10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contractor (From a Contractor Who’ll Answer Them)

Knowing the right questions to ask before hiring a contractor eliminates 90% of the problems homeowners run into during a remodel or new build. Hiring the wrong one costs you more than money — it costs months, relationships, and the version of your home you actually wanted.

Here are the 10 questions that matter most, why they matter, and how a contractor worth hiring should answer every one of them.

1. Are You Licensed and Insured — and Can I Verify It Myself?

This isn’t a formality. In Florida, general contractors must hold a state-certified or registered license through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). You can verify any contractor’s license in 60 seconds at MyFloridaLicense.com — search by name or license number.

What to check:

• License is active (not expired, suspended, or revoked)
• License type matches your project (CGC for general contracting, CRC for residential)
• Business name on the license matches the contract you’re signing
• No disciplinary actions on file

Insurance matters just as much. Your contractor needs general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. Without workers’ comp, an injured worker on your property becomes your financial problem. Ask for a certificate of insurance and call the carrier to confirm it’s current — not just a printout from six months ago.

Red flag: Any contractor who hesitates, gets defensive, or says “I’ll get that to you later.” A licensed contractor hands this over without thinking about it.

2. Do You Use Your Own Crews or Subcontract Everything?

This is the question most homeowners never think to ask — and it’s one of the most important.

Many general contractors are what the industry calls “paper contractors.” They sell the job, then subcontract every piece of it to the lowest bidder. They don’t employ carpenters. They don’t control the schedule. They’re project managers with a license, coordinating people who work for someone else.

The difference matters because when your contractor has their own crews on payroll, they control who shows up, when they show up, and the quality of work they deliver. When they’re subcontracting everything, they’re at the mercy of other people’s schedules and standards.

What to listen for:

• How many W-2 employees do they have?
• What trades do their in-house crews handle?
• Which portions get subcontracted, and do they use the same subs consistently?

At Revolution, we have 20+ W-2 carpenters on payroll. Our carpenters work for us — not for whoever’s paying the most that week. We still use subcontractors for specialty trades like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, but we’ve built long-term relationships with those partners. We know their families. They show up when we call because we treat them like part of the team, not a line item to squeeze.

3. How Do You Handle Pricing — Fixed Price or Time and Materials?

Most homeowners assume fixed-price contracts are safer. A contractor gives you a number, you agree, and that’s what you pay. Simple.

Except it’s not. Here’s what actually happens with fixed-price contracts on renovation projects: the contractor pads the estimate to cover their risk. If they guess wrong, they cut corners on materials and labor to protect their margin. You’re paying for their contingency buffer whether problems occur or not.

Time and materials (T&M) works differently. You pay for actual hours worked and actual materials used, plus a transparent markup. You get weekly budget reports showing every dollar — where it went, why it went there, and how the project is tracking against the estimate.

The question behind the question: How much visibility will you have into what you’re paying for?

A good contractor — regardless of pricing model — should be able to:

• Provide a detailed estimate before work begins
• Explain their markup structure clearly
• Give you regular budget updates (weekly, not “when it’s done”)
• Get your approval before any cost changes

As Jeremy, one of Revolution’s partners, puts it: “On a time-and-materials basis, we can be a lot more collaborative. We show our costs and our markup, and the client is in the driver’s seat of whether we’re going good, better, or best.” For a deeper dive, read our full comparison of T&M vs. fixed-price contracts.

4. What Does Your Pre-Construction Process Look Like?

The work that happens before a hammer swings determines whether your project stays on track or spirals. A contractor who jumps straight from “here’s the estimate” to “demolition starts Monday” is skipping the part that prevents 80% of budget surprises.

A thorough pre-construction phase includes:

• Detailed scope documentation (not a one-page proposal)
• Bid packages sent to subcontractors and material suppliers for real pricing
• Design coordination if architectural or engineering work is needed
• Permit applications filed with the city
• A realistic timeline with milestones — not just a start and end date

This is especially critical in Florida, where permit timelines vary widely. The St. Petersburg building department is notoriously thorough, which means a contractor who has been through the process knows how to plan for it instead of blaming it later.

If you’re building a custom home, the pre-construction phase is even more involved. Our guide to the custom home building process walks through what that looks like step by step.

5. How Will We Communicate During the Project?

This is the question Jeremy says homeowners should ask but almost never do. And every problem on every project he’s seen in 20+ years traces back to the same root: communication.

Get specific:

• Who is your daily point of contact — the owner, a project manager, a superintendent?
• How often will you meet to review progress and budget?
• How do you handle change requests — verbal, email, or through a project management system?
• What happens when something unexpected comes up — who calls, and how fast?

Be honest with yourself about how involved you want to be. If you want weekly updates and hands-off management, say that. If you want to be on-site every day reviewing decisions, say that too. Then make sure the contractor you hire can actually meet you on those terms.

At Revolution, clients get a standing weekly meeting with their superintendent to review the budget — actuals versus estimates — and address any decisions, changes, or unknowns. For bigger strategic questions, that conversation escalates to a project manager or partner. The point is that you’re never wondering where things stand.

For a complete look at how a well-run remodel unfolds from first call to final walkthrough, read our home remodeling process guide.

