How to Choose a General Contractor
A Homeowner’s Guide to Educated Decision Making
We've compiled a list of what we believe are the most important questions homeowners should ask when choosing a building or remodeling contractor for their project. On large-scale projects, it is important to establish strong relationships based on common values between the builder and the homeowner.
Summit 48 carries full liability, worker’s compensation, and auto insurance that exceeds our state’s minimum requirements. We also sign insurance agreements with our subcontractors to ensure they too maintain the appropriate insurance levels.
➔ Why it’s important: If a general contractor or subcontractor is not insured or is underinsured, the homeowner could be liable for work-related injuries or severe property damage resulting from an accident or negligence.
We offer a one-year labor and materials warranty. Once your project is completed and before the warranty begins, we will perform a walkthrough with you and create a punch list of anything you would like touched up or corrected. We take pictures of every item and all issues are corrected within 30 days of the walkthrough. Our one-year warranty covers any defects that may not have been visible at the time of the final walkthrough.
➔ Why it’s important: It is extremely important that a contractor not only offers a warranty but honors it. When choosing a general contractor, be sure to ask about the criteria for warranty claims, including what is covered and what is not. Also, ask if they will work with you to correct any manufacturer’s defects arising beyond the contractor’s standard warranty period. Finally, ask how they record the condition of the property at substantial completion.We do not provide quotes, we provide pre-construction agreements with estimated budget ranges. Providing one number on a large-scale project or new build after only a couple of meetings downplays and deemphasizes the weeks (or months) of careful planning and design work needed to come to a final contracted price.
➔ Why it’s important: Comparing quotes from two different contractors can be very difficult, and in most cases, not useful in making a decision. Small details in a scope of work can sometimes lead to large variations in price, which can lead to a thorough contractor being perceived as “expensive”.
We use a formal construction agreement to protect both our customers and ourselves. The contract ensures we are holding ourselves accountable to what we have outlined in our construction agreement.
➔ Why it’s important: One-page, vague, incomplete, or misleading contracts can set a project up for failure from the start. The contract should establish clear expectations and include a comprehensive scope of work to ensure transparency regarding the products and services being provided.
Summit 48 Owner Eric Laplante writes the scope of work for every contract. Having an engineering background, Eric understands the importance of outlining the project in fine detail. The scope of work is considered the project ‘Bible’ and is kept on the job site and referred to almost daily.
➔ Why it’s important: A highly detailed scope of work is the sign of a good contractor. Finalized at the end of the pre-construction phase, the scope of work should answer every question you have about what is being installed in your home.
When we use material allowances, we make sure to have a discussion with you about what they are leaning towards (brand, model, color, etc.) and put generous material allowances in the budget based on that discussion. Although this may initially inflate the contract price, more often than not, the customer ends up with a credit towards their final bill for making selections below their budgeted allowances.
➔ Why it’s important: Contractors often use allowances in their contracted price for material selections that have not been made yet (e.g. flooring). This in and of itself is acceptable when used properly. However, if, unbeknownst to you, the contractor used razor-thin material allowances in multiple categories of your project, there may not be enough in the budget for the material selections you have in mind, and you will be left to cover the overages.Eric and your project manager work collaboratively in the pre-construction phase. Depending on the size of the project, this could take two to three weeks or up to four-plus months for new construction or large-scale remodeling projects. We will meet with you regularly during this phase and guide you through material selections so you can feel comfortable and make educated decisions. Throughout the process, we will advise you on the cost impacts (positive or negative) of your available choices and will help you get the best value out of the project while maintaining all your most important functions and features.
➔ Why it’s important: The pre-construction phase is the most important part of the project. If a contractor is diligent in their planning and carefully plans all phases of the project, execution of the work should be the easy part. Most problems during construction arise from oversights by the contractor before work began that could have been avoided. These lead to time delays and, at times, expensive corrective actions.We collect a small deposit (typically 2% of the total projected price of the project) when the pre-construction agreement is signed. This covers our time in planning and designing the project in the pre-construction phase. Although this deposit is non-refundable, it is credited towards your contracted amount if you sign a construction agreement with us. The rest of the payment schedule is detailed in our construction agreement.
➔ Why it’s important: When speaking with any home builder, be sure to ask when a deposit is required and what the amount is. You should never feel like you are being rushed to submit a large deposit.We assign a dedicated project manager to every job. On top of that, our owner, Eric, visits the job site weekly to check in on progress and help address any questions or concerns that may arise.
➔ Why it’s important: A project manager should not be the same person who is performing the onsite work on your project. Managing a new construction project or major renovation is a full-time job and requires immense attention to detail, coordination, and exceptional communication skills to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.Summit 48 uses both on-staff carpenters and subcontractors. Leveraging our trusted subcontractors helps us control the price of your project and having on-site carpenters while a project is in progress helps to ensure our standard of quality and job site maintenance is being met.
➔ Why it’s important: Although you can achieve great results by hiring subcontractors, it is valuable to have carpenters on a GC’s staff to tackle the portions of the project that either have a greater impact on the customer or require a higher level of care to ensure premium quality control.We do not bid on our subcontracted work in search of the lowest price. We understand from experience that the adage “you get what you pay for” rings truer in contracting than any other industry. Contracting is a business of building trusting relationships with people who share the same values as you. We use the same subcontractors on every job (assuming geographical coverage) because they have a proven track record of quality, trustworthiness, integrity, and responsiveness—and have stood behind their work time and time again.
➔ Why it’s important: Bidding every trade for your project may sound like a good idea, especially when there appears to be the reward of a lower price. However, the lowest bidder is usually the lowest for a reason and could result in a quality and service nightmare.Summit 48 uses Buildertrend project manager software. With Buildertrend, you will have a personalized online customer portal where you can view the project documents (contracts, spec sheets, drawings, etc.), the project schedule, daily job reports by the project manager with pictures from the job site, view, approve and request change orders, view and pay invoices, chat with the team regarding progress or questions, and view and approve material selections.
➔ Why it’s important: In the modern world of contracting, comprehensive project management software has proven to be among the most important tools for organization, communication, and an overall superior customer experience. However, few contractors have invested in this modern age of doing business online.We use Buildertrend to create a baseline schedule before your project begins. This schedule is always viewable by the customer and is updated weekly as the project evolves.
➔ Why it’s important: Scheduling is the most difficult part of our job. Contractors generally have more than one project running at a time, and as we know, no plan can ever go 100% perfect. Every project has unknowns, and balancing subcontractors and manpower between different jobs to stay on schedule is always a challenge. However, a well-thought-out baseline schedule with built-in contingencies for material delays, weather, or unforeseen circumstances can go a long way toward meeting timing goals.Through Buildertrend, we manage all customer options, selections, and allowances. This includes pictures, links, model numbers, and pricing for every item and keeps a running balance of all allowances. Our subcontractors and vendors have their own Buildertrend portal for your project so they can see what selections you have signed off on.
➔ Why it’s important: Managing material selections (and their allowances) is a lot of work and requires careful daily monitoring. Some contractors may expect you to order your materials (e.g. plumbing fixtures, cabinets, etc.) which does not allow the GC to make material and budgeting suggestions and ensure the selections fit within the planned layout. This also leaves the relevant subcontractors in the dark as to what they are expected to install.Our definition of a change order is any deviation from the contracted scope of work, unless that deviation is necessary to achieve the desired result, was known at the time of contract signing, and was overlooked. In the event of such oversight, we do not charge the customer for labor and materials needed for the resolution.
➔ Why it’s important: Some contractors use the term “change order” too loosely. If a condition is visible at the time the scope of work is created, but the proper planning/design was not put in place to accommodate for that condition, the resolution should not come at a cost to the customer.Using Buildertrend, our customers receive daily updates from the job site highlighting the work completed, important discussions with subcontractors or the customer, a list of who was on site, and pictures of the work completed that day. Additionally, our project manager will meet with you once per week to give a formal project update, collect any needed information from you, and answer any of your questions.
➔ Why it’s important: Even if everything is going as planned, a good contractor will keep a consistent line of communication with you. Communicating decisions or requests in writing and/or in the form of a change order is a must. Daily reports and weekly meetings with the project manager are typically best practices.Our project manager is always the customer’s first point of contact once the project starts. Additionally, Eric answers his phone seven days a week. We are highly responsive through phone, text, email, and Buildertrend. There are many ways to reach us!
➔ Why it’s important: A good contractor is responsive. You should have more than one point of contact in the company and feel confident that you can get fast, thorough responses from them.We comply with all OSHA regulations when it comes to job site safety. We use HEPA filtration for indoor air quality control, test for lead and asbestos whenever a material is a potential risk, and use certified lead and asbestos abatement contractors for the demo of such materials. We post a job site safety sheet at the entrance of every job highlighting information such as the locations of the fire extinguishers, water shutoff, and electric panels, as well as rules for children and pets near the job site.
➔ Why it’s important: Jobsite safety should be taken very seriously for the well-being of everyone in your home, including children and pets, as well as all workers on site. When speaking with any builder ask how they maintain a safe job site.We do not cut corners with temperature protection. We make use of Ram Board to protect floors and porches, and thick foam mats to protect tile floors. For dust containment, we take the time to plastic off work areas and cover any furniture in the area. Whenever we are sanding or installing drywall, we contain the “hot” zone with zippered plastic barriers and keep a HEPA filtration air scrubber in the hot zone at all times. Outside the immediate area, in the “cold” zone, we run an additional HEPA air scrubber if necessary and leave it running in the house even after we leave for the day, to ensure the cleanest air possible. Tools, materials, and scraps are cleaned up, organized, or removed from the site at the end of each workday.
➔ Why it’s important: Particularly for remodels of primary homes, temp protection and job site maintenance and cleanliness are incredibly important. This is your home! For most remodeling projects, our clients are living in the home during most or all of the construction phase. Make sure you are comfortable with whichever GC you select being in your home and maintaining a clean working environment for an extended period.★ At Summit 48, we build to the most current IRC (International Residential Code). Whether an inspector may “let it slide” or not, we take the code seriously, as it was created to ensure that the structures we build and/or modify are safe and will withstand the test of time.
➔ Why it’s important: Some municipalities are very lenient when it comes to code enforcement, and some inspectors may not be well-versed in certain areas of the code, particularly in small towns where staffing resources are limited. Just because a project passes inspection, does not necessarily mean it meets today's code.We prefer to source our materials from trusted local vendors who supply high-quality, reputable brands. Local lumber yards such as Belletetes, LaValley/Middleton, and Cyr Lumber, as well as vendors such as FW Webb, and Lansing Building Products, are among our go-to suppliers. We will not install brands or materials that we would not install in our own homes.
➔ Why it’s important: Not all plumbing fixtures, lumber, flooring, etc. are made equal. If a product at a big box store is cheaper, there is usually a reason for that.
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Greater Concord & Central New Hampshire
