What are some of the differences between a licensed contractor and a non-licensed contractor?
Question:I am looking for a contractor to renovate and update my old house. I have already received 4 job bids ranging from $9,000 to $15,000 from both licensed and non-licensed contractors. The project does not affect the structural or changing the floor plan of the house, but the work does include replacing exiting kitchen cabinets and appliances, replacing existing tiled shower stalls, replacing vinyl floors with ceramic tiled floors in kitchen and baths areas, replacing plumbing and electrical fixtures that includes light electrical and plumbing work such as adding a light switch and adding a dishwasher. A friend has told me that non-licensed contractors can only bid on jobs costing less than $1,000 where as licensed contractors are bonded and able to legally bid on jobs costing more than $1,000. Does anyone know the facts between a licensed and non-licensed contractor besides the fact that one has and one does not have a license? Thank you.
Answers:
Alicensed contractor is able to bid on any job..you are right usually anything under 500.00 is ok for a non licensed individual. if a individual is not licened then that individual does not have insurance or a bond, which means that if any of the workers gets hurt you are held liable. do not work with an unlicensed contractor it is illegal and you might be setting yourself up for big problems
EDUCATION
whether or not your willing to get screwed over or not they're called licensed for a reason but ultimately you just got to think threw everything very precisely and if lessbetter.. is really good luck !!
It's just like your driver's license or wedding license. A licensed contractor will do a better job and won't run off on you. Can't be sure about some one who isn't licensed. SOME ONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE A LICENSE TO CONTRACT PRO BALLY WON'T HAVE INSURANCE! So if some one gets hurt on the job then it's taken care of by the contractor insurance.Some one who is licensed will have the knowledge to do the job right.
There are legal remedies available against licensed contractors which are not available against unlicensed ones if the work is not satisfactory. In any event, check references.
heres the correct response to your question. Strangely enough its another question. When you see your doctor, is he/she a LICENSED practitioner or just someone who knows a few things about medicin? how good do you want your remodeling job to look. you could do the work yourself if you are considering a non licensed contractor. hire a few friends, or a handful of sixth graders might be able to bang that right out for you. When you pay for a licensed contractor you are paying for the security of knowing the job will be done right. if its not, you could sue and they may lose their license.
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