Why this list exists
Louisville has more than 1,200 licensed general contractors. About 50 of them run real design-build operations. The rest range from excellent carpenters with a license to fly-by-night operations that will take your deposit and disappear. The 27 questions below are what we ask when WE hire a contractor for our own homes. If a contractor cannot or will not answer them clearly, keep looking.
Licensing and insurance (5 questions)
1. What is your Kentucky general contractor license number? (Look up at https://kybop.ky.gov/) 2. Can you provide a current certificate of insurance showing general liability AND workers comp? 3. What is your insurance carrier and what are your policy limits? 4. Are you bonded? For what amount? 5. Have you ever had a license suspended, revoked, or a complaint filed against you? (The state database shows this.)
Business basics (5 questions)
6. How long have you been in business under THIS company name? (Louisville has many "reborn" LLCs.) 7. Who owns the company and who runs the day-to-day? 8. How many projects do you run at one time? 9. Do you have any current litigation or pending lawsuits? 10. Can you provide 3 references from projects completed in the last 6 months?
Project structure (6 questions)
11. Will I get a fixed-price contract or a time-and-materials contract? 12. What is your payment schedule and is it tied to milestones? 13. How much of a deposit do you require and is it refundable? 14. What is your change-order process and what is the markup on changes? 15. What happens if the project goes over budget by 10%? 20%? 16. What insurance do you carry on my property during construction?
Quality and craft (6 questions)
17. Who will be the lead carpenter on my project? Can I meet them before signing? 18. What subcontractors do you use regularly? Are they licensed and insured? 19. Do you pull the permits yourself or do I? 20. How do you handle punch lists? 21. What is your warranty on workmanship? 22. What is your warranty on materials?
Communication and timeline (5 questions)
23. How often will I get project updates and in what format? 24. Who is my point of contact for the duration of the project? 25. What is your typical daily start and end time? 26. How do you handle scope creep? 27. What happens if I need to pause the project for any reason?
Red flags that mean walk away
Asks for more than 30% upfront. Will not provide insurance certificate. Cannot give a fixed price in writing. Says "we will figure that out as we go" on more than 2 line items. Has no online presence or only stock photos. Pressures you to sign today. Asks you to pull the permit in your name. No physical office address.
Why we wrote this
We compete with bad contractors, and that hurts our industry. Use this list on us, on our competitors, on anyone. The contractor who can answer all 27 clearly is the one you want.