Insights On How To Find The Best Woodworking Contractor For You

Insights On How To Find The Best Woodworking Contractor For You

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An Effective Method of Finding Worthwhile Woodworking Contractors
Woodworking is a highly skilled tradesman’s craft that requires training, creativity, and experience. Whether you’re an architect or contractor seeking to create woodwork for your project, it’s essential to work with a firm that can deliver the results you require.


Fortunately, there is an effective method for finding worthwhile carpentry contractors. Here’s how it works:

Identify Your Needs
Woodworkers are highly skilled craftsmen who create furniture, cabinetry and other fine woodworking pieces. They generally have a large shop full of expensive and elaborate tools, and they obsess over their work to ensure it is flawless. However, they rarely make a lot of money from their craft unless they are in the top tier and can sell their creations for gallery prices.

Identifying your needs is an important step in finding a worthwhile woodworking contractor. You should ask the firm about projects they have worked on that are similar to yours, and you should also establish whether they can complete the work in a timely manner. You should also determine if the firm will provide you with references and testimonials about their work. Also, you should find out if they charge for design services (most don’t). If so, be sure to include this in the project cost. If not, you should consider hiring a designer.

Ask for Referrals
Getting a referral is a powerful marketing tool for any business. In fact, Nielsen research found that consumers are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend. The key to generating referrals is to do a great job and provide excellent customer service.

One way to do this is to encourage your happy clients to send you referrals. Start by asking them for feedback on their experience, then follow up with a friendly email thanking them and asking if they know anyone who could benefit from your services.

Then, include a custom field for their referral name in their client info report in Jobber so you can track and record their referrals over time. This will help you build a relationship with your client and make them feel like you truly value their business. They'll be more inclined to continue the favor by sending you their referrals in the future.

Get a Written Contract
Getting the details in writing can help you avoid disputes and other problems down the road. It also puts your expectations on the same page as the contractor's so that both parties know what they are committing to.

A written contract can include specifics about the project, fees and deliverables. It can also contain clauses relating to warranties, insurance and dispute resolution. It is a good idea to get an attorney to review your legal language and the contract in its entirety so that you can be sure it is airtight.

Remember, when you start working as a woodworker for hire that you are now running a business, not just doing woodworking. You must recognize that there are a lot of other tasks to do, such as closing sales and marketing, and these take precedence over your workmanship, designs or finishes. You may even need to include a statement of work or other addendum in your contract that spells out these additional responsibilities.

Be Flexible
Whether you are an architect designing a new foyer or a contractor building a restaurant, you’ll need a firm that can create woodwork for your project. Although both carpenters and woodworkers are highly skilled tradesmen, they differ in that carpenters install items versus creating them. When searching for a woodworking firm, it’s important to be flexible. This will help ensure that you find the right firm to support your needs.

When comparing bids, ask each contractor to break down the cost of materials, labor and overhead. This will give you a clear idea of their financial stability and work ethic. Generally, it’s best to choose a firm that is willing to work out a payment schedule with you. A good schedule usually includes 10 percent of the total cost at contract signing, three payments of 25 percent evenly spaced during custom furniture for a banquette the project and 15 percent once you’ve seen the completed job. It’s also a good idea to determine whether each firm charges for design services.