Co-Owner · March 23, 2023
Before you hire a contractor for a major home project (like installing a septic tank), there are lots of factors you should consider.
Here are three of the most important things to look at: reviews, company history, and price.
Big home projects aren't cheap. You want to make sure your money isn't wasted or stolen.
Also, these projects usually require some part of your home to be torn up on purpose to make space for your new things. You’ll want everything put back together nice and neat so you don’t have big, expensive problems later on.
Look at reviews, company history, and price, and you'll have a much better shot at a good contractor. Here's what to look for.
Reviews
Before you choose a contractor, read a handful of reviews from at least 2 or 3 separate sources. We recommend checking out Google Customer Reviews, Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List) Yelp, and Yellow Pages. A not-so-obvious place to read reviews is the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. You can also read formal complaints there and see your contractor’s BBB rating.
Company History
Many local service companies have been around for decades. This can be a sign that they’ve served their community well for a long time, making them trustworthy.
But if they've been cheating people or doing bad work, you'll find years of bad reviews and word of mouth around town. Take BBB Septic and Portable Toilets. We've been doing septic work in Northwest Arkansas since 1987, and we started small and kept growing. We don't say that to brag. Good companies tend to grow and stick around.
Price
When people go used-car shopping, they know this principle.
Spend good money on a vehicle and it usually won't give you trouble. Buy cheap and it'll cost you in the long run, because it'll keep breaking down.
Home projects work the same way. A lot of homeowners get bids from a few contractors, compare the prices, and pick the cheapest.
There are a few issues with this method.
Contractors who do work for cheap usually do cheap work. In other words, cheap contractors usually deliver low-quality results. And the results of low-quality work break down quickly, meaning you’ll need to sign another check to fix their mistakes.
And depending on how badly they mess things up, you’ll have to sign a few checks.
Another issue: when you sign a contract with your contractor, legally speaking, they have to finish your project within a certain timeframe for a certain amount of money.
But cheap contractors tend to request too many change orders. A change order is when your contractor requests to change your contract to include more time and money. So if you expected your home project to cost $1000 and be finished in 2 days, you’d end up spending $2,500, and they’ll finish in two weeks.
Our advice: pay a little more up front to avoid a lot of expense later. Read plenty of reviews from good sources, and look at how long the contractor's been in business. We've been doing septic work in Northwest Arkansas since 1987.