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Important
Links & Advice
resources for homeowners who are planning a
renovation
or otherwise need to find
honest contractors and tradespersons
in Rhode Island and the rest of the world
Finding
a Good Contractor
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a Saint of a Contractor
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Checking
out a Contractor
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RI Contractors Registration Board 401-222-1268
The only requirement
to get a contractor's registration in Rhode Island is liability
insurance. That's it. No experience or training required.
Yet, so many "contractors" don't have this. Why?
Insurance is expensive.
Use this web site to see if a contractor is truly registered to
do business in Rhode Island. See below for information on
workers compensation insurance.
Tips:
only search on one piece of data in at a time.
For example, if you know the contractor's last name is Brusco,
only put Brusco in the last name field; don't put
in his first name. If you know his phone number is 401-632-0765,
only put 0765 in the phone number field.
If the contractor does not show up in the
results, call the licensing agency; the data is not always
perfect.
Always always always call the insurance
agency to verify current insurance coverage.
- Lead-Safe
Remodelers/Renovators in RI
as licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health 401-222-5960
Lead-Safe Remodelers know how to control dust and keep
your family safe, as well as keep your home clean. Your
contractor is required to have an EPA or RI license in all US
states if your home was built before 1978.
As of November 2010, there were only 1544 active
licenses in RI, even though this been required of tens of
thousands of tradespersons since 2002.
- Licensed
Asbestos Abatement Contractors in RI
and
Licensed Asbestos Inspectors in RI
as licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health 401-222-5960
- Abatement
contractors are the ones who are actually licensed to
remove and dispose of asbestos.
- Asbestos inspectors
can say what is and what is not asbestos; only an inspector
can test if removal was done properly.
Asbestos causes cancer. Do not
attempt to remove or dispose of it yourself.
- Licensed
Plumbers and Electricians in RI
On the Rhode
Island Department of Labor & Training website 401-462-8000
See the tips above.
- Licensed
Architects and Architectural Firms in RI
Architects and
Architectural firms are required to be licensed by the Board of
Examination and Registration of Architects in the State of Rhode
Island 401-462-9594
See the tips above.
- Licensed
Contractors in Massachusetts
Construction
Supervisors ("contractors") in Massachusetts must have
liability insurance, 3 years experience, and pass a 3-hour exam
that tests knowledge of the building code and practices. Compare
this to Rhode Island's requirements.
On this
web page, choose "Construction Supervisor" from
the License Type pull-down menu and provide the license number,
business name or individual's name. If you cannot find the
contractor, call the Department of Public Safety at 617-727-3200.
See the
tips above.
- Licensed
Land Surveyors in Rhode Island
Before you build
on your lot or add to your home, you will probably need a survey
done. Surveyors and land surveying firms are required
to be licensed and certified in the State of Rhode Island by the
State Board of Registration for Professional Land Surveyors.
If you do not find the name of the surveyor on this list, call
the RI State Board of Registration for Professional Land Surveyors
at 401-462-9595.
See the
tips above.
- Licensed
Arborists / Tree Surgeons in Rhode Island
Need a tree taken
down or professionally pruned, get a licensed arborist.
For some reason, this list is not published on the web (I asked).
Call RI
Department of Environmental Management, Forestry Division at 401-568-2013
and ask before you hire someone.
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- Workers’
Compensation Insurance
Designation as Independent Contractor
form DWC-11-IC
What
is workers' comp and why is it important to homeowners and workers
alike?
If a worker (or a business owner) is hurt on the job, workers'
compensation insurance will pay his medical bills, rehabilitation
and lost wages. Even if a worker has health insurance (such
as Blue Cross), the insurance company will not pay the hospital
bill if the incident happened while working. That's what
worker's comp is for. Most small businesses do not carry
this insurance, but if something happens, chances are they will
not have the cash to cover the expenses and lost pay. This
can lead an injured worker to look for other sources of money,
namely you, the homeowner.
A common problem is that you think you're hiring
one person and 6 people show up to do the job, except
the one you have been talking to. If the proper paper work
is not in place and someone gets hurt, you probably will be sued
and your homeowner's insurance will not cover you —
in the fine print of your policy, there is an exemption of liability
for people you hire.
What can you do as a homeowner to protect yourself?
Every worker who comes to your home hired by you or another contractor
must comply with one of these two conditions. It doesn't
matter if the contractor calls him a "helper", "day
laborer", son, brother, cousin, father-in-law. You
need to do one of the
following, or you will be putting all of your financial assets
at risk.
- Either he must
be an employee of the company you hired and the company
must have workers' compensation insurance for him (and you
verify that insurance with the agency), or...
- the "helper"
is a registered
contractor himself AND he has signed the DWC-11-IC
form
two weeks in advance AND you have received confirmation
back from the RI Department of Labor and Training, Division
of Workers’ Compensation.
A complication
To make this issue more intricate, the principal members of a
sole proprietorship or partnership and their immediate families
cannot even buy workers' comp insurance for themselves in the
State of Rhode Island. This is the result of years of rampant
abuse of the system by small-time, unethical contractors.
This insurance fund was about to collapse and the RI legislature
acted. But what this did was to put the homeowner even more
at risk. If a small businessman legitimately hurts himself
on the job, he cannot collect from an insurance company.
If he has a family to support and a mortgage to pay, as most do,
he will be looking for another source to pay the bills.
Namely, you. This
form will provide you with protection from this kind of situation.
Exemptions
Contractors who are incorporated (LLC, S-corp or C-corp) can buy
workers' comp insurance for their officers. They can also
elect to exempt themselves from the policy, to save themselves
some money. Unfortunately, without the proper paperwork,
this puts you at risk of lawsuit again. So you may be back
to situation #2 again.
