Questions to Ask Your Builder
Questions for vetting a builder before you sign and for keeping a build on track afterwards, covering licensing, the contract, allowances, the payment schedule, site access and warranty work.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Are you licensed and insured for this work, and can I have the policy numbers?
Why ask it
Ask for numbers, not reassurance, then check the license with your state or local licensing board and phone the insurer to confirm the general liability and workers' compensation policies are current. A certificate handed to you by the builder can be out of date or cancelled.
Who exactly will I be contracting with?
Why ask it
The name on the sign and the name on the contract are often different entities. If the contracting company was registered recently and has no assets, a warranty from it is worth very little, so ask how long that specific entity has been trading.
Can I speak to three clients from the last two years, including one whose job went wrong?
Why ask it
Any builder can produce two delighted customers. Asking for one difficult job is the real question, and a builder who cannot name a single problem project either has not built much or is not going to be straight with you.
Can I see a job you finished five years ago rather than last month?
Why ask it
New work photographs well. Cracked grout, sticking doors, settlement and drainage problems only appear after a few winters, and the owner of an older house will tell you how the builder responded to them.
How many jobs will you be running at the same time as mine, and who else is on site?
Why ask it
Delay on a small job is usually a scheduling problem rather than a skill problem. A builder juggling five sites moves crews to whichever job is shouting loudest, so ask how many days a week your site will be occupied and by how many people.
Who runs the site day to day, and who do I call when they're not there?
Why ask it
Find out whether your point of contact is the owner, a site manager, or a subcontractor's foreman. Ask what happens when that person is sick or on another job, because the answer 'text me any time' tends not to survive month three.
Which trades are your own employees and which are subcontracted?
Why ask it
Subcontracting is normal, but it changes who is accountable and who you can chase. It also tells you where scheduling gaps will appear, since subcontracted trades are booked around other builders' jobs as well as yours.
What is the payment schedule, and what has to be finished before each payment?
Why ask it
Tie every payment to completed and inspected work rather than to dates. A schedule that front-loads money means you are financing the builder, and it removes your only real leverage if the job stalls.
How much deposit do you need, and what is it paying for?
Why ask it
A deposit for ordered materials is reasonable; a large sum before anything is bought is not. Ask what the deposit buys and whether it is refundable, and check whether your state caps deposits on residential work.
What allowances are in this quote, and what did you assume for each one?
Why ask it
Allowances are the usual source of a blown budget. Ask for the per-unit figure assumed for tile, taps, flooring and lighting, then price the things you actually want, because a low allowance makes a quote look competitive and lands as a change order later.
What is specifically excluded from this price?
Why ask it
Read the exclusions before the inclusions. Site clearance, spoil removal, temporary power, scaffolding, permit fees, engineering, connections and landscaping are commonly left out, and each one can be a five-figure surprise.
How do change orders work, and what do you charge on top?
Why ask it
Get the markup percentage, who is authorized to approve a change, and whether it has to be in writing before work starts. Verbally agreed changes are the most common cause of a disputed final invoice.
What is the completion date in the contract, and what happens if you pass it?
Why ask it
A date with no consequence is a hope. Ask which delays extend it automatically, whether there is a liquidated damages clause, and how much notice you get if the date moves, since you may be paying rent or a construction loan meanwhile.
Which permits and inspections apply, who files them, and who pays the fees?
Why ask it
Confirm the permits are pulled in the builder's name, not yours. A homeowner-pulled permit shifts liability for code violations onto you, and unpermitted work will surface when you try to sell or insure the house.
How will I know the subcontractors and suppliers have been paid?
Why ask it
If the builder is paid and the plumber is not, the plumber can place a lien on your property. Ask for signed lien waivers from subcontractors and suppliers with each payment, and treat reluctance here as a serious warning.
Can I visit the site, and are there times you'd rather I didn't?
Why ask it
Reasonable builders welcome visits and will ask you to route questions through them rather than instructing trades directly. Someone who resists visits altogether is usually managing their schedule, not your safety.
How will you record decisions and progress, and what will I receive each week?
Why ask it
A short weekly note with photographs and upcoming decisions prevents most disputes. If the answer is that they will tell you when there is something to say, expect to spend the build chasing information.
How do you protect the parts of my property you're not working on?
Why ask it
Covers driveways, existing planting, neighbors' walls and, in a renovation, the rooms you are still living in. Ask specifically about dust control, where the dumpster and materials will sit, and who is responsible if a shared fence is damaged.
What does your warranty cover, for how long, and what voids it?
Why ask it
Separate workmanship from manufacturer coverage, and get the exclusions in writing. Ask how a warranty call is logged and what response time you can expect, because a two-year warranty with no service process is not much use.
How do we handle it if we disagree, before it becomes a legal problem?
Why ask it
Look for a stated escalation path: site meeting, written notice, then mediation or arbitration. Check whether the contract requires you to give notice to cure before withholding payment, since skipping that step usually weakens your position.
Using these questions well
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you sign
Get three quotes on the same written scope
Quotes are only comparable if every builder is pricing the same specification, including allowances. Write the scope yourself, or have your architect write it, and hand the same document to each builder.
Verify licensing yourself
Check the license number with the state or local board and call the insurer to confirm the policies are live and cover the value of your job. Search the court records and licensing complaint history for the contracting entity as well as the owner's name.
Ask references the questions the builder cannot script
How many weeks late was it, what did the final invoice come to against the original quote, how long did the punch list take, and would you use them again for something bigger. Ask if they ever had to chase a warranty call.
Never sign a quote as the contract
The contract should carry the scope, the specification, the schedule, the payment triggers, the change order process, the warranty terms and the dispute process. If your build is significant, paying an attorney to read it once costs a fraction of one dispute.
Warning signs while you are choosing
A quote well below the others
The cheapest number usually means something has been left out or the allowances are unrealistic. Ask the low bidder to walk you through where they are cheaper than the others, item by item.
Pressure on the deposit
A discount that expires this week, a request for cash, or a large payment before anything has been ordered are all reasons to slow down rather than speed up.
Nothing in writing
If early promises about dates, materials or extras never make it into a document, they will not survive the build either. Ask for confirmation by email of anything agreed in conversation, and notice how they respond to being asked.
No interest in your questions
Vagueness about who runs the site, how many jobs are running, or what happens when things go wrong is itself an answer. So is irritation at being asked about lien waivers.
Once work has started
Keep one written thread
Confirm every decision, variation and price in the same email chain or shared document, dated. Almost every construction dispute comes down to who remembers what was agreed on site.
Hold a short weekly meeting
Fifteen minutes at the same time each week to cover what is done, what is next, and what decisions are needed from you. Booking it in advance is more effective than reacting when something goes wrong.
Decide selections early
Late choices on tile, fittings and appliances are one of the main causes of delay, and lead times are the part you cannot compress. Get selections locked before the trade that needs them is scheduled.
Walk the punch list properly
Go through the house slowly with a light, in daylight, and write everything down before you release the final payment. Agree a date for each item, and hold back an appropriate retainage until they are closed.