their job and they should be the one who guides you throughout the process and helps you make the best decisions. In order to make sure the contractor is not simply providing you with random answers and they are rather providing you with the right information, make sure to do some homework beforehand and do a quick research of the things you are interested in and the services you will be delivered.

Next, ask the same questions to the contractor and compare their answer with what you have already learned about the topic. In case the contractor is unable to answer even the most basic and simple technical questions, consider if you want to become that project where they will learn how things are done. Well, we guess you wouldn’t be happy in such a situation. However, keep in mind that there will be questions that even the most experienced and knowledgeable contractor would not be able to answer or at least not at the beginning of the project, so don’t judge them harshly.

Quotation with a Single Number and Without Breaking Down the Individual Parts

When a contractor provides you with an estimate of the cost of your project and all services they are planning to deliver, they should make sure they break the estimate down to all individual parts and how much they will cost you. The estimate should also include a detailed list of what you can expect and what the contractor is finding necessary to be done. Without this kind of professionally done estimate that often works as a written contract between the two parties, there is a high chance that the unprofessional and unethical contractor comes to you for more money in the middle of the project and pressures you to pay more just so you are sure the project is finished. Unfortunately, if something like this happens, at that point it will be impossible to hold them responsible for their original estimate. Therefore, always require a detailed and thorough estimate of your project.

Only Willing to Accept Cash

One more big red flag would be if the contractor is willing to accept only cash and they are getting the commitment right away, without any additional questions and with no interest shown in the specifics of your project and what you want and expect. Remember that in case something happens and you are not happy with the service you have been provided or the contractor does not deliver the services discussed initially, proving cash exchanges is very difficult and sometimes even impossible. Still, if the contractor is not willing to be paid by a credit or debit card, make sure to offer them to write a check so you are still able to keep a record of each payment you make. If they insist on cash only, there is something fishy, therefore we recommend you reconsider your decisions and look for another contractor.

No Insurance or a License

Now, having insurance or a license does not guarantee perfect performance and sometimes some really talented and experienced contractors work without insurance or a license. However, this is highly not advisable. Every trade and country has its own licensing law and it is important for your contractor to have all the required licensing and insurance so they can carry on their services properly and with safety and security for the clients and for them as a business. You can also get in trouble for working with an unlicensed contractor.

Since licensing serves as a form of regulation standard, it is important to choose to work with a contractor with all the required licenses as this will help you take the right measures in case something happens and you are not happy with the service delivered. Insurance is another very important thing your contractor must have because of the many unforeseeable risks a home improvement job could carry. You don’t want to be liable for an injury that occurred at your residence, right? Therefore, you definitely want to hire a contractor with insurance.