Spurred by my recent plumbing problems, MJ wrote an excellent post on his blog concerning dealing with contractors, getting quotes, and following up on progress.

Anyone who’s never worked with contractors before will learn a thing or two based on MJ’s experience as a manufacturing engineer.

…any actual contractor should be able to cover all the costs of the work until it is complete, if it is a big project expect to pay 75% of the project costs when the work is 75% of the way done. In other words, the project should be close to finish at that point, and hold the last 25% for the actual project completion. -Source

I can’t agree more.

He also recommends using union labor because it is an indication that the worker has been through some sort of apprenticeship and been “certified”. I think this notion really depends on the type of job being done and of course the scale.

If you’re doing some light demolition work, union labor may end up costing you more for labor a high school kid could cost you. By in large, he’s right though, and the following rule of thumb applies to every project, regardless of scale:

You get what you pay for.

General, Rental Property contractor, labor, plumbing, unions