6. Who Pulls the Permits — and Who Handles Inspections?

The answer should be: your contractor. Every time.

Permits exist to protect you, and a licensed contractor is responsible for pulling them under their license. If a contractor asks you to pull permits yourself, or suggests skipping them for “small” work, walk away. That’s a liability you don’t want.

In Pinellas County, permits are required for:

• Any structural changes (walls, roofing, foundations)
• Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work
• Window and door replacements in flood zones
• Additions and new construction
• Most work exceeding $1,000 in value

Your contractor should also coordinate all inspections with the building department and be present for each one. They should know the local inspectors, understand the code requirements for your specific project, and have a track record of passing inspections without repeated callbacks.

Florida-specific note: If your property is in a FEMA flood zone, permit requirements get more complex. The 49% rule (also called the substantial improvement rule) limits how much you can renovate before you’re required to bring the entire structure up to current flood code. A contractor experienced in flood zone work knows how to navigate this before it becomes a surprise mid-project.

7. Can I See Similar Projects You’ve Completed — and Talk to Those Clients?

References are baseline. Any contractor who can’t provide them shouldn’t be on your list. But how you use references matters more than simply collecting them.

Ask for projects that match yours:

• Similar scope (kitchen remodel, addition, whole-home renovation)
• Similar age and style of home
• Same neighborhood or area, if possible
• Completed within the last 2 years

When you call the reference, ask:

• Did the project finish on budget? If not, what changed?
• How did the contractor handle unexpected problems?
• Would you hire them again without hesitation?
• What was the one thing you wish had gone differently?

That last question is the most revealing. Every project has something — and a client who still recommends the contractor despite it tells you more than a five-star review ever will.

8. What’s Your Warranty and Callback Process?

A contractor’s warranty tells you what they guarantee. Their callback process tells you what actually happens when something goes wrong after the crew leaves.

Standard questions:

• How long is your workmanship warranty?
• What does it cover — and what doesn’t it?
• Who do I call when something needs attention — you or a subcontractor?
• What’s the typical response time for warranty issues?

Revolution offers a one-year bumper-to-bumper warranty on workmanship. Appliances, fixtures, and materials carry their manufacturers’ warranties, and we store that information in our system so clients can access it anytime.

But here’s what matters more than the formal warranty period: what happens in year two, or year three? A relationship-driven contractor doesn’t disappear after the final invoice. If something we installed clearly has an issue — even after the warranty window — we work with our clients to make it right with minimum expense to them, if any. That’s not a policy. It’s how you build a company people actually refer to their friends.

9. Are You a Design-Build Firm or a Traditional Contractor?

This question determines how your project will be managed — and how many people you’ll need to coordinate on your own.

A traditional contractor builds what an architect or designer draws. You hire the designer separately, they create plans, you bid those plans to contractors, and you manage the relationship between all parties. If the design doesn’t work structurally or costs more than expected, you’re the one coordinating the redesign.

A design-build contractor handles both design and construction under one roof. You have a single point of contact, the design and budget evolve together, and there’s no finger-pointing between separate firms when something doesn’t line up.

Neither model is universally better. Design-build works well for remodels and custom homes where the scope is complex and decisions need to flow between design and construction in real time. Traditional bidding can work for straightforward projects where the design is already locked in.

The key question: Who is responsible when the design costs more than the budget? If the answer involves you managing a conversation between two separate companies, that’s worth knowing before you sign.

10. What Happens If the Scope Changes Mid-Project?

Every remodel uncovers surprises. Old wiring behind the walls. Plumbing that doesn’t meet current code. Structural issues hidden by decades of cosmetic patches. The question isn’t whether something unexpected will happen — it’s how your contractor handles it when it does.

A good change management process looks like this:

• The superintendent identifies the issue and documents it
• You’re informed of the cost impact and timeline change before any work proceeds
• You approve the change in writing (ideally through a project management system, not a text thread)
• The change is reflected in your next budget update

In a T&M contract, this process is simpler because you’re already reviewing actual costs weekly. There’s no formal change order battle — just a conversation about what changed, what it costs, and whether you want to proceed. In a fixed-price contract, every surprise becomes a negotiation about who absorbs the cost.

The Question Behind All These Questions

Every question on this list is really asking the same thing: How much do I trust this person with my home, my money, and my time?

Price matters. Timeline matters. But the contractor who answers these questions openly — who hands over their license without being asked, who explains exactly how they price their work, who gives you references and says “ask them anything” — that’s the contractor who sleeps well at night because they’ve got nothing to hide.

If you’re planning a remodel, addition, or new build in St. Petersburg, we’re happy to sit down and answer every one of these questions in person. That’s what the first meeting is for.

Related Services

• Kitchen Remodeling — Full design-build kitchen renovations in St. Petersburg
• Bathroom Remodeling — Custom bathroom remodels with in-house crews
• Home Additions — Room additions, second stories, and bump-outs
• Home Remodeling — Whole-home and partial renovation projects
• Custom Home Building — Ground-up new construction, design through move-in
• Coastal & Flood Zone Construction — FEMA-compliant renovations and elevated new builds

Have questions? Call (727) 888-6161 or request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions