You should attempt to appraise at least three contractors for your project. You will have a meeting with every one and after that meeting you are going to want a summary of what you suspect every contractor told you. If they're going to give you a price at that point then request that all things are enunciated, in writing, to incorporate the things which are vital to you. It is perfectly normal the person writing up the guesstimate will target the things that are crucial to them, so you could have to be unrelenting that things vital to you, outside the price, are also included.
Similarly ,if the contractor desires to go and figure up the guesstimate and get back to you, confirm when you get the written guess that it addresses those things that are vital to you. If not, you're going to need to confirm verbally that those things are included in the price and then confirm they're in the final contract before you sign. Overall the goal is to have things clear - you and the contractor need to see the project the same way. There's no advantage to having either in the dark when talking about the main points of the job, the price, or any other aspect. While you are in this phase you also have to ask every sub-contractor to provide their evidence of insurance. Many times this may be faxed to you by their insurance firm. You would like to have a record that they have culpability insurance in force and that their employees are covered by workman's compensation. You also have to know they're approved to do business in your locale. Some will maintain this is too early to be getting this sort of info. Nonetheless you wish to ensure you are comparing apples to apples when you make your last call.
If you do not have this information and one of the applicants hasn't got insurance in force at the time, or one of them has permitted their license to lapse, then you're not comparing apples to apples.Other info that may help you in your selection process will be the contact info of a sub contractor or 2 with whom they have worked, or have employed during the past, the contact information of providers, and contact info of some references. References supplied by the contractor will most frequently have glowing things to say of them. That's the reason why you're interested in chatting to other folks they have done business with. You may also ask for the address of a job that's in progress, and authorization to call them and stop by to have a look. After you've all of the guesses, or bids, it's time to do some homework on the candidates.
Contact the references, sub contractors and providers and inquire sometimes about how pleased these folk were with the work performed, or the working relationships they have with the contractors. How long have they known them? Are they paid on time? Do the contractors appear to be efficient? Were they happy with the work? Are there some things they'd have liked to see done differently? Would they hire them again or work with them again? In the case of a provider, are they supplying materials to them? A successful building project is a two-way street that gets each party where they need to go, without any detours. Concentrate on the details and then enjoy the trip.