excellent. I will definitely need this info for the future

We just got our feet wet with a minor remodel -- building two closets in our bedroom and replacing old windows with larger ones. I can definitely see the value in being extremely specific and making sure that everyone understands the expectations.

This is particularly important if you work full-time and won't be at the site while most of the work occurs.

You also need to make sure that everyone understands who makes the final decisions when you come up against something unexpected (it will happen, believe me).

I really recommend Angie's List. I have selected a number of contractor's recently from that site and all have turned out great - and it gave me a great deal of peace of mind to be able to read the reviews beforehand.

Another piece of advice is to clarify the exact scope of work and the exact cost up front and IN WRITING. I find that residential contractors tend to be vague about both of these things unless specifically questioned ahead of time, and that is the quickest way to a blown budget.

Finally, go with your gut. If you are not getting a good feeling from a contractor when you first talk to or meet him or her, don't expect it to improve as time goes on - just move on to another contractor. Better safe than sorry.

Sorry to say, but I have years and <a>years of experience in Commercial Real Estate lending and construction (like, I've managed construction of multi-million dollar hotels and retail centers) and I *still* had a terrible experience with our simple little home bathroom renovation. We took so many precautions...

...sometimes you can't help it if your contractor is an idiot.

"change order" - talk about a four letter word! We bought a house 3 years ago built in '70 and the previous owners had done a lot to help it's "fixer upper" state. Except the baths and kitchens - the most important and most expensive rooms! We have plans for them, but are going slowly to make sure we know what we want and understand what's going to happen. But I might still keep a crucifix handy to whip out if change orders ever come up!

One thing to keep in mind: a contractor, by neccessity, is good at kinesthetic thinking (shapes and movement and three-dimensional space) and rarely at verbal thinking (for some reason these two kinds of thinking seem to be sort of either/or.) While you might think your contractor is an idiot because his/her verbal skills don't impress you, remember that you didn't hire him/her for his/her verbal skills, but for his/her kinesthetic skills. People whose main thinking style is kinesthetic communicate largely through body language, timing of speech, tone, and gesture. Stop listening so much and start watching more. Your contractor is communicating volumes. You'd do well to tune in to his/her channel.

Rapunzel: are you talking about contractors, or dogs? Seems like a rather wild generalization. Do you think that contractors communicate with their employees and subcontractors and the city and the architect (and... etc) using hand gestures?

I'm not trying to offend you, but that comment riled me. I work for a contractor, and most of our project managers have 4-year liberal arts degrees and are extremely gifted communicators. Verbally.

Check reviews online, you don't need to give up your personal info to something like Angie's list. There are lots of free sites, Yelp, Google, Yahoo, that have postings. Do a search for your contractor's name and then his business name.

I didn't and I wish I had. There were several reviews of my guy (all bad) and sure 'nuff. He walked the job and stole about $2K worth of supplies.

Wow, this article (and some of the comments) sure seems to be a negative slam on contractors. Perhaps there should be a counter-article written on the piss-poor researching of licensed, recommended contractors on the part of the homeowner who's probably trying to save a few bucks by hiring on the cheap and/or under the table. You get what you pay for. Do your research.

I feel like I'm the only person in the world who loves their contractor. Jeff King & Co. They did an excellent job.

There are two sides to this issue. I'm a contractor and I could tell you plenty of "horror" stories about dealing with unpleasant customers. Perhaps there should be an Angie's List type of site where we could review our customers and let everyone see how long it took them to pay, how they tried to nickel-and-dime us to death, or how they made the process more difficult by neglecting to do their due diligence before getting involved in a project.

I think that a lot of contractors take the blame for cost overruns and other problems when the customer is really at fault. Construction projects-remods especially-are not something that you should jump into without having a solid understanding of what will be done, what may have to be done, and what shouldn't be done.