Ready to hire a contractor? These helpful tips may come in handy.

Here are some suggestions to help make your construction experience a pleasant one.

Adapted from "16 Ways to Avoid Remodeling, Repair, Construction and Landscaping Problems." Reprinted with permission from the Oregon CCB.

Develop a list of potential contractors.

Ask friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers who they have used. Find out if their experiences were good or bad. Ask if they would use this contractor again.

Ask for references.

Check with the contractor's previous customers. Were they satisfied with the work? Was the work finished? Did he/she keep to the agreed-upon schedule? Did the contractor return phone calls? Ask for the name of a customer your contractor had problems with and find out how the contractor responded to complaints. If possible, personally inspect some of the completed work. Call the Better Business Bureau for information about previous consumer complaints.

Get two or three specific written bids for bigger jobs.

Make sure you understand any wide variation in bids. Be careful of "special" deals, demonstration projects, or a great deal from the friend of a friend.

Don't automatically accept the lowest bid.

The old saying, "you get what you pay for" applies here. A higher bid may be worth the price in better materials, workmanship and reliability. Ask the contractor who will perform the actual work — the contractor, his employees or a sub — and who will oversee the day-to-day job. (You may really like the owner of the business but that person may not be the one doing or supervising the work.)

Make sure your contractor is registered with the Construction Contractors board. Registration is not an endorsement of the quality of work. It is some financial protection for you, the customer. Ask to see a current registration card. Call your state agency to make sure the registration is active.

To check out your contractor, call the construction contractors board in your state. We've listed that information below for Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada.

Oregon
Construction Contractors Board
Phone: (503) 365-7484
or www.ccb.state.or.us

Washington
Labor and Industries
Phone: (800) 647-0982

California
California State Licensing Board
Phone: (800) 321-CSLB
or www.cslb.ca.gov/

Nevada
Nevada State Contractors Board
Reno
Phone: (775) 688-1141
Las Vegas
(702) 486-1100
or www.state.nv.us/nscb/