Before you hire a home improvement contractor, this is what you need to know.
If you’re like most people, you search Google and pick the first contractor’s name that pops up or ask a friend for a reference. If you’ve been down that road before, you probably already know the potential headaches you can run into if you work with the wrong general contractor.
If you’ve never hired a contractor before, you might not know where to start or what to expect. We want to answer some of the most commonly asked questions we hear from our thousands of customers.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
As a homeowner, you know that home improvement work is never truly done. And while you’ve probably learned a lot along the way, sometimes you just need to call in a professional. Here’s when we recommend hiring a contractor—and what you’ll get out of it.
Waterproofing is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of your home. Heavy rains can lead to mass amounts of water in the soil around your home. As this water flows through the soil, it creates pressure against the walls of your basement and/or foundation. Over time, this pressure can lead to cracks that, if not tended to, can wreak havoc on your home.
While there are some stop-gap DIY measures you can take to waterproof your home—extending your downspouts and applying concrete sealant, for example—these methods won’t work in the long run if you have a true waterproofing problem. In that case, a yard drainage contractor is the ideal choice to stop water from hurting your home.
How do you know when it’s time to call a contractor? Look for problem signs like condensation on your basement walls, standing water in your basement or crawlspace, rotting wood, or sagging floors.
Helitech is a professional waterproofing company that specializes in yard drainage issues. When you hire Helitech, you’ll get professional waterproofing services for your home’s basement, crawlspace, and exterior. We specialize in fixing yard drainage problems with reliable drainage systems like French drains and our own patented Hydraway system.
Here’s one problem you can’t solve on your own: cracks in your foundation. While hairline cracks can be common, it’s important to keep a close eye on them to ensure they don’t worsen. When your foundation shifts and cracks, it leads to settling; too much settling can lead to serious structural issues that require a professional foundation repair company to fix.
Common foundation problem signs include cracks in your exterior brick, windows and doors that stick, and cracks in your walls or ceilings. Any of these can point to foundation issues that could lead to problems with the integrity and safety of the structure.
Our foundation repair experts can assess and diagnose your issues, come up with a personalized repair plan, and fix your foundation once and for all, giving you the peace of mind that you deserve.
Home ownership doesn’t just mean taking care of the inside of your home; the outside of it needs love too! That’s where concrete leveling contractors come in. While you may not give too much thought to how your concrete looks, take a look around your driveway, sidewalk, patio, or swimming pool. You should also look for signs of street creep, a scenario in which your concrete street or driveway expands in hot weather. This can put pressure on your driveway, which will ultimately affect your foundation.
If you’ve noticed cracks in your concrete or signs of street creep, it may be time to call a specialist.
Fixing these issues isn’t quite as invasive as you might think. In addition to removing and replacing concrete, we also offer mudjacking and polyurethane concrete leveling services. These cost-effective solutions make for a cleaner job site, so you can enjoy your new, level concrete sooner rather than later.
If you see cracks in any concrete slabs outside or in your basement or garage or cracks in your foundation, give us a call. We can inspect your home to see if it’s a foundation repair issue or something that we can fix through concrete leveling.
Before signing a contract, there are some questions to ask a contractor to help you find out key information about them, their business, and the way they work. We recommend actually interviewing potential contractors to make sure you find a good fit for you and your project. Take this list of questions to them and see how they answer—a good contractor will do their best to make you comfortable.
While we don’t want to discount newbies in the field, this is your home we’re talking about. Should things go wrong because they haven’t experienced one of the many issues that can pop up, you’ll wish you’d gone with someone experienced.
If they’ve been doing this work since the 80s but aren’t licensed and insured, that’s a major red flag. Protect yourself and your home by only working with licensed contractors who have insurance. You can double check this information with your local business bureau or state licensing bodies.
There’s a lot of work, like meeting state requirements, that goes into contracting projects that you shouldn’t have to deal with. Make sure to find a contractor who will handle these details for you.
Be wary of anyone who seems to be over-promising on timelines.
This is helpful for you to know so you can plan your day. A contractor should be able to tell you when they’ll be arriving to and leaving the work site, when they take breaks, and whether or not you’ll need to let your neighbors know about any parking issues, for instance.
You have the right to know who will be working on your property and whether or not you’ll have a dedicated team that works the entire remodeling project or if you’ll have a new crew daily. You should also be given the opportunity to speak with the supervisor when you have questions.
When the crew shuts down for the day, where are they going to store big and small equipment? If they aren’t taking it home with them, it’s fair to ask them to clean it up as best as they can.
