General Contractor that services the Torrance/Gardena Area

[Dani Murai]

Any recommendations for a reputable general contractor that services the Torrance/Gardena area? 

Planning to start a complete home remodel (interior/exterior) on a home (currently 837 sq ft), kitchen and bathroom bump out, and add an additional bathroom. 

Thank you in advance! 

[Evan Polaski]

@Dani Murai, while I can't give you a name of anyone in your area (I am not from there), when you are interviewing contractors, here are a couple things I have seen:

I avoid any contractor that has a draw schedule based on percentages, i.e. 1/3 up front, 1/3 at halfway completed and 1/3 at completion.  Instead, there should be dollar amounts assigned to specific events, i.e. demolition complete with full haul off, floors broom cleaned, no nails left in studs or subfloors $1,500.

Plumbing rough in complete and rough in inspection passed: $4000
Final plumbing completed $5000

I am clearly making up dollar amounts, but look for these types of bids on large projects.  Only thing better would be initial deposit and then paid in full upon Certificate of Occupancy and punchlist complete.

Of course, standard items should also be checked: licensed, insured, willing and able to pull all required permits, reference checks.

I would also commonly avoid the cheapest bid you get.  In my experience, these are the guys that want draws all the time (and it is easy to get ahead on them based on percentage).

I tend to avoid the guys that can "start right now".  While this isn't a hard and fast rule, more often then not, these are the guys that can't manage their schedules well, and will be gung-ho on your job for a couple weeks, then be flaking out as they picked up too much work and are trying to keep too many homeowners happy.

And lastly, the more detail you have the better the bid will be with few change orders.  Ideally, you know every cabinet placement, tile selection, etc when you meet the contractor for bids.  One of two things happens when you don't have that detail.  Good contractors will inflate the bid to accommodate for all those unknowns, assuming they will be coming.  Less good contractors will make assumptions and bid the project there, then when you change or add things, the cost will be higher than it would have been if you knew it at the beginning.