You first need to know that your contractor is licensed to operate in your state. Not all contracting jobs require someone to be licensed. However, there are general types of jobs that almost always require a contractor to be licensed through the state. Whenever you are building into a pre-existing structure, contractors almost always have to be licensed.

Next, you should know whether your contractor is willing to give you an estimate on both time and money. The time estimate will encompass their best estimate for how long the job will take to complete. The money estimate will be what they will charge for their time plus the cost of materials. This will give you a better idea of what to expect from the project. It will also give you a bargaining point to get a better price.

Remember that you should never pay more than one quarter of the total estimated price as a deposit. No legitimate contractor will expect his or her clients to pay more than this. If your contractor expects more, you may want to consider talking to other contractors.

Create a simple contract that you can use to keep your relationship with the contractor clear. Make sure it states that the contractor is not employed by you, but rather contracted by you for a specific job. The contract should also state the exact extent of the work that the contractor is being hired for. This will eliminate any confusion over what does and does not need to be done later on.