How To Find a Quality Drywall Contractor

When the walls of a home have been professionally drywalled, you won’t notice it.  What you will notice is if the drywall job has been done by an amateur who doesn’t know what he’s doing. For a truly smooth, seamless finish that will fade into the background, it’s always best to hire professional drywall contractors.

Unfortunately, not all contractors are created equal. So, how do you know which one to choose? The following things should be taken into consideration during your search.

Level of experience

Ideally, you should look for a contractor who has at least 5-7 years of experience. Why this number? Because it is usually required that a person take at least five years to acquire the skills and experience necessary to be a skilled drywall contractor. There are lots of skills necessary to be good at this trade, so it’s best to hire someone who has that level of experience.

The right price

The lowest price should never be the primary determining factor in choosing any type of contractor to work on your home. However, it’s important to get quotes from at least three drywall contractors to compare prices. Be wary of contractors who don’t request to come to your home to get measurements before providing a quote. They cannot possibly be accurate in their estimate if they don’t know the size of the space they will be working with. When you get your quotes, check them over carefully to be sure the company you choose offers the best value, not just the best price. Ask lots of questions to determine the value that is wrapped up in each quote.  Ask things like, do they charge extra for touch-ups if necessary? What recourse do you have if the drywall nails pop out of the walls? Will they charge extra to come back to your home to fix those errors, or will they charge you for another service call?  Are they insured? Does the company do background checks on their contractors?  

The right person

Ask to meet the person who will be actually working in your home, too.  Ensuring you gel with that person who will be working in your home is also part of the decision-making process.

Ask for references

Finally, it’s very important to ask for references (along with contact info) from recent former clients. And be sure to actually call them!  Ask lots of questions, such as what they liked and did not like about the contractors. Were they happy with the results? Were the contractors on time? Did they work cleanly and clean up before they left? You might even want to ask permission to drop by a site the contractor is currently working on, to get an idea of how they really work.

Once you do your homework and gather this information, you can make an informed decision about the right drywall contractor for you. Drywall is one of those jobs that is best left to the best professionals, so always be sure to do some research before you hire anyone. Otherwise, you could end up having to pay one contractor to cook another one’s mistakes.