It is a misdemeanor for someone to contract for construction work in the state of California for more than $500 combined labor and materials. It is illegal to contract with an unlicensed contractor. There is a reason for this. The law sets up many protections for homeowners when dealing with licensed contractors. A licensed contractor is required to carry a $10,000 bond. See "Use a Bonded Contractor" for more information. Additionally, the State License Board carefully monitors the activity and ethics of the licensed contractors.

The licensing process in California is arduous and difficult for many people to pass.

You may check our license at the California Contractors State License Board's web-site and enter license number 821492.

If a contractor causes damages or does not fulfill their end of the agreement and has been paid in excess for the amount of work completed, a contractor's bond will pay the customer up to $10,000. The bonding company will then use their resources to recoup this money from the contractor. This protects the customer from the contractor that takes a deposit and is never heard from again. It is also protection for theft or other damage caused by the contractor.

All licensed contractors are required to carry a bond, but are not required to carry liability insurance. There are many things that can happen while a contractor is working on your house. Structural damage, cosmetic damage, property damage, or bodily injury of non-employees can occur. If the contractor does not have insurance, then the homeowner becomes the liable party.

Construction is a high risk profession. Workers are injured often relative to other lines of work. Additionally, the cost of medical care is ever increasing and can quickly get out of control. If a contractor does not carry workers compensation insurance, it becomes the homeowner's liability to cover the medical expenses for injured workers on their property. Any contractor with employees is required to carry insurance, but few actually do because of the required paperwork and outrageous expense. Worker's compensation adds approximately 20%-80% to the cost of the job.

As we say on our contracts, there are no verbal agreements. If you want something to happen, it must be in writing. It is a protection for both the homeowner and the company, and is a wonderful communication device. The work or materials are either in writing or are not, and each party is legally obligated to execute the contract unless amended in writing, which typically involves a change in price.

Many contractors will base their payments in such a way as to get almost all the money before a substantial amount of work is completed. Some contractors even schedule payments for a certain time frame, like every Friday, regardless of progress. We choose to schedule payments based upon certain completion points, and when able, upon passing inspections.

For remodeling work, have as concise of an idea as possible. Our professionals can most certainly give you a variety of ideas, but the more concise of a plan you have, the easier it is for us to execute that plan

California state law states that licensed contractors provide a one year guarantee. Unfortunately, many contractors never get back out to the job because their income is tied to their current job, not to old jobs. A larger company like ours gives us the flexibility to quickly get out to address service issues.

Many of the products that we represent are purchased directly from the factory. Our buying power gives us premium pricing and reduced time frames. Companies that purchase from a retailer, or even a wholesaler, must pay the extra party in the cycle. Additionally, we often have access to higher end products than retailers.

The Better Business Bureau is a mediating group between the company and customers. What you should look for is how many complaints have been resolved, not how many complaints have been placed. It is also important to look at the nature of the complaints. Customers can place a claim about anything they want, whether it is legitimate or not. Again, the key is to see if the complaints are resolved.

Many contractors will give an initial "estimate" for a job with a low price, and intentionally not include many items. By the end of the job, the price has far exceeded the original estimate. We disagree with this methodology; it lacks integrity. We believe in giving an exact price that we will stand behind for the described work. Unforeseen issues, such as termite damage and wood rot will often require change orders, but for the described work, we will always stand behind our price.