While licensed and insured contractors should follow safety standards, a great contractor will go above and beyond to make sure their workers and their clients and clients’ property is safe.
We always recommend hoping for the best but planning for the worst. That’s why it’s so important to discuss how disagreements will be resolved. How a contractor handles dispute resolution can tell you a lot about how they take care of their clients.
Before you sign anything, make sure you fully understand the financial commitment that you are making. Ask about down payments, payment plans, and how they handle additional charges should they become necessary.
Our experts would love to work with you and help you heal your home. Each of our employees takes their role seriously. From the in-office customer liaisons who answer the phones every day to our professional technicians, every member of the Helitech crew truly looks forward to giving you a great experience.
We like to see integrity in your home’s foundation and in every member of our team! Our work is quick, efficient, and thorough, and we stand behind what we do. That’s why we offer a lifetime warranty on many of our services. As a family-owned business since 1987 of helping homeowners under our belts, we take our reputation very seriously.
Each of our technicians is trained to make each job as safe as possible. From securing the proper building permits to following on-the-job safety protocols, we insist on keeping every member of our team safe, which means your home is in good hands.
We have been in business over 30 years; specializing in solving waterproofing, foundation repair, concrete leveling, and other specialty contracting issues. With this level of knowledge and skill, we’re able to quickly and accurately assess your home’s issues and develop a personalized repair plan that makes sense for you, your home, and your budget.
Ready to start the process? Here’s what to expect when you hire Helitech.
First things first: Get in touch! Our office staff is available to take your calls from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. We’ll consult our schedule and set up an appointment for a Project Specialist to visit your home and evaluate the issue.
That’s the question we hear most often! The answer is, it depends. Typically, we try to get a Project Specialist to your home within a week. However, as they say, when it rains, it pours. When the weather has been bad, our call volume increases significantly, and we have fewer appointments available. We make every effort to have your home evaluated in a timely manner.
We do keep some appointment times reserved for emergency situations. If you’re having an emergency, let us know right away and we can work with you!
In order to fully understand the scope of your issues, our Project Specialist will need to come to your home and assess the problem. One of our Specialists will go over your concerns, do a full inspection, and give you a free quote.
Most of the time, we are able to give a same-day diagnosis and estimate. Only in the most complex issues will we need to refer back to our in-house engineering team.
We will never oversell you on services you don’t need. You can feel confident that Helitech will give you the most accurate diagnosis and best solution for that diagnosis as possible.
If you agree to the estimate, you’ll receive a proposal, typically via email. Once you accept the proposal and sign your contract, our Specialist will take that information back to our office where our scheduling department takes over. Our customer liaisons will schedule your appointment; you can expect to wait two weeks from the time you accept our proposal.
We make every attempt to come back to your home as quickly as possible. Due to seasonality and crew availability, wait times can vary, but our priority is repairing your issue quickly.
We’ll work efficiently but thoroughly to solve your problem from top to bottom. We do our very best to keep to our agreed-upon time table, barring any unforeseen complications, and we’ll keep you updated each and every step of the way.
Still have more questions? While our customer service staff would love to walk you through any part of our process, here are the things most people want to know:
Whether you require major structural repairs or a smaller project, we understand that you likely have a budget to respect. That’s why we have multiple financing options to ensure that your home gets the work it needs in a way that’s feasible for you. From free financing to setting up a payment schedule, we are happy to work with you to make your home renovation happen.
We offer various warranties on different services. For some services, we offer a limited warranty. While we stand behind every project we complete, any service that requires your future involvement or maintenance, such as downspout extensions, isn’t guaranteed for life. However for many of our services, we offer a warranty for the lifetime of the structure; that means that even if you move out of your home, the warranty will still apply for the new owner.
Helitech is licensed and insured. Our workers are OSHA certified, and our systems meet the ISO 9001, IBC Report, and International Code Council building code standards.
Every member of the Helitech team will be happy to help answer any questions you have. Typically, we recommend that you speak with your Project Specialist who prepares your estimate as they will have the deepest knowledge of your home’s particular issues. There will also be a foreman and a superintendent on your project who will be available to discuss the project with you.
While our whole team is dedicated to completing your repair in a timely manner, our superintendents are responsible for keeping the team on schedule. Our superintendents from job site to job site every day to make sure the projects they’re overseeing are staying on track, giving you peace of mind that your repair will be done quickly and professionally.
You’re not the first to ask this question! In our foundation repair work, we install helical piers and anchors. We also employ expert technicians. Put “helical” and “technician” together and you get Helitech. Plus, it sounds like “heal” and we’re known as the best contractor to heal your home!
