Sometimes we’ll reach out to homeowners who have had a 5 Star experience with one (or several) of our contractors, and we ask them to help us to help others with similar projects.

Our story today comes out of South Carolina from Richard K, who worked with Taylor Coastal Construction. Here’s a little about Richard’s project and some sweet advice for others considering the same thing.

What needed fixing?
We had several things done with this one project. The biggest was the roof, which was over twenty years old and needed replacing. It was leaking in several areas and some of the plywood along the edges needed replacing.

Next, the downspout drain system needed attention. Because the grade in the front of the house is higher than the grade in the crawl space under the house, water would seep in through the bricks into the crawl space. When the house was purchased back in the 80’s, we installed a French drain system in the front of the house to help alleviate this problem. We recently expanded on this system to tie into the storm drain that runs between the properties.

Lastly, we had some minor repairs done to the facia/freeze boards and the front bow window. Over the years some of the metal covering the facia/freeze boards had faded and those needed attention. In addition, our house has a five-lite bow window in the front. The contractor who originally installed it didn’t use treated wood for the sill, and over the years the sill finally gave out and the bow window cocked to one side causing one of the lites to crack.

Any advice on finding a contractor?
First of all, I would definitely get more than one bid. When I was taking bids to have the roof replaced the bids ran between $4,000 to $8,000.

Second, use a service such as ServiceMagic.com to find a contractor who is insured and licensed. You can also ask a neighbor, family member, or someone from your church if they know of a contractor that performs the type of work you’re looking to have done and what they thought of their workmanship. Never hire a contractor who is not licensed and insured.

Third, ask the contractor if he minds if you watch him do the work. Don’t be afraid to ask questions while the work is being performed. This will save you from having to call the contractor back after the job is done.

Finally, never, never, give a contractor any money up front. Simply tell them that you will pay them in full upon completion of the job and you are satisfied with their work. If they won’t agree to this, find another contractor.

What did this cost and how long did it take?
The roof, downspout drain system, metal replacement, and repair to the front bow window ran about $8,630.00.

It took a day to do the roof; three to four days to do the downspout drain system; two days to replace the facia/freeze board metal; and a day to repair the front bow window.

I really don’t think that any of the above could have been done any faster than what it was. As far as making it cheaper, if you have the proper tools and know how to do some of the work, then I would say do what you can yourself. Just make sure that you acquire all the necessary permits prior to doing the work and have your work inspected if need be.

Any advice about creating a good working relationship with your contractor?
Don’t be afraid to speak your mind if you are not satisfied with how something turned out. Compliment the contractor’s work both during the job and when the job is finished.

Here are some before and after photos of Richard’s project.

Roof Before:

Roof After:

Downspout Drain System Before:

Downspout Drain System During:

Front Bow Window After:

Thanks to Richard K for the great project information, and to Taylor Coastal Construction for their top quality work.