Monday, August 03, 2015

A: Be an educated consumer: aggressively shop for the most reasonable bid, not necessarily the cheapest.  Inexpensive, but shoddy, work will only cost you more money in the long run.  After you find a contractor, insist that trade discounts on materials be passed on to you, or buy materials yourself.  Root out any unnecessary costs written into the contract, and compare payment alternatives – flat vs. hourly rates, for example – and negotiate the more reasonable of the two.  Also, do part of the project yourself.  Disassembly and prep work can save you hundreds of dollars.

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