Assessing the quality of a contractor’s work can be an important part of choosing a contractor or custom home builder, like Alair Homes Kelowna. But what is the best way to do this? Calling around for references, asking your friends, family and trusted community members is always a great way to get referrals, but once you’ve narrowed it down, you’ll want to inspect the contractor’s work. We recommend that you do this in person. Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but they can also hide important flaws that you wouldn’t want to be surprised with at the end of a contracting job.

Any reputable contractor should be happy to let you see some of their completed work in person, as oppose to just photographs. Keeping in mind that you’ll see the work yourself, here are some ways to assess the quality of the construction.

Paint

The best way to tell the quality of a paint job is, surprisingly, not with your eyes, but with your hands. Close your eyes and touch the paint with your hands. If you can identify drips, uneven coating or a rough texture, then it is not a quality paint job. Also be sure to look closely at the woodwork, ceiling and any other borders and examine them to ensure there are no wobbly lines, drips or overlapping edges.

Cabinets and Doors

It can be awkward to open every single door and cabinet in a homeowner’s kitchen to make sure the quality of work is up to par. This isn’t quite necessary. Open and close a few here and there and make sure that they open, close and latch smoothly with no sticking. If there has been a period of high heat, humidity or heavy rain doors or cabinets that stick may have more to do with the atmosphere than the nature of the contractor’s work.

Lighting

Examine all the ceiling fixtures and make sure they are centered, in a straight line or otherwise properly placed. Turn lights on and off and make sure none of them flicker or malfunction. Additionally, be sure to test dimmers, as the new LED light bulbs are often improperly paired with the appropriate dimmer switches, and so the dimmers on lights don’t work or don’t work properly.

Trim

Proper trim installation should be straight and geometric in appearance. No nail holes should be visible, and all corners should be tight, flush and perfectly matched. Don’t forget to look up and examine the crown molding. The corners should be mitered together in a seamless manner. Review the window trims in the same fashion. The corners should be neatly put together and appear seamless.

Tile

Proper tile installation should appear as square and perfect as possible. Grout lines should be smooth, neat and very thin. Tiles should join one another at 90-degree angles, and no odd shapes, edges, or finishes should be apparent. The tiles should also be flat, without and undulating sections moving up or down.

Counters

Countertops should be installed with as few gaps as possible. If you notice large sections of caulk or an awkwardly placed “puzzle” piece, then it’s clear that your contractor didn’t take care with the original measurements and placement.

Don’t forget to ask your contractor questions! No amount of looking and no number of referrals can make up for a contractor that you can’t communicate with, or that isn’t open to answering your questions.