In summation,
no person should be working on your property until you have proof
that each individual is complying with either of the two conditions
detailed above.
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Budgeting
& Costs
Starting
this adventure without a realistic budget is like deciding to
drive cross-country without checking your wallet for gas
money or credit cards...
you're likely to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.
- How much projects
cost
Remodeling
Magazine’s Cost
Vs. Value Report for the Providence, RI area
How
much does a new kitchen or bathroom cost to remodel?
Forget what you've heard on HGTV — that's the do-it-yourself
price. This is what remodeling costs to have a true professional
do it — someone who
pays all his insurances
and does things the right way, that is.
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1
Kitchen, 2 Budgets: A
makeover to fit your budget — high or low
Please realize that numbers
mentioned in the following articles are merely material costs
or the do-it-yourself prices. Read
Remodeling Magazine’s Cost
Vs. Value Report for pricing of professionally
done projects.
- Inside
a Kitchen Remodel: 25
tips to get the kitchen of your dreams — whether your budget
is on a shoestring or anything goes
in Better Homes and
Gardens Magazine, written
by Debra Steilen
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Information
on Reverse Mortgages
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an
article from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):
Falls
Among Older Adults: An Overview
"Among older adults, falls are the leading
cause of injury deaths. They are also the most common cause
of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma."
"More than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year
in the United States."
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- free
seminars on reverse mortgages by
attend an informative
class that discusses the pros and cons of reverse mortgages given
by the AAA's Southern New England Bank. Without obligation,
they will provide a free analysis and consultation, for your personal
situation.
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find
NAHB certified professionals
the National Association
of Home Builders trains and certifies building and remodeling
professionals with designations such as Certified Aging-in-Place
Specialist (CAPS, developed with the AARP) and Certified Active-Adult
Housing Specialist (for 55+)
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Why is lead safety important?
The following
information comes
from the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM),
RI Department of Health (DOH), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), RI Housing Resources Commission, and the University
of RI Center (URI) for Pollution Prevention & Environmental
Health..
"According to the RI Department of Health,
lead, even at low levels, can cause children to have
learning disabilities, [reduced attention span,] lower IQ, and
behavioral problems.
Lead can also cause high blood pressure, anemia, [forgetfulness,
mood disorders,] brain damage, impotence, and death [for anyone
of any age]."
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"80% of RI housing stock was built before 1980"
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Of
only 34,000 children screened in 1995, 20.5% had elevated
levels of lead in their blood (22.5% in core cities) —
the highest in the country.
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Lead-Safe Remodelers/Renovators in RI
as licensed by the
Rhode Island Department of Health 401-222-5960
Lead-Safe Remodelers know how to control dust and keep
your family safe, as well as keep your home clean.
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Your
contractor is required to have an EPA or RI license in all US
states if your home was built before 1978. It
is illegal for you to hire someone who isn't licensed.
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The Lead-Safe Certified
Guide to
Renovate Right
Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child
Care Providers and Schools published by the
EPA and HUD.
If you own a home built before 1978, by federal law, your contractor
must give you a copy of this booklet before work begins.
Rhode Island has had this law in place since 200 2.
Any kind of contractor who works on a pre-1978 residential property
and disturbs 6 square feet of painted surface in a room (or
works on a window in any way) must have a
Lead Safe Remodeler License. This would apply
to general contractors, carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians ,
plasterers and window replacement technicians.
Tens of thousands of tradespersons
are affected, including 11,580 currently
registered contractors ; most have chosen to ignore
the law .
As of October
2010, only 1544
licenses were current, and many of them
were more concerned about making profit than protecting
your family.
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saving
energy • green building
• green
remodeling • sustainability
• saving money
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find
NAHB certified professionals
the National Association
of Home Builders trains and certifies building and remodeling
professionals with designations such as Certified Green Professional
(CGP)
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find
certified energy auditors from BPI
and ResNet
the Building
Performance Institute (BPI) and Residential Energy Services
Network (ResNet) train and certify professionals who can
rate a home's energy usage, in addition to
making suggestions on how to use less energy.
- Buying
Energy-Efficient Homes
from
Rhode Island Home & Design magazine. Considering
buying a house but you
don't know if it's energy efficient or not? Or maybe
you're trying to compare two otherwise similar houses. Don't
look at the utility bills;
that doesn't tell you the whole story. And the free energy
audit from the utility company only says how it's bad,
not how bad it is.
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an
example of a paid-for home energy audit (coming
soon)
Why would you
pay for a home
energy audit when you can get one for free? You
would do this when you're considering buying a house to
let you know just how badly insulated and weather sealed
it is. This information will help you compare homes
on the basis of energy efficiency, much like you would
look at the miles-per-gallon sticker of a new car before
buying a new vehicle. Poorly insulated houses (and
that's most of them in RI) cost over $2000 to heat &
cool per year. A well insulated house will cost
less than $1000 per year. That's about $100 per
month. That's $12,000 in 10 years. Is that
otherwise identical house worth $12,000 more??
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sample
change order
A good faith use
of change orders is to document modifications
from the original plan before the work is done.
A lot of talk happens during a renovation and many
questions are asked. Change orders are a good way to avoid
the "You said __", "No, I said __" argument
which can ruin a remodeling experience; this situation
will cause you and your contractor to lose faith in each other.
Use this even if there is no cost difference, because no one
has a perfect memory. For example, thinking of painting
the walls "Belgian Beige" instead of "Ipanema
Sand"? Use a change order form!
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RenovationHorror.com