Four Suggestions to Manage the Contractor Bidding Process

If you are building or remodeling your home yourself, there are many aspects of the work that you might be able to do yourself. However, when it comes to electrical wiring, you might want to hire an electrical contractor in Ogden. The reason is because there are so many legal codes that need to be followed that the process can be rather complex, not to mention dangerous if you don’t know exactly what you are doing.

How do you find a good electrical contractor, though? The best method is to use the bidding process. The bidding process is a method that all contractors are familiar with. In fact, it is the way that business is conducted in the contracting world. Therefore, you should not be afraid to ask for contractors to come and give you bids. Following are four tips that can help you effectively manage the bidding process:

·         Try to get more bids than you need.

·         Get all estimates in writing.

·         Ask questions if you do not understand something.

·         Compare bids and choose one from the middle.

Number of Bids

Ideally, you will want at least five bids. Unfortunately, this means you might need to call ten or more different contractors and ask them for a bid. Some that you call will not be interested in bidding. Others that make appointments will simply not show up.

Estimates in Writing

When they give you a bid, get it in writing. The bid is the foundation for the legal contract to do the work. If you want something that isn’t in writing, ask for it to be written down. Do not accept any verbal agreements.

Ask Questions

Since you are not the contractor, you are not expected to understand everything about that line of work. If they give you some information that you do not understand, ask them to explain it. If you still don’t understand, ask again. It is your right to know.

Select a Bid in the Middle

When you have all the bids that you are going to get, compare them side by side. A good rule of thumb is to discard the bid that is extremely high and the one that is extremely low. Choose an electrical contractor in Ogden from among those clustered around the middle.