How to choose a contractor in Los Angeles

It is easy to choose a contractor on a feeling. A better method is to choose on what you can see and compare: the estimate, the finished work, the reviews, how a crew treats a property, and how straight the answers are. It takes only a few plain questions.

Here is the list, in the order it usually comes up.

1. Ask for one clear estimate that prices the whole job

A good estimate lets you see what you are buying without a phone call. Look for:

• The work, described. "Install fence" is not a description. Materials, dimensions, heights, finishes, quantities and what happens to the old material all belong in the estimate and the contract.
• One total for the whole job, with the major parts shown, so you can see where the money goes and compare it with another bid.
• Allowances, with amounts. Where a selection has not been made, the allowance figure decides whether the final price resembles the contract price.
• What is not included. This is where the surprise line items on the final invoice come from. Ask directly: what is not included?
• How changes are handled. Projects can have changes. What matters is that price and schedule impact are agreed and signed before the work happens.
• Warranty terms, labor and material stated separately, with a duration.
• Who applies for the permit and who pays the fees, where a permit is needed.

Payments should follow finished work, never run ahead of it. In general, California law limits the down payment on a home improvement contract, and apart from that down payment a contractor may not ask for more than the value of the work done and materials delivered. A demand for a large percentage up front is a warning, not a negotiation.

2. Compare bids line by line, not by the total

Two bids far apart are rarely the same work at different prices. They are usually different work. The gaps are almost always in the parts you cannot see afterwards:

• Footing depth and diameter on fences, gates and walls — see how to budget a new fence.
• Base depth and compaction under hardscape — see concrete and paver hardscape.
• Drainage behind a retaining wall — see retaining wall vs. block wall.
• Flashing replaced rather than reused on a roof — see when to replace a roof.
• Preparation hours on an exterior repaint — see exterior painting and stucco.

Ask each bidder to state those items. The answers tell you what you are actually comparing. A bid that is only a price cannot be compared with one that lists the work, so ask for the list first.

3. Look at finished work and read the reviews

Photos of finished work tell you more than a pitch. Ask to see projects like yours, then ask when each one was built and what the hard part was. Would the owner talk to you? Is it close enough to see in person?

A contractor who built it can usually tell you quickly and specifically what went into it: the materials, what is underneath the visible part, and how the site was prepared.

A star rating is a start. The text of the reviews tells you more:

• Specifics. Reviews that describe the work, the people and what happened carry more weight than "great job."
• The less enthusiastic reviews, and the replies to them. Every contractor has a few. How the contractor answers one shows how problems get handled.
• A spread of dates. A steady run of reviews over time is a better sign than a burst in one week.
• More than one place. Read reviews wherever the contractor is listed, not only on the contractor's own website.

No physical address, no readable reviews and no completed work to look at means you are being asked to take a lot on trust.

4. Notice how the crew treats the site

The first visit and the first day on site show a great deal. Notice:

• Where materials are stored. Stacked off the lawn and out of the neighbors' way, or wherever they landed.
• How plants, irrigation, paving and neighbors are protected. A crew that covers a planting bed and marks a sprinkler line before digging is thinking about your property, not only about its own work.
• How the site is left each day. Tools put away, debris cleared, gates closed, and no open holes that a child or a pet could walk into.
• Who is on site and who to call. You should know who is in charge each day and have a number that gets answered.

Ask for proof of insurance: workers compensation where employees are involved, and general liability. Ask to see the certificate of insurance, and ask for the names of the insurer and the agent so you can confirm that the policy is current. A certificate on its own shows only that a policy existed on the day it was issued. If an uninsured worker is injured on your property, the exposure can land on you.

5. Ask for a realistic timeline

A schedule is a promise about things the contractor does not fully control, so ask what it allows for:

• Permit approval, where one is needed.
• Lead times on materials.
• Inspections.
• Curing and drying times for concrete, stucco and paint.
• Weather.

A date given before anyone has asked about your property is a guess. A schedule that names the stages, and what could move them, is a plan. Be a little wary of the shortest timeline on the table: it may be the one that has left something out.

6. Judge how they communicate

The way a contractor handles your first questions is a preview of the project. Notice:

• Do they answer the question you asked, or the one they would rather have heard?
• Do they reply when they said they would? A missed callback before you sign is rarely better after.
• Do they use plain words, and say so when they do not know something yet?
• Do the promises end up in the estimate and the signed contract? What was said on the walk-through should be on paper before the work starts.

Ask a past customer how it went when something changed in the middle of the project. That answer says more than a pitch.

7. Ask what materials will be used

The estimate should name the type, grade, size and finish of what is going in, and the parts you will not see afterwards: footings, base material, flashing, drainage. "Wood fence" or "paint exterior" is not a material list. For a fence, wood vs. composite vs. vinyl fencing explains how each holds up in Southern California, which is worth knowing before you compare bids.

8. Know who applies for the permit

The contract should name who applies for the permit and who pays the fees. Normally that is the contractor. If you are asked to apply as an owner-builder, read the state's guidance for owner-builders first: signing the application means taking on responsibility for all phases of the project.

The corollary: a contractor who tells you no permit is needed without checking your parcel is guessing. Which requirements apply depends on your jurisdiction, your zone and your grade — the process is set out in fence and wall permits in Los Angeles.

The warning signs, collected

Any one of these is enough to stop and think.

• Pressure to sign today, or a discount that expires this afternoon.
• A large cash deposit, or a request to pay a person rather than a company.
• No signed contract, or a contract that fits on one line.
• An estimate with no materials, no quantities and no exclusions.
• Vague answers to plain questions.
• Refusal to provide insurance verification.
• An offer to skip the permit "to save you money."
• Door-to-door solicitation offering to use material left over from another job.
• No physical address, no verifiable reviews, no completed work you can look at.

What good looks like

A contractor who prices the whole job in one estimate, shows finished work and lets you read what past customers said, treats the property carefully from the first visit, gives a timeline that names what could move it, answers plainly, names the materials, says who pulls the permit, and puts every change into the contract.

None of that is dramatic. It simply removes many of the ways a project goes wrong. Our reviews and completed projects are published for the same reason: so the claims can be checked rather than taken on trust.