Most of us have either had a bad experience with a contractor or know someone who has. Virtually anyone can pass themselves off as a contractor, so its up to you to make sure that the person or company you hire for your next home remodeling project is knowledgeable, capable and most of all, ethical. Here are a few tips for making sure that you choose a quality contractor that will meet the needs of your next home remodeling project:

- Be wary of unusually low bids. A common practice of unscrupulous contractors is to first get your business by throwing out an extremely low bid on the project and then try to make a contract that is as vague as possible, leaving room for them to cut corners, take longer than expected, or both.

- Check the materials to be used. Sometimes lower quality materials are substituted or some materials are simply not specified in the bid. Get knowledgeable about exactly what types of materials you want used in your project and make sure those are the materials that are quoted in writing.

- Check the timeframe of the bid. The time it takes for the project to be completed is always important. Youll quickly get tired of strangers walking through your house and construction sounds echoing throughout the hallways. Some contractors will be vague about how long it will take them to finish, but you shouldnt tolerate it. A quality contractor is experienced enough to know how long it will take and will have the manpower available to make it happen. Youll find that paying a little more for an earlier completion date is usually worth the money.

- Dont sign anything until the bid has everything you want. Its important that you get all of the important elements of the bid in writing. Some contractors may leave something out and then quote it to you over the phone later. At that time, be sure to ask them to send over a new bid so you have it in writing. Good contractors fully understand the importance of getting everything in writing so there is no misunderstanding on either side and they wont have a problem sending you a revised bid.

- Save all documents and communication about the project. Now that youve ensured that everything is in writing, be sure to save all documents related to the project in a single place for easy retrieval. This way if you see something being done differently than you remember agreeing to, you can quickly retrieve the signed documents to determine if and where a mistake was made.

Most contractors are ethical and really do work hard to make their customers happy. By following the steps listed above, your attention to detail will scare away any immoral contractors and the contractor you do choose will be happy that you are both in agreement about exactly what will be done.