9 Critical Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Markham Renovator

Choosing a qualified, experienced renovator is the simplest way to ensure that your expanded kitchen, second-story addition, truly meets your expectations. If you’re thinking about renovating your Markham home, you’ll want to ask renovators a few of these questions.

How Long Have You Been a Renovator?

Experience isn’t necessarily a predictor of success, but it’s certainly an important factor in any field. As you’ve probably learned in your own career, encountering, and solving problems helps you learn which solutions do and don’t work.

At Master Edge Homes, we are longstanding members of the renovating community. In fact, our President, Dwayne Butler, is a licensed carpenter by trade and has worked in custom home building and production building long before venturing out on his own in 2005. The experience doesn’t end there. The entire design-build team has substantial experience renovating homes in the Markham area.

Over the years, we’ve not only learned to expect the unexpected but to already have solutions in mind. Our solution-finding skills are so well-honed that we often devise workarounds for potential problems during the design phase of a project.

Which Renovation Projects Are You Particularly Proud Of?

When you ask a renovator to describe their favourite projects, you’ll get a better idea of his or her skill level, creativity, and passion. Since most of us love to talk about renovations, you may learn more than you ever wanted to know about home improvements or additions. If the renovator struggles to come up with an answer or only gives a short reply to the question, consider that a red flag.

Do You Have a Project Gallery?

During the discussion of his or her favourite projects, the renovator may direct you to the gallery section of the company’s website. The photographs on these pages showcase the company’s best work and help you decide if the type of work the company does meshes with your style sensibilities. If the renovation company doesn’t have an online gallery, ask if they can email you photographs of completed projects.

Have You Worked in Markham Before?

Although contractors can work anywhere, it helps to be familiar with the area, since architectural styles and building codes vary from place to place. If your renovator isn’t familiar with Markham’s code or inspection requirements, you could face unexpected delays.

Whether your house is just a few years old or a Markham landmark, we’ll help you create a comfortable, attractive renovation. Would you like to renovate your heritage home? We’ll help you update your home and modernize its systems without compromising its unique architectural features.

How Will I Know How Long My Renovation Will Take?

Before the renovation will begin, companies typically provide an estimate for the start and end date. Here at Master Edge Homes, we provide a written contract that highlights the written contract's start date and end date. However, there are several that may cause a project to take longer than anticipated. We understand that challenges do arise in the course of a project, the main thing is that a professional would be able to limit the delays. We provide options to our clients when we face such challenges as well as the cost, time, and application.

What Do You Think of My Budget?

Like most homeowners, you probably have a figure in your mind for your renovations. Since renovation budgets are affected by so many factors (square footage, building material costs, complexity, labour costs, finishings/style preference, etc.) creating a budget can be complicated. Fortunately, a renovator should be able to tell you if your budget is realistic after listening to your ideas and taking a look at your Markham home.

If your dollars aren’t going to stretch quite as far as you’d hoped, the renovator may be able to recommend other products or building techniques that will give you the look or function you want without straining your budget.

Can I Talk to Previous Clients?

Anyone can create a website and fill it with attractive photographs. If you want to know about the quality of a contractor’s work, it’s a good idea to talk to previous clients. Most renovators will be glad to put you in touch with satisfied customers. When you talk to the client, ask:

• Did the renovation meet your expectations?
• How long did the project take from design to construction?
• Did the project come in on budget?
• Were there any challenges that came up during the renovation? If so, how were they handled?
• Was there any insurance and Workers’ compensation provided to you to protect you from risks?
• Were the renovators, and their trades professionals helpful?
• What do you like most about your renovation?

Will You Provide a Written Contract?

A true professional will be able to provide you with a written contract that includes a start date, a detailed scope of work, a cost specific to the scope of work, and an end date.

What Can I Expect if I Become Your Client?

In general, renovators don’t have the best reputation when it comes to communicating with clients. When you don’t know who’s going to show up at your house and when or why the kitchen cabinets still aren’t installed, renovating becomes a stressful experience. Before you sign a contract with a renovator, it’s important to learn how they’ll treat you when you’re a client.

We believe the more information clients receive the better. That’s why we invite every client to use our Client Care System, a software system that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in your renovation. In addition to receiving progress updates, you can also use the system to choose flooring and other products, check the schedule, review the budget, or look at photos documenting the changes to your home.

Are you ready to start your Markham renovation? Complete our convenient contact us form and we’ll call you soon to discuss your project.