Is The Company Licensed In Your State?
We can't go into detail about each state but we'll give you an example from our home state: In 2008, Pennsylvania enacted a Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act that requires most contractors to register with the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Pennsylvania Attorney General. The only contractors that do not have to register are those who sell their services for commercial or business use. New home construction is also exempt in PA. Be sure to lookup your state's requirements for contractors and ask companies for their license number which can be verified on almost every state's website.
Conestoga Buildings holds licenses in the following states: PA, MD, NJ, NY, DE, WV, VA, and CT. Our license numbers are always listed on our contracts and are available by request.
No one wants to be in a situation where he/she chooses a company who offers the best bargain and then find out they're working with a fly-by-night company. A reputable company should have general liability (including builder's risk coverage) and worker's compensation/employer's liability insurance. You as the property owner may be at risk if your pole building company is not insured or is underinsured. This is also true for any subcontractors that the company might use for your project.
Conestoga Buildings is fully insured and carries all the insurance listed above. We also require that all trade subcontractors involved in a project provide proof of an active insurance policy.
The established date of a pole building company is not the only thing to consider when choosing a company. You can also ask about the quantity of buildings completed and the possibility of meeting with current customers in the area–why not see the quality of their workmanship up-close? Don't forget, years of staff experience in the industry or their respective fields can play a role in how well a company functions internally!
We at Conestoga Buildings have been in business 28 years and built over 18,000 buildings. Our extremely diverse staff has over 500+ years of combined experience in construction or their respective fields.
Is There A Portfolio Of Previous Work?
It's always good to see a variety of projects in a post frame company's portfolio. Knowing it can handle the simplest projects to full turnkey projects promotes trust and understanding of construction. As you probably know, full turn-key solutions take extensive project management, so knowing a company is accustomed to having multiple teams work simultaneously toward your project's success brings confidence.
There is an assortment of galleries on our website for you to view–custom garages, horse barns, ag barns, retail buildings and more! We've done it all.
Is There A Detailed Contract?
Some might think a detailed contract is overwhelming and unnecessary. On the contrary, having a list with all the details of your project allows you to review items carefully and ask questions.
At Conestoga Buildings, our initial proposals or quotes include all the details for your building. This allows you to sort through each item and make changes even before a contract is written up. We prefer to not create surprises when a contract is being signed.
What Services Are Provided, Other Than Construction?
Usually simple structures don't require many services to be provided by the pole building company. It's common for companies to ask the customer to handle permitting and site preparation. With advanced or turnkey projects, it benefits the customer to work with a company that can offer to manage all the key services to complete a project.
Whether your structure is simple or complex, our sales consultants are readily available to walk you through the process–whether you're handling the work or we are! Our team has many years of experience in construction and share knowledge everyday to ensure we can guide you through the building process. Read our blog post to learn about our design-build services for turnkey projects.
You might be asking yourself, 'Why didn't they mention building materials, quality workmanship or price?' Well, it's not that those questions aren't important but an overall conversation with a pole building company will not bring satisfaction. As we've mentioned above, if you want to see the quality of workmanship, ask a sales consultant if it's possible to visit an existing customer's property.
In regards to building materials, companies have a tendency to use similar vendors, which in turn, means materials may be the same; however, this isn't always the case. We recommend you examine your quote(s) to fully understand the materials being used. And of course, if you are a price shopper, compare quotes and make sure everything is apples-to-apples before awarding your project to a company. You don't want to accept a contract and discover that a company sold you 'what THEY want, not what YOU want'. What we mean by that is a company may present you a low price to win the contract but adds on costs once the customer realizes requested items were not included.
We hope this blog helps you feel more confident about choosing a post frame company. Of course, we at Conestoga Buildings are always here to fulfill your building needs. Call us at 1.800.544.9464 or request a quote online!