How to Choose a Remodeling Contractor in Pennsylvania: Questions, Red Flags and How to Compare Three Quotes

Most remodeling disasters are decided before the first day of work: the wrong contractor, chosen for the wrong reason, on a contract that did not say enough. The fix is not complicated. It is a short list of things to know before you call, a shorter list of questions to ask, and a way to compare quotes that is not "which one is cheapest."

This is written from our side of the table, which means it also tells you what a good contractor needs from you.

Before you call anyone

Know what you want done, roughly. "Remodel the bathroom" is not enough to price. "Keep the tub, new tile, new vanity, fix the fan, same layout" is. You do not need a design; you need a sentence per room.

Know your range. Not to hand it over, but so you can tell whether a contractor is in your league. Our cost guides for kitchens, bathrooms and basements give the ranges for Lebanon County.

Know your timing. Spring and fall book months ahead. A contractor who can start tomorrow in May is either very good at scheduling or has no work, and it is worth finding out which.

Take photos. A contractor can tell a lot from a photo of the room and the house, and it saves a wasted visit.

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The questions that sort contractors

1. "What is your HICPA registration number?" Pennsylvania requires anyone doing more than $5,000 of home improvement work a year to register with the Attorney General. Check it at the state lookup. No number, no further conversation. Our HICPA guide explains what the number does and does not mean.
2. "Who does the electrical and plumbing?" The answer should be a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber by name, not "my guy."
3. "Who will be in my house every day?" The owner, a lead carpenter, a crew that changes weekly? You want one person responsible, and you want to meet them.
4. "Can I see a job like mine?" Photos with places and dates, or an address you can drive past. We stamp every photo on this site with where and when it was taken for exactly this reason.
5. "How do you handle changes?" The right answer is a written change order with a price before the work is done, every time.
6. "What happens if something goes wrong after you leave?" Listen for a specific answer: a call-back promise, a warranty period, a name.
7. "Do you pull the permit?" Yes is the only answer. A contractor who asks you to pull it as the homeowner is keeping their name off the inspection.

How to compare three quotes

Get three. Then do not compare the totals first.

• Compare the scope. Does each quote include the same demolition, the same materials, the same trades? A quote that leaves out the drywall patching or the permit is not cheaper; it is incomplete.
• Compare the line items. An itemized quote lists labor, materials, trades and permit separately. A single number cannot be compared to anything and cannot be adjusted when you want to change one thing.
• Compare the allowances. Tile, fixtures and cabinets are often listed as allowances, a dollar amount to be spent. A low allowance makes a quote look cheap and guarantees an overage later. Ask what the allowance buys.
• Compare the schedule and payments. Start date, end date, payment tied to milestones. Pennsylvania caps the deposit at one-third of the contract plus special-order materials.
• Then compare the totals. The highest quote is not always the best, but the lowest is almost never the best. If one quote is 30 percent under the others, something is missing or someone is desperate.

Warning signs to walk away from

• A deposit demand of half or more.
• No written contract, or a contract without the registration number, the scope, the price and the dates. For jobs over $500 the law requires all of it.
• A price that is good only today.
• No address, no reviews with the business name, no photos of their own work.
• "We don't need a permit."
• Cash only, or a request to write the check to a person instead of the business.
• A contractor who does not ask questions. A good one will ask how you use the room before they talk about tile.

Consumer Reports and NARI both publish checklists along the same lines.

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Why local matters, and why it does not

A contractor based within forty minutes knows your township's permit office, your soil, your housing stock and the suppliers. They also show up. That is worth something real. It is not worth hiring the closest contractor over a better one an extra twenty minutes away. We are in Myerstown and work across Lebanon County, the northern half of Lancaster County and around Hershey, and we tell people honestly when a job is outside the range where we can give good service; our service areas page has the list.

Reviews: how to read them

Count is less useful than content. A review that names the job, the town and a specific thing the crew did is worth ten that say "great work." Look for how the contractor answers bad reviews, if any. And look at the dates: thirty reviews in one month is a different signal from thirty reviews over three years.

What a good contractor needs from you

• Decisions on time. Tile and cabinets have lead times; a kitchen waits on your choices more often than on the crew.
• One point of contact in the household.
• Honesty about the budget. We can design to a number; we cannot design to a secret.
• Access, parking and a place for the dumpster.
• Patience with the one surprise every old house has behind a wall.

Frequently asked questions

How many quotes should I get? Three is enough. Five means you are shopping on price and will get what that buys.

Should I hire the cheapest contractor? Only if the scopes are identical and you have checked the registration, the insurance and the work. They rarely are.

What is a fair deposit? Up to a third of the contract price, plus special-order materials, by Pennsylvania law. Many good contractors ask less.

Do I need a design before I call? No. A clear sentence about each room is enough to start. Design comes after the walkthrough.

Start with a walkthrough

Our about page explains how we work, and our projects show the jobs with dates and places. Send a photo and a sentence and we will come out, ask questions, and send an itemized estimate.

Get a Free Estimate