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Concrete is widely used in construction because it serves as a good base material for overlaying different parts of the building like flooring, countertops, patios, and walkways, etc.
Although it may appear like a simple enough job; there actually is more to concrete than just purchasing concrete and mixing it with other materials to make a paste-like substance perfect for driveways and other walkways.
We have to know the appropriate quantity of each material so that when we combine all of these together; we can create the perfect concrete mixture for wherever we will be using it.
Tips for hiring the concrete contractor
If you’ve decided that it’s time to give your home, office, retail space, or garage a facelift, you can’t go wrong with decorative concrete. Sadly, concrete projects in the home are a big commitment in terms of money and time. To make sure that the job goes well and you end up with a top-quality finished product, you need to do some research before deciding which contractor of concrete to hire.
First, you need to find 3-4 contractors in your area to be able to compare what materials they use, the work involved, what they are best at and the project cost. You can contact even more depending on your project and the time you have at research.
To give you some idea about differences, stamped concrete can look like any style of flooring you like. Epoxy coatings allow you to create attractive, no-slip flooring that can even incorporate a company logo and/or interesting patterns and colors. Staining can make look old boring concrete look like expensive material. The list goes on.
So, if it’s time to renovate and redo your concrete floors, you’re definitely in the market for a good concrete contractor, but where can you find one? Going to the Yellow Pages or looking online will get you a lot of advertisements, and every one of them will claim to be the best in the business. How can you choose? Just follow these tips.
Tip 1: Know what you want
First of all, what kind of decorative concrete flooring are you looking for? Are you interested in stamped concrete, concrete overlays, indoor or outdoor concrete flooring, and/or acid stained concrete? The more you know about the type of concrete flooring you want, the more educated questions you’ll be able to ask your potential contractors.
Take a look at some of the flooring systems and options around the internet to get an idea of the style and type of flooring you want to be installed. Once you know what you want, start calling contractors. Ask them how much experience they have with stamped concrete or epoxy or acrylic coatings and how comfortable they are with the style of job you’re looking for.
Tip 2: Ask for references and follow up on them
As written before, contractors of concrete usually specialize in specific types of projects. It might be best to select a concrete who specializes in one type of endeavor rather than the type who spreads himself thin over a lot of different projects.
If you want a concrete driveway done, as how many driveways your potential contractor has poured. If you want a patio created, find a specialist contractor who does only patios. There is nothing that stops you from using two different contractors, after the concrete slab is poured it takes weeks to cure completely.
Some of the contractors you call will take themselves out of the running because they don’t specialize in the concrete floors that you want. Some contractors of concrete on the other hand usually provide numbers and names of clients who were happy with their work. If not, ask for references yourself.
You can still find out, however, if the contractor was on time, finished on schedule, and was generally professional. Ask them how they felt about the overall experience, what the contractors did right and what they could have improved on, and – most importantly – if they would hire the same contractors again.
You can inquire about seeing his previous projects, such as a patio he designed or a driveway he poured. You can also check the contractor’s website for previous projects’ photos he may have, be aware as same people use fake photos they have searched from the internet themselves.
Tip 3: Check on licenses and credentials
You can search online for concrete contractors’ trade licenses, and you can check to verify that they’re fully insured and bonded, too. Make sure that you follow up on this part of the process because it could come back to bite you. If an uninsured contractor gets injured on your property, they could potentially sue you for damages. Qualified contractors will always be fully insured and bonded against accidents and injuries on the job.
Hire only contractors who are properly insured. This is essential for both you and the contractor to be protected in the event injury occurs to one of the workers while they are on the job. It depicts that this person is not only professional but knows how to manage a business responsibly. Do not be afraid to do a verification of the insurance coverage before hiring the contractor to make sure that the policy he has is current.
Tip 4: Ask about warranties and customer satisfaction guarantees
Handshakes and words of mouths are not the directions to take when embarking on a concrete project. The tendency is that the projects drag on longer than usual with the cost skyrocketing in the end. In order to avoid problems, have a written contract created that includes all the included materials, complete project cost, and time frame. This will give you a basis on how to monitor your project.
Finally, ask if they guarantee your satisfaction and if their work comes with any kind of warranty. If they say yes, get this in writing as well before they begin working for you. Chances are, once you’ve looked at your chosen contractor’s work, followed up on references, and ensured that they are licensed and insured, you’re going to end up with beautiful decorative concrete flooring, but you don’t want to end up with an unsatisfactory job and no recourse.
If you follow these tips, you should find a trustworthy and professional concrete contractor. And it should be one who can do the job you need either for your home or business. And, of course, if you love your contractor’s work, be sure to tell others about them, too.
Conclusion
With the various uses of concrete and the specifics that go into using this type of building material, it is good to have assistance. It’s best if it is a person who has the right kind of expertise to turn concrete into something nice and useful for our buildings including homes.
It is important that we get only professional concrete contractors because only someone with the appropriate background in this aspect can do the job right without only backlight insurance.
To assist us in finding the right one, we can look to the internet to hook us up with a couple of good concrete contractors or just call them. However, prior to getting contact, we should already know what we want to do with concrete as various contractors have various areas of expertise.
Talking about plans with professional concrete contractors will help us figure out which one will be most ideal for the type of project we have in mind.
