Jul 23 2010
Questions to Ask When Hiring a Professional Installer for your Hurricane Shutters
Getting the right skilled installer may be difficult, as there are lots of them offering the services. However, there are questions that you may ask your candidates that may make it easier for you narrow down your search and prevent you from employing the wrong person.
1) How long have you been in the business?
If you were to decide between those companies or individuals who have a number of weeks or months of experience and those who have a number of years of experience, ideally you would have to pick for the latter. Having an experience matters. An individual or a company that has been long in the business oftentimes demonstrate that it has been consistent when it comes to providing the services they offer. Moreover, asking about how they train and hire their staff can be valuable in telling the quality of work they will be able to give. Setting up hurricane shutters needs some skill and experience even though it isn’t rocket science.
2) Do you have an insurance?
This is an important question. Get going if the answer is no. Both of you can be protected by the insurance just in case any issues or accidents occur. A highly regarded installer must also agree to show you copies of both liability and workers compensation insurance. In most states, contracts should be licensed as well.
3) Before installing the shutters, what sort of prep do you usually do?
Good prep work means that the shutters will both look better and last longer, therefore it is extremely important to clarify if your prospective candidates plan to set up the areas as necessary. A lot of less expensive (and less skilled) installers will at times hold back on this but in order to get the job right, spending money will be worth it. You may perhaps as well intend to tackle some of the prep work yourself if you are considering to reduce overall installing costs. It would be best to have an agreement with your installer on what level of prep work will be good enough.
4) Who will actually be doing the installing?
In many larger companies, the owner, manager or person who checks your house and gives the estimate will not be your actual house installer. Inquire about the employees who will be running on your project and clarify if the group will consist of a crew leader too . Seeing if the company does background check prior to hiring employees and what kind of training they undertake may also be a good idea. Then again, make sure the person providing the estimation actually spends some time checking your house; this is not typically something that have to be done over the phone.
5) How long would this project take?
The answer to this question might be very helpful to you. If one of your potential installers is slightly booked and says the job will take more than four weeks, you may want search for someone who can finish the job faster, depending on your patience level and the urgency of the project. It depends on how big the area that would be covered will be, but it usually takes two to three weeks to set up the shutters.
Finding the perfect installer will not be difficult, provided that you know what routines to check and what preparations to agree upon, you will find yourself the best installer in no time. For more guidelines about hurricane shutters, click Miami Hurricane Shutters