If you own a home, you will have maintenance and repairs to do periodically. If you love your home and want to stay in your current neighborhood, you may, over time, need to update and remodel. As a general contractor, I’ve seen a lot of different repairs and home modifications. Here are four tips on hiring a professional and competent general contractor.

As a general contractor, I’ve seen a lot of bad home additions. Anyone can easily spot these because they look bolted on the original home. Not only is this tacky but it also drives down property value. If you ever have to sell your home, a bad addition can be a real problem. Driving off buyers is the last thing you want. A design and build general contractor will make sure your design ideas fit with the theme and decor of your house.

On average $300 to $600 per square foot is a quick way to estimate the cost of your new add on. Keep this in mind when dreaming about building on a new room or office. The more elaborate the fixtures and finishes the higher the per square foot cost. And the more finished and professional the space the more value you add to the home.

You may want to work with unfinished spaces you currently have, or you may need to add on a large area, like a second floor. Extending your home’s square footage is a great way to create a luxuriously, comfortable home now and increase your home’s value for the future.

Many folks don’t consider the annoyances of a long term building project. There’s not only the noise to consider but also the timeframe, limited access to certain parts of the home. Plus having contractors coming and going can create issues that may include logistics, supplies, and the neighborhood. A competent general contractor will help you to plan ahead and deal with the inconvenience the project will create in your daily life.

There is quite a bit to think about when considering hiring a general contractor. The devil is in the details and a professional design and build general contractor will know what details you need to be concerned about. So before adding a bedroom or second floor consider the design, the expenses, the alternatives and keep in mind the annoyances associated with the construction project.

Here at Master’s Design-Build, we have 25 years of construction experience. We’ll walk you through the design and build process. Your new or remodeled space will fit in well with the design of your home. We’ll let you know the build time frame and help you to understand the living space issues you’ll have during the build out. We’ve done this so much that we know what challenges you should be looking at, and we’ll tell you upfront what to expect. We’re here to be your partner in building the home of your dreams.