Most advice about hiring a contractor is about references and gut feel. Useful, but soft. These are the things you can actually verify, and the answers separate operations that will finish your project from ones that will start it.
Insurance, with limits
Ask for the certificate and read the limits, not just the word insured. Commercial general liability plus umbrella coverage is what matters in a leased building, because your landlord will very likely require minimums and will ask for the certificate before anyone starts. Ours is $2M general liability plus $2M umbrella.
Who actually holds the trades
There is a real difference between a contractor who coordinates trades under one contract and a broker who assembles a different crew for every job. The first owns the schedule. The second owns a phone number. Ask who the electrician is, whether they have worked together before, and who is on site daily.
Who owns the permit
If the answer is you, factor in the time and the risk. Permit submission, plan review, comment response, and inspection coordination should belong to the contractor. Design to permit approval averages three to four weeks, and that window is much easier to manage for someone who does it weekly.
How the price is structured
- —Is the scope itemised, with named exclusions rather than exclusions by omission?
- —Are allowances specific, and do they match the finishes discussed?
- —Is there a deposit before a written scope? There should not be.
- —How are change orders priced and approved, and does that happen before work?
- —Is the after-hours or phasing premium a separate line, or hidden in the rate?
Warranty, in writing
A workmanship warranty is only as good as the business standing behind it. Ask the length, ask what it covers, and ask what happens if something fails in month eleven. Ours is one year on workmanship, stated in the contract rather than implied.
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Experience with your specific constraint
Occupied-space work, clinical environments, health-department scopes, and landlord-controlled buildings each carry requirements that general commercial experience does not automatically cover. Ask for an example of the constraint you actually have, not just a portfolio.
Ours: a Mansfield medical office rebuilt after hours across multiple phases without the practice closing a business day, and a Rowlett office suite where a conference room build and full repaint finished inside a three-day window.
The size question, honestly
Large general contractors decline small commercial work because it does not fit their overhead, and they are right to. The $10,000 to $100,000 range needs an operation built around it. If a contractor seems reluctant about your project size, believe them, because reluctance shows up later as scheduling priority.
Ask us the hard questions
Free site walk, written scope, locked price, and no deposit until you approve the scope in writing. Call (469) 721-0146.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this topic from DFW homeowners and project planners.
What insurance should a commercial contractor carry?
Commercial general liability with an umbrella layer, and your landlord will usually specify minimums and ask for the certificate before work starts. We carry $2M general liability plus $2M umbrella.
Should I pay a deposit before seeing a written scope?
No. A deposit before an approved written scope means you are funding a project nobody has defined. We do not take one until you have approved the scope.
Does it matter who holds the subcontractors?
Considerably. A contractor coordinating known trades under one contract owns the schedule. An assembler who finds a new crew per job owns only a phone number, and it shows the first time something needs re-sequencing.
Is my project too small for a commercial GC?
For a large one, probably, and they will tell you so through scheduling rather than directly. The $10,000 to $100,000 range needs a contractor built around it, which is what we are.
What should the warranty be?
One year on workmanship is standard and should be stated in the contract rather than implied. Ask specifically what it covers and how a claim in month eleven is handled.
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