I have a questionnaire that we just used. I got all of the information from a book by Susan Lang. I'd be moe than happy to send you the questionnaire by email. Every builder I sent it to said it was detailed and most potential clients don't ask that many questions. Weeded out a few by using it. M

I'm a Plumbing & Heating Contractor, and you can start by saving money on buying the fixtures and faucets on your own. But please keep in mind that you're responsible for any return trips for defective fixtures and faucets. I've found that online retailers are beating my price at the supply house for faucets, so you might want to start there. Stick with brand named faucets, and leave the $60.00 faucets on the shelf where they belong. Sticking with brand names will be beneficial to you for warranty issues down the road. You want your Plumber to be able to get parts for you if need be. Moving a toilet could be one of your biggest concerns (money wise) cause it might not be feasible. Venting comes into play, and so does the rest of your drain lines in the floor. It's not just a simple "Hey let's move the toilet over here"...there is a lot involved with that, so keep that in mind. Any licensed Plumber should tell you the same thing. However, 5" shouldn't be that much of a concern...but it could be. Shower Plumbing shouldn't be an issue at all, but keep in mind water lines are not allowed by any code to be on an outside wall if that's what you're thinking. Shower drain should be cut and dry. If you have copper in your home, keep in mind the price of copper is through the roof right now. Pex would be an alternative...and don't even think about CPVC...it's junk. If you have CPVC, you can adapt Pex if you want, but you can also stay with CPVC. Everything else you listed seems cut and dry. Good Luck on your project.

- How do you handle change requests? - How often are you on the job site as the main point of contact? (or who IS the main point of contact?) - Do you pull permits for all of the work to be done? - Who does the crew you use actually work for? Do they work directly for you or are they subcontracted? How long have you worked with them? - Are all of your subcontractors or workers licensed appropriately and bonded? - Do you provide cleanup at the end of each workday and portajohns? Do look at Buehl's "keep on first page" post that should be located on the first page of this forum. There is good information there. There will be much more input I'm sure on this thread. Another thing I did was get at LEAST 3 estimates, and 3 references. Then CHECK those references. I like that the GC I chose brought up the portapotty and cleanup himself. Also, we requested that the bids be specific so that we can compare apples to apples -- not apples to oranges: - cabinetry - countertops - flooring - electrical - drywall - painting - who pays for what fixture, appliances, lighting, specialty items. etc etc etc. I was also very clear with the project manager that since I do project management myself (computers), I really don't want to have to manage this on top of it -- that's his job. If there is a change request, present it to me, or I present it to him, and it gets signed and then gets done or its out. Boom - done. Another neat thing the one we chose did (which makes me think more and more of them - we're only one week in) is that they put a keyless entry on our front door. The contractors can let themselves in, instead of us giving them a key to our front door that could potentially be copied. Once they are done, the code can be changed. This is standard on all their job sites, and I never even thought of it, but really like it. Honestly, with the dogs, I did ask that they ring the bell though before entering, just to make sure I've put the dogs up in the morning. Not everyone is as much of a dog lover as we are, and 4 big dogs greeting you when you enter a home can be overwhelming to even grown men (lol). I was very specific with all the GC's I talked to. My main concern was I didn't want to have to run around coordinating everyone's time. I don't want to have to deal with people not showing up on time or in the middle of the day to START on a job. The GC we chose was slightly higher than the other 2 bids (one was so cheap I knew it was a farce, not to mention the people that never even showed up to interview). However, I am getting the feeling so far we've made the right decision. Our first bump was the subflooring. Our 1969 home has some water damaged kitchen floor. We knew it. We expected to have to have some repairs. Turns out its better to just get an entire new subfloor rather than patch it. The change order today was for $1915. If that is the worst thing I run into in a 62 grand remodel, then I'm in good shape. We were NOT suprised to hear we had to have a whole new subfloor really. Do be realistic about your expectatations. Plan on an addition 20% for "suprises". We do expect this will be our worst "suprise". I'm crossing my fingers. As of today, the old kitchen/dining room is completely gutted down to the studs. They will be back on Tuesday to start on the new subfloor. At least they were considerate enough not to tear it up tomorrow, leaving us with no way to get to our bedrooms Friday night through the holiday weekend! The ball keeps rolling though. The cabinet guy shows up tomorrow to do his detailed measurements. That is the mark of a good contractor - he doesn't drop the ball.

I agree it is more about how you will interact during the job. Will he keep you informed or progress/budget? Is he confrontational or mellow when problems arise. Ask him about his procedures for the job...like what is he going to do to protect the other parts of the house during construction. Things like that to see if they have a plan or if they are by the seat of their pants type. Most contractors can hire electricians and other subs to get a project completed but it mostly comes down to communication. Our company- for a kitchen remodel or a house construction- sends out an email daily to summarize what has or has not happened that day and what is going to happen tomorrow along with a list of things the clients need to finalize so the project can move along. They know where the project stands budget and progress wise everyday so there are no surprises. Travis Alfrey Aberdeen NC