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The contracting business today is more competitive than ever. Contractors may deliver the same product to your home, but the quality of service they provide can be vastly different.
More time should be spent in selecting a contractor than in choosing the product you want. The best furnace or air conditioner installed incorrectly will provide 20 years of headaches, not the least of which are excess fuel consumption and shortened equipment life.
Consider these questions before you hire a contractor:
- Do they have at least 5 years in business under the same name?
- Have they supplied suitable references that checked out?
- Do they offer maintenance programs?
- Are their workers directly employed by them or are they subcontractors?
- Did they submit their price for the work in a formal proposal with the company properly identified on it?
- Did they make verbal promises that were not written on the contract?
- Did they offer you a written guarantee? Are warranty programs their own or do they buy them from a third party, putting you at risk?
- Did they perform a heat gain/loss calculation to properly size the equipment?
- Did they ask questions about your comfort in all areas of the house and consider the capacity of the duct system in matching it to the equipment quoted?
- Did they state in writing that all work be done in accordance with all local building codes and that permits would be taken out where required?
By taking the time to ask a potential contractor these questions, you are closer to insuring that you have selected the best contractor for the job. In the long run, your efforts can lengthen equipment life and save you expensive repairs, time and money.
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