Finding and Choosing the Right Contractor to Repair My Foundation?
Finding the right contractor is one of the biggest reliefs in the world, especially when you’re facing major home and foundation repairs. Foundations are important—your house sits on that! But before you can experience that relief, you’ve got to find the right contractor. And looking for one is the second most stressful part of needing a foundation repair.
So, where do you start? How do you find the foundation repair company that’s going to do right by you?
Google “Foundation Repair Company”
This is the first step, and it’s the “I’ve already done that” part of the list. But it’s important. And it can be just as overwhelming as not looking at all.
Google is flooded with dozens of licensed, unlicensed, part time, full time, qualified, and unqualified companies and people claiming to be /a good foundation repair company. All of them have a page, a number, a listing. So how do you sort through them and find the few gems?
Start at the top; the way pages are listed on Google has everything to do with how much people are talking about them. It doesn’t keep track of what people are saying though; it doesn’t differentiate between good and bad. So make a short list of the top Google Listings for a foundation repair company and hold onto it.
Check Yelp! and Angie’s List
Yelp! Is what Google Business is trying to be. It’s got more accurate ratings and metrics for businesses. If a foundation repair company has a lot of positive reviews on Yelp! they should get bumped to the top of your pick list. Same with Angie’s List, though that isn’t as straightforward or accessible as Yelp! can be.
Visit their website
And see what they’ve got going on. Learn more about the people you’ll be allowing into your home.
Friends, Family, Neighbors
Like free advice on many things, the recommendation of a neighbor, business associate or friend should be taken with a grain of salt. While the people we know may not have dealt directly with a foundation repair contractor, knowing someone who knows someone else who has had a foundation repaired can put you in contact with people who have dealt with a foundation repair contractor directly. As people respond to your queries, you may discover that when people rave about ‘the best guy ever,” it is actually the same guy.
Selecting the Best Foundation Repair Company
At this point, you’ve got enough data to narrow down your selection. Once you make sure the reviews on Google and Yelp! are good, and you like the look of their website, and maybe heard their name from a couple of different people, it’s time to make some calls.
The best way to get a good foundation repair company that fits with you is to get a quote from each company that makes it into your finalist round. A good foundation repair company will walk you through the entire thing; explain the fees, and estimated prices, the products they use and why they use them. How they speak to you is going to be just as significant a deciding factor as the cost.
Foundation issues in your home are stressful enough, don’t pile onto that a dysfunctional relationship with your repair company. Find the one that’s right for you, and build a foundation with them that will do more than hold your house up.
