I'm looking for a good general contractor to finish my basement (Atlanta: 2014, purchase)

[mjames2014]

I am looking for recommendations on general contractors in the Atlanta metro area (servicing Forsyth/Fulton area). I plan to have my basement finished and need some quotes.

Requirements:

- Reliable with respect to scheduling and completion of tasks
- Will provide a quote with a cost breakdown (materials and labor) for each task/milestone. I need to know what the money is spent on. Not necessarily down to each nail but the quote has to have enough detail so that I know where the money is being spent and where I can possibly change something to save money.
- Will pull necessary permits
- Builds according to (or better than) what code requires
- Is able to make structural changes (removing 2 walls) and has the capacity (structural analysis) to figure out how it should be done (according to code) without causing potential structural problems
- Reliable with respect to pricing. I expect the contractor to stick to his quote. I expect that if I tell him what I want done, then he'll tell me what the price will be and stick to it. I don't want lowball offers just to get the job and then I'll be screwed later on.
- No payment up front. I'll pay per milestone for work that has been completed.

Thank you.

[flamadiddle]

www.daylightbasement.com

check out his work. > http://www.daylightbasement.com/gallerySignature.php

[mjames2014]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

www.daylightbasement.com

check out his work. > Atlanta Basement Remodeling Atlanta basement finishing plans by Daylight Basement Company a Basement Contractor in Atlanta serving, Lawrencevile, Duluth Roswell, Alpharetta, Cumming and Dunwoody atlanta basement finishing Atlanta basement finished, a

Did you use this company yourself?

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by mjames2014

Did you use this company yourself?

I had them come out and do a quote, but we never finished the basement because we were unsure about staying here long term and in fact, turns out that we're moving back to Chicago next month. He's very professional, knows what he's doing and has lots of references.

Our quote was around $75K, but we have a pretty large basement. It's been a while, but I believe the quote included completely finishing around 2,000 sq. ft. of the basement.

[mjames2014]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

I had them come out and do a quote, but we never finished the basement because we were unsure about staying here long term and in fact, turns out that we're moving back to Chicago next month. He's very professional, knows what he's doing and has lots of references.

Our quote was around $75K, but we have a pretty large basement. It's been a while, but I believe the quote included completely finishing around 2,000 sq. ft. of the basement.

Ok, I contacted him, but he said he already has a headache... LOL...

However, on his website he describes the "process":

"We will prepare a detailed breakdown and cost analysis of the design that you provide."
"An easy, straightforward agreement is signed, a schedule developed, and we get to work."

I told him that I didn't expect itemization down to each and every used nail, but gave him this list which may have pissed him off:

- is reliable with respect to scheduling and completion of tasks (must provide a milestone plan with target completion dates)
- will provide a fixed-price quote with a cost breakdown (materials and labor) for each task/milestone (need to know how the total cost is distributed)
- will pull necessary permits
- builds according to (or better than) what code requires
- is able to make structural changes (removing 2 walls) and has the capacity (structural analysis) to figure out how it should be done (according to code) without causing potential structural problems
- is reliable with respect to pricing. I expect the contractor to stick to his quote. I expect that if I tell him what I want done, then he'll tell me what the price will be and stick to it.
- is not expecting payment up front. I'll pay per milestone for work that has been completed.





Payment is leverage and if a contractor expects that I'll pay up front before anything has been completed they better look somewhere else (I know I will). However, if a contractor believes he can deliver on his promises, then he shouldn't have any problem delivering against completed milestones.
You don't go to a car dealership and give them $40K for a car on the promise of "yeah...don't worry...we'll deliver you car sometime soon"

[bigup]

Cars and basements are an apples to oranges comparison. Of course you shouldn't pay the full amount of a quoted price up-front, but a lot of builders use down-payment money to purchase materials--I think this is standard practice.