Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

We are planning to redo our Full Bathroom and need design ideas. What are some of the pros/cons of going through a contractor versus going through a place like home depot/lowes/consumers?

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

HD/Lowes, etc hire contractors to do the work. HD doesn't have their own staff to do all of the work that they advertise. The upside is that they (hopefully) do the vetting process for you, so you don't have a shady contractor. The downside is that there is often a mark-up, and you don't get to interview the contractor yourself, to pick someone that is compatible with you.

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

We are getting ready to get quotes to re-do our full bath and we will most likely go with a contractor. The ladies on here got me some great names!

Good luck!

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

definitely a contractor, find someone who is insured and licensed

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

Do you have any names to share?

Do contracters do free estimates for the most part?

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

Definitely do not go thru home depot or lowes. I had HD do my kitchen and it bordered on one of the worst experiences of my life. Use a contractor that comes highly recommended.

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

A contractor is usually the person doing the job. It's hard to find one but once you do, you will be very happy.

A lot of "big" home improvement stores/company do subcontract.

While they are supposed to do a screening who the subcontractors...
1/ you never know who is going to do the job
2/ you may have a terrible experience because you did not get the same subcontractor as your neighbor/BIL who swore by the place when he redid his bathroom.

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

We used a local contractor for our bathroom and dormer and we were happy with our decision. He's a great guy and we'll use him again when we do the kitchen. He's out in Suffolk - PM me if you want his info. You can see pics of the two bathrooms in my album.

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

OZ general contracting in Bellmore on merrick rd. They have a website and a very good price for bathroom renovations.

We are having them come to our house on thursday to measure our kitchen

Re: Re-doing Full Bathroom...is it better to go through a contractor or a home improvement place???

I would absolutely use a contractor - please FM me if you need a refferal :)