Where do I start?
Seem to always have a tough history with trusting contractors.
Would you hire an excavator first, and masonry work, etc?
I would imagine I need a GC as we need to file plans with the county...
Any help appreciated. Located in Westchester County.
And make sure they are licensed and Insured.
And make sure they are licensed and Insured.
Good advice. Do research and listen to your gut. Sometimes the lowest bid is also the best choice. But usually it’s a middle bid.
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does not mean they are better. I find that the one in the middle is usually the best.
And make sure they are licensed and Insured.
Good advice. Do research and listen to your gut. Sometimes the lowest bid is also the best choice. But usually it’s a middle bid.
Yup, if the bids come in $5500, $5700, and $9500 then I doubt there's much quality difference between the two lower bids.
And make sure they are licensed and Insured.
100%. My wife is in this field in NJ. She gets undercut on pricing all the time and so many times, the customers come back to her 6 months later because the job is a mess or the GC walked/got kicked off the job. Then the customer has wasted a lot of time and a lot of time and money, all so they can fall back to my wife's original offer which often is going to be more because they have to fix all the mistakes made by the hired GC.
The "with references" (plural) part is key.
Visit all the sites and talk with all of the customers.
It will take time and effort but not as much as having to hire a 2nd contractor to fix the first's mistakes and then redo the job correctly.
If you're not doing Bilco doors and instead making a real stairs and exit I would spend the extra dollars and cover the whole thing and make it conditioned space.
No leaves, dirt, rain or snow coming in.
New custom home next to me they have outdoor stairs open to the weather. Makes no sense. Sump grate in the bottom for the water but everything blows into the opening.
Do it right.
With something like this, it's primarily labor.
If you’re finishing or refinishing the basement, I’d be happy to offer some advice based upon my experience.
If you're not doing Bilco doors and instead making a real stairs and exit I would spend the extra dollars and cover the whole thing and make it conditioned space.
No leaves, dirt, rain or snow coming in.
New custom home next to me they have outdoor stairs open to the weather. Makes no sense. Sump grate in the bottom for the water but everything blows into the opening.
Do it right.
Cannot agree more about covering from the elements. My in-laws added an exit and uncovered stairs to their basement so that they could add bedrooms downstairs. The grate constantly gets covered in debris during storms, which then causes the bottom of the steps to flood and eventually come in through the door frame. It's been a non-stop headache for them basically from day 1.