Screening home improvement contractors inevitably involves interviewing prospective contractors. Contractor interview questions can be very revealing, but only if you know the right questions to ask.

Common Questions for Contractors

The most common questions for home improvement contractors are questions about schedules. When can the contractor finish the project? How long will a work-day be? What time will he start and finish work?

While these are questions you’ll need answered, they only address a fraction of what you need to know about your contractor, and certainly don’t address whether or not you should hire him for your home improvement project.

Here are some contractor interview questions that reveal more about the contractor’s experience, work style and reliability:

• Are you a member of any national trade organizations?
• Are you registered as a home improvement contractor with consumer affairs?
• Can you provide a reference list?
• Do you have any special training or licenses?
• Do you have liability insurance and workers compensation?
• Do you use employees or subcontractors (if there are subcontractors, you’ll need to interview them as well.)
• How long have you been in business?
• How many similar projects have you completed in the last year?
• How much of your business is repeat business?
• How will you approach this project?
• What costs are associated with the home improvement project?
• What guarantees do you offer on your work?
• What percent of your business comes from word of mouth referrals?
• Where is your business physically located?
• Who will oversee the project?

Some of these questions for contractors are more important than others. A contractor who answers that she lacks a state registration license, for instance, should probably be disqualified.

Some of these contractor interview questions will reveal how reliable the contractor is. A contractor who gets a significant amount of repeat business or referrals from previous clients, for instance, is probably doing good work.

Contractor Reference Questions

One of the most important questions for contractors is whether or not they can provide a list of references. A contractor who can’t provide references may not be experienced or talented enough to provide quality work.

Contact all references. Yes, this takes time, but you could be living with the results of the home improvement project for years, so it’s important to contact references and, if possible, view the contractor’s work.

Contractor reference questions depend on how much information a reference is willing to share. While some will happily discuss the cost of their home improvement project with you, others are more reserved when it comes to finance.

Contractor reference questions can include:

• How close is the finished project to the contract specifications?
• How close was the final project cost to the original estimate?
• How easy was it to communicate concerns to the contractor?
• How was the behavior of the contractor and his employees?
• Was the project completed in a timely manner?
• What home improvement project did the contractor complete for you?
• Were there any significant problems with the home improvement project?