Renovating Your Home: Finding A Good Craftsman In 4 Steps

There is tremendous opportunity in your latest real estate investment, which you want to leverage properly. For this, it is important to associate yourself with good firms, particularly with what it is best to avoid doing yourself with insurance problems: carpentry and roofing in particular would be all the healthier if they are insured by a 10-year guarantee. Electricity, plumbing and tiling for example, are not beyond everyone’s control either. An productive and diligent craftsman can guarantee the completion of the reconstruction, regardless the scale of the work. Here are a few tips for picking it well.

Check the reliability of companies

Several measures are required throughout your study and even before demanding a quote. The first concerns the stability of the craftsman and his willingness to fulfil your needs. Make sure there are some reassuring baseline features for the target company. Several questions can be asked that can be answered on the Internet in a few minutes:

• Since when was the artisan installed?
• Will the siret appear on sites with organisation referrals such as societe.com or the yellow pages?
• Will the web of the craftsman, if he has one, reveal previous successes that offer an impression of the work’s quality?
• Is the overall picture of the craftsman strong on the web? However, be alert, disgruntled customers prefer to talk more than the – certainly – more pleased customers.

You are ready to dive deeper after these points are confirmed, in order to confirm the company’s suitability for your particular project.

Ensure skills and labels

A craftsman’s stickers are a guarantee of consistency. In the various trades, there are those that validate basic talents. For example, you can see the Qualitoit mark and Qualibat certification applicable to roofers, the ENR ranking for renewable energy installations, the different Qualifelec mark certifications, etc.

However, the RGE certification, for “recognised guarantor of the environment” is undeniably the most relevant of the brands used in all companies. Calling an RGE-certified craftsman would give you access to assistance from the system of My Prime Rénov, which replaces the energy transfer tax credit (CITE) and the aid offered by the national housing agency (Anah ). The government has set up an online simulation tool in order to figure out how much financial assistance you can apply for and find the correct contacts.

Do not hesitate to ask with the institutions of the city to complete the data on the proven abilities of the craftsman and to ensure his efficiency when it comes to a local enterprise. The town hall, the real estate companies, the DIY shops are all places where you can meet people who are sure to point you to the best local artisans.

Obtain several quality quotes

The next move is to approach the preferred firms for a quote. It is preferable to make at least three inquiries so that the costs and related quality of service can be compared. Then you will be able to get a better picture of the demand, the technological possibilities and the deadlines for development. Be careful to be as accurate as possible and not to omit anything from your standards and subsidiary limitations: the craftsman would be able to reply to you all the better.

In many ways, this interaction is important. First, it must be fluid and cordial to interact with the craftsman (and his staff), or you will find it hard to express your desires later. This is primarily a sensation, but it’s important. Then, the reaction time to your request would indicate the motivation of the craftsman for your site. In less than three days, you will get a quote, or it takes more than a month to come, which is not really engaging.

Finally, the calculation must be explicit, delimiting specifically the extent of the activity of the organisation and the costs associated with each action. It is important to specify the completion dates so that the signing of the estimation commits the craftsman to respecting them.

Lock in a secure contract

The craftsman gives you his final contract. Your decision is made. Here again, caution on several points is needed. Beginning with the (compulsory) insurance paid out by the craftsman and with which we warn you during the completion of the job and in the years to come to require a permit to protect you. We’re able to list:

• Ten-year warranty covering damage or weak workmanship spotted on the construction for 10 years (structural work only);
• Professional legal responsibility that defends against the craftsman’s violation;
• A promise of perfect completion, carried out for one year after the work has been received and covering any loss of compliance with the order placed;
• The delivery time guarantee which helps you to collect compensation if the deadlines are not met.

You should also verify that the craftsman is committed to compliance with the DTU codes (unified technical documents). Their procurement is not necessary, it is a matter of regularly revised French requirements ensuring the smooth operation of the job for each construction trade. The DTUs contain the technical execution clauses, the special interference limit clauses (essential, in particular, where many trades are involved) and the rules for the measurement of the sizes of the works. A business that adheres to these laws is comforting.

Finally, in the contract, review the payment terms. Upon receipt of the work, payment of the remainder (at least 30 percent) means that you will not find the site immediately deserted and helps you to retain a control over the craftsman in the event of bad production of the work.

You realise, it is important not to hurry to sign a contract in order to select a craftsman well. Learn from the experience of the craftsman who visits you in addition to logistical and technological checks: he is likely to help you improve your project for improved quality or at a reduced cost. Human interaction will, once again, be decisive in finalising your decision.