Would you expect to buy a new car without signing a mountain of paperwork? Would you expect to invest in a business without receiving a stack of documents? As with any big investment, when you hire a sunroom contractor, you should expect to get certain documents that will protect you in case there is a dispute in the future.
Going through the paperwork with your contractor will also ensure that you are both on the same page about cost estimates, timelines, and the overall design. Here are the documents you should expect to get from your sunroom contractor.
Expect to Get a Contract
Verbal agreements and handshakes simply aren’t enough anymore. In the world of home improvement, there are a few parts of a contract that are common among different types of contractors, including:
Scope of Work
This is a written description of exactly what the sunroom contractor is responsible for. Make sure it even includes little details like electrical outlets and fan installation.
Cost Estimates
Go over the itemized list of hard costs and soft costs to make sure you agree with everything. (Hard costs include labor and materials, and soft costs include everything besides labor and materials.)
Timeline
Your sunroom contractor should be able to give you an approximate completion date, which may change due to bad weather or supply chain problems. The best contractors will break the project down into phases and provide an estimated completion date for each phase.
Expect to Get Drawings or Renderings
Don’t make the mistake of assuming your contractor shares your exact vision for a sunroom after just talking about it. Ask for a copy of their blueprints and for a 3D rendering if they have the software to make one. Not only will this allow you to see your vision come to life, but it will allow the contractor to catch mistakes they might have missed.
Expect to Get Proof of License, Insurance, and Bonding
There are many scary pitfalls of hiring an unlicensed or uninsured contractor. Having a license ensures they are running a legitimate business and are obligated to produce quality work. Having liability insurance means you won’t be responsible for the cost of possible damage to your property. And a contractor having workers’ compensation insurance means you won’t be responsible for the cost of medical bills and missed payments due to worker injury on your property. Being bonded ensures you won’t be responsible for the cost of finishing the project in the event that the contractor can’t for some reason.
Even if your sunroom contractor of choice says they are licensed, insured, and bonded, you should get copies of the proof for your files. You can use their license number to check whether or not it is still active with the state licensing entity, too.
Expect to Get Financial Paperwork
If your contractor hasn’t already partnered with HFS Financial to provide contractor financing, you’ll want to go ahead and fill out our 60 second application on your own. Once HFS Financial sets you up with the perfect sunroom loan, you can attach the financial paperwork to your contract. You will be happy with how quick and easy it is to get financing, and your contractor will be happy to get your funding up front. When it comes to sunroom financing, at HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It!”