A bright remodeling dream is to do everything efficiently, inexpensively, and in a short time. But it doesn’t work that way. The main weapon of unscrupulous contractors is our ignorance. What tricks do scammers use, and how to protect yourself from deception?
Any repair can be conditionally divided into three parts – the preparatory stage (the search for the construction team and the signing of the contract), the work itself, and the acceptance of the premises. And you can get on the hook several times.
The first stage is the most important. Better to spend time looking for the good company than biting your elbows later. Today many people offer their services on the Internet. A beautiful site with customer reviews, colorful ads, a low price, and even numerous portfolios on social networks are not yet an indicator of the quality of work.
The contractor makes a final estimate but does not detail all stages of work. For example, the column “plumbing” is indicated and, on the contrary, the amount of 50 thousand rubles, “plaster” – 180 thousand, and so on. As a result, it turns out that you need to pay more because a lot was simply “left out.” Large firms value their reputation and do not do that. This mainly applies to small companies or teams that undertake budget repairs.
Tip: check if all the work was taken into account when drawing up the estimate; check the prices for each type of work.
You will receive a quote with an attractive low price. The contractor indicates the simplest type of material. Buy a regular plastic skirting board and install it easily. Another thing is to mount a polyurethane or wooden skirting board, paint, joined, trimmed. It doesn’t matter what kind of skirting board will be in reality, the estimate means plastic, and then the price tag will be “corrected” for you. Deliberately reducing the room footage or the amount of work is another trick that makes the estimate cheaper. But only on paper.
Tip: contact another company for a quote, compare the types of work and cost, make sure to talk with the contractor about the same thing.
The opposite case – the volume of the estimate is overly inflated. It is difficult for a person who does not work in the construction industry to imagine how much tile adhesive is needed. If they say that it will take 10 bags, we believe. A dishonest superintendent does not need to attribute a couple of extra ones. Here, the area of increased attention is free-flowing mixtures. Scammers earn tens of thousands of rubles by increasing the volume. But you can inflate not only the number of bags but also the area of the room – after all, the customer rarely measures everything himself with a tape measure in his hands.
Tip: do not hesitate to ask what and how much will be required; consult with someone else if in doubt. Measure in advance the area of the floor, walls, openings. Familiarize yourself with the stages of work, the documents that describe their regulations, ask the masters for photo reports of the work done.
The final stage is acceptance of the premises.
IMPORTANT: both parties must sign the final act with the date. From this moment, the warranty period specified in the contract begins. If you are doing a complex major overhaul, split the acceptance into several parts. For all defects, draw up an appropriate action, which indicates the period for their correction. Sign it only after the violations have been eliminated.
Of course, it is very important to control the process. But it is impossible to prescribe all possible scenarios in the estimate and the contract. You should have a trusting relationship with a construction company or a specific craftsman. It’s like finding your doctor – no need to double-check his appointments. Therefore, it is important to find out who you will be working with as much as possible. Don’t be fooled and look for those who work openly and honestly.
