Massachusetts General Contractors

In a former life I worked selling windows (good windows, not the scuzzy vinyl kind)... sold to contractors, carpenters, homeowners... anyone (psst! Hey, kid! You wanna buy a window?!)

Can't remember offhand any of the contractors in your area that I would reccomend, but darn few that I would not reccomend either. If I think of one I'll drop you a line.

I don't think you need a GC for the bathroom. Prolly a good carpenter who knows a good plumber. But for the rest of the work, yeah, you need someone to coordinate if you're not going to. (Hell, I'm one to talk. Mrs. SP thinks shes doing the coordinating around here, and damn little is getting done. But then we are hamstrung by money and wanting to do much of it ourselves...)

Have you tried Angie's List? Haven't been there myself, and I can't absolutely vouch for the name (but they advertise heavily)... it's a website that has people's opinions on contractors, professional services, etc.

Jespah
Jespah, my contractor experience is mostly from California and it's laws. However, when I moved to albuquerque, New Mexico, I had the good fortune to have the best handyman I've ever seen referred to me by my real estate company who handled my house purchase. You might want to contact a local realtor and ask them who they use to fix houses they are selling for clients. They often know the best reliable, honest, competent contractors.

In any case, before you hire any contractor, I urge you to check out his license and complaint (if any) history with your state contractor's licensing board. This will steer you away from any known bad ones.

You may also want to check with your city of county to see if there are any contractor referral organizations in your area. Reputable services investigate the contractors they accept for membership and can be a good information resource.

Then you will want to ask friends and neighbors about contractors they've used and their recommendations. In addition, some retail stores can recommend contractors that they offer for certain types of installations.

I would be very careful about using contractors who come to your home to make repairs. Some dishonest folks inflate the amount of work needed and, in some cases, have been known to secretly cause further damage to your home to convince you to hire them.

I also find that contractors often treat women (who may not be knowledgeable about the work) differently than more experienced men. They may make untrue claims about necessary work and over charge you for the work. If you are not knowledgeable about the scope of work you plan to undertake, you may want to have an savvy male family member or friend around when you are talking to the contractor. I know that seems insulting to a woman, but it's a fact of life. I would recommend getting more than one bid from any contractor you consider.

Do you plan to replace your roof soon? If so, I can give you lots of information re that project based on my architectural administrator experience in dealing with the roofing industry.

Another important thing to consider is WHO PULLS ANY REQUIRED BUILDING PERMITS. The person applying for the building permit owns the permit. The contractor also is responsible for any liability resulting from crew injury or property damage. If your contractor pulls the permit and you end up firing him if things don't work out before the work is finished, you will have to apply for a new permit and pay again for the cost. On the other hand, if you, the homeowner, pulls the permit, you own the permit no matter who the contractor is, but you are responsible for any liability during the job: crew injuries, damage to house or equipment, etc. You should check with your insurance agent to be sure that you have adequate liability insurance and workers compensation insurance.

You are also ultimately responsible for any liens filed by sub-contractor if the general contractor fails to pay them after you have paid him. You should always have lien protection written into your contract and only make payments at previously agreed to work stage completion. Check your state's laws for the maximum amount a contractor can demand up front. Never let your payments get ahead of work completed to your approval.

After I bought my 4-year old Albuquerque home, I had my contractor paint several rooms in my house while I was still in California. I gave him the paint brand, color numbers, sheen, instructions, etc. over the telephone. When I arrived in Albuquerque, it was done perfectly. After I moved in, I did considerable remodeling: 4 skylights, kitchen sink replacement, over 1300 sq. ft. of floor tiling, cabinet installations, lighting replacement, painting, gutters/downspout installations, front and rear yard landscape replacement, and lots of interior enhancements, including a lot of preventative maintenance that had been neglected by the previous owner. My handyman, who now has a general contractor's license, was wonderful. Anything he didn't want to tackle was referred by him to another contractor in whom he had confidence and could do it for less money. I got top quality work and saved a lot of money because I had someone looking out for my interests.

