I use a plumbing outfit, all union plumbers (100 employed) I always ask for a particular guy with 37 years experience, who is a master at diagnosis, and fixes everything right first time out. Truck full of supplies too.
I pay top dollar, but quality i the long run is cheap.
Going back a few decades, we had a split level house that we wanted to finish off the one side attic into a bedroom. This was going to raise the roof on that one side of the house enough to make a large room. Having just done the kitchen and bath with friends, family, and myself, I wanted no part of a job that big, so we started asking contractors to give us quotes. Some were referred by friends and family, and some were just from seeing signs in front of what looked like nice work. I had a few questions that ended up being good for identifying the ones we didn't want. How big is your crew? Who takes care of all the permits? How long for everything to be done? You'll learn a lot when they answer those.
My ex called in a guy from a job a couple blocks away, and when he came, I was impressed. He was a big, portly, Swedish guy named Earl, and looked like he worked, and not just pointed his finger. His business usually did remodels on fast food locations, so he understood completing the job quickly. He was the only guy that actually took measurements of the house to figure what he'd need for materials. He asked to see the furnace and AC systems, and when I asked why, he said if I wanted the new bedroom to have heat and air conditioning, he needed to see if our existing equipment could handle it. He wanted to see our electric service for the same reasons. Nobody else ever mentioned either of those. He said he'd take care of all the permits, and that his crew changes with the job, but he'd have 30-40 guys on-site the day the do the framing. He suggested replacing the other half of the roof, and residing the entire house, since we'd need to do those things on the addition, and it would be easier to just do it all at the same time. His quote came in a couple days later, and was just over double what any other quote was. When I asked about adjustments or overages, he said he doubted there would be any, and we could be 98% sure that his quote would be the final price.
We went with him, and it was the best decision we ever made. The lumber yard dropped off whatever he needed the day before he needed it, and the dumpster for the demolition was only on site for 3 days. They did the demo and framed out the new addition all enclosed, in one day. True to his word, he had a huge crew, over 30 guys, and when I asked, he said this was everyone, all his other jobs were here today. My ex was persnickety about them not leaving a mess, or walking through the house, and they did neither. Someone cleaned up every day before they left. My ex decided she wanted a little roof with columns over the front door, and him and another guy built that in one day for her. The electrician, who did get to walk through the house, put smoke detectors in every room as a part of his work. Can't even list all the little finer detail stuff they did because it was "how it should be". In the end, it cost us exactly what his quote said.
Most of this was an easy decision, since none of the other contractors that offered quotes seemed very professional, and Earl had such a positive and pleasant demeanor. The house appraised well higher than what our addition cost when we were done. Of course it's hers now, but that is another story.
