Homeowners often have trouble with damaged drains. This is usually a result of the poor workmanship of drainage contractors.

The damaging effect of poorly constructed drains on a home’s livability has made it a source of concern for many people. This is why both existing and prospective homeowners seek to know how to choose a contractor for their home’s drainage system. To be able to select a better contractor to work on your home’s drainage system, consider the following points:

1. Get As Many Options As You Can

A tried and trusted way to get a drainage contractor is through a personal referral. Personal referrals are a vote of confidence for the services of the drainage contractor being referred. As such, they can be relied upon. A good way to get personal referrals is to ask colleagues and neighbors.

Another great way to find ideal drainage contractors is to search online. You can go through customer reviews, or find the contact details and office address of contractors to obtain further details about their operations. Other means by which you can find drainage contractors are phone directories and industry bodies. Industry bodies include the National Association of Drainage Contractors (NADC) and the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA).

2. Interact With Prospective Contractors

A lot of unqualified drainage contractors would naturally tout themselves as the perfect choice. They might not even be local contractors, which can translate into increased service costs.

Interacting with them helps you to find out if they are the best fit for the work in your home. Find out about their emergency response times and their ability to meet deadlines. If an actual visit to their office is possible, then that is even better. This will allow you to confirm industry body registrations, licensing, job portfolio, and determine if you feel comfortable working with them.

3. Check Their Knowledge And Readiness To Answer Questions

During interaction with a prospective drainage contractor, you should be able to ascertain the extent of their knowledge. They must be able to pass on information about their business very easily, and they should also be direct with information. It shouldn’t feel as though they are hiding something. If so, that could be a red flag.

Consider their customer relations and customer care skills regardless of whether you are engaging in an online or physical interaction. You should feel comfortable in their office environment or while conversing over the phone. They should display a readiness to answer your questions. As such, they shouldn’t put you off at any point.

On physical visits, there should be vivid elements of the company’s branding. Good branding might attest to the fact that they take their business seriously. As such, they are likely to take your drainage work seriously too.

4. Full System Audit And Quotations

A drainage contractor that is ready to go through due process to handle your project is worthy of consideration. An ideal contractor would listen to your needs. Your briefing helps to guide them on whether they need to visit your property for a drainage system audit, or if they can give you a quote immediately.

Where a physical audit of the drainage system is needed, contractors will proceed to do a cost-free inspection of the drainage system. After that, they will give you a brief of their findings. Their explanation also should be simple enough for you to understand.

The contractor’s quotation should come along with the briefings. The quotation translates the job’s needs into financial costs. Items in the quotation should include details on material and labor costs. You’ll also have the option to buy these drainage materials by yourself. Online marts such as EasyMerchant are great places to make procurements of drainage material.

5. How They Want to Be Paid

The ideal drainage contractor should have a system by which they plan to get paid for the job. Typically for domestic drainage projects, a contractor would only request payment for the materials and collect the balance when the job is done. This is because most domestic drainage works don’t cost much. In some cases, contractors agree to get paid after the entire job is complete.

Also, they should have verified payment accounts as opposed to a requirement for cash payments because cash payments may be a red flag for a drainage contractor. In addition, they should be able to provide proof of any payment made, such as receipts.

6. Customer Perks

Drainage contractors have a lot of competition, so they try to throw in some extra perks for potential clients. Such perks include discounts, service guarantees, and free maintenance checks. While you can take these perks into consideration, be wary of unrealistic perks from desperate drainage contractors.

Takeaway

After carrying out all the necessary checks on various contractors, make sure to select the one you feel satisfied with. Such contractors must have satisfied your basic criteria and requirements.

Be sure to interact with shortlisted drainage contractors. Quantify their level of knowledge and customer service. Do take note of how they approach your project, and whether they do so in a systematic or disorderly way.

Weigh in on how the contractor plans to get paid. Make sure that they can also provide proof of payment for all transactions during the project. They should also offer some customer perks, but not unrealistic ones.