I know a lot about construction, etc. but I am too old to do that kind of work myself any more. Having a great contractor was wonderful in helping me achieve my goals at a very reasonable cost. Remodeling and house repairs can be a very stressful experience. Having a contractor you can trust will make it a lot easier. I hope you are as fortunate as I was when you start your projects.

---BumbleBeeBoogie

Hmmm... Most of the work you want done is plumbing related right? Or did I misread?

I think I'd find a good plumbing contractor and ask them to handle the carpentry guys for you. They do that kind of stuff all the time and they know who is good with the kind of work that they'll be doing.

As far as plumbing contractors, I don't know if you can beat the Trethewey Bros. (both of "This Old House" fame..).

Richard Trethewey c/o
RST, Inc
19 Thompson St
Dedham, MA 02026

They have an office out of Roslindale too but they work all over the state.

I notice that your Home Sweet Home needs both inside and outside work. Remember cold weather is coming. Soon outside construction and repairs will both be impossible. Consider starting to search for a contractor who would be willing to tackle the inside stuff in the winter and come springtime, he'd move your outside jobs to the head of his list.

I have a friend who retired last year as an English professor and now has a very profitable part time business as a general contractor for renovations in NYC. Her biggest bitch and moan is clients who do not know what they want and feel free to change their minds frequently.

Other client faults include being unbusinesslike about time and place and m-o-n-e-y.

Just the thought of plaster dust is daunting for me. Hold your dominion.

Ah, thank you all! This is very helpful.

The porch, hopefully, and the roof (argh) will go for at least another year. We had a part of the roof done last year so that's not at a crisis right now. Siding, windows and central air (if we ever bother to do it) will also wait.

So right now it's a plumbing/carpentry thing. Didn't even think of Tretheway, fishin'. Great idea, thanks.

Yeah, I know, BBB, many contractors (sorta like some car repairmen) love to try to pull one over on women. I spent a lot of time last year between hiring a roofer, a plasterer and an insulation contractor and fielding all sorts of stuff. Roofing estimates differed by five figures! Finally settled on a partial job (e. g. just fix the leaks, don't give me a whole new roof even though I will eventually need it) with the same company doing the plastering (they did a fantastic job). But it was a huge amount of work to get it all together, and I spent a few months hounding everyone to get it done and get the heating company discount. Frankly, I don't have the energy to do that again and Lord knows I won't have the time.

Interesting re the permits, etc. - I'll need to check the law here as it may be different. Certainly Workers' Comp. insurance should be covered by the contractor and that's something which is pretty easy to look up around here. Their insurance would take precedence over mine but of course I'd like to see some details on that.

BBB Report on Trethewey
They're licensed
Trethewey's website
Can't figure out of they have insurance from the quick search I did. I'll find out when I call 'em.

Again, thank you everyone!!!!

Jespah
Jespah, regarding contractors insurance. Some contractors buy insurance to get their license, but then don't keep up the premiums. You need a copy of the contractor's CURRENT insurance coverage.

When you get ready to reroof, I can tell you the story of how I discovered a major roofing company producing one of the best composite roofs available (big on the east coast) changed the content of their asphalt-fiberglass shingle material. They added a metal that was not compatible with most gutter materials, causing gutter failure as rain water leached into the gutters/downspouts. We filed and won a lawsuit against them in California for a failure to disclose the defect. They no longer sell the product in California, but continue to market it in other states (at least they were until I left California last October, which is the last information I have.) I alerted the national roofing industry of the problem and hope this huge company is finally doing the right thing---but one never knows.

I could also tell you how I put a stop to roofing companies lying about the weight of their roofing materials if you are interested. This information is critical in state like California with its earthquakes.

---BumbleBeeBoogie

Wow, BBB! You've done some important stuff.

Sozobe
Sozobe, just doing my job. I was responsible for 3,000 homes. Its my nature to read the documentation, small print, etc. and to follow up with my own research. I really get pissed when manufacturers lie to me and I'm tenacious enough to not let them get away with it. The roofing industry learned not to mess with me.

BumbleBeeBoogie

Well, good for you.

I have experience with renovations -- designed and oversaw the construction/ renovation of my center in L.A. -- and taught a few people not to mess with me, too. (Turned out great, but oh what a trial.)