15 Remodeling Review & Resources Websites

When selecting a home remodeling company in Orange County, California, it can be confusing.  There are so many different remodeling companies with so many different levels of service.   You go from some basic handy man work to the contractor and subcontractors to the firms that provide your plans, structural engineering, they pull permits, and warranty your work.

The later of the home remodeling services is what Sea Pointe Design & Remodel Design & Remodeling services offers.  This means, you will not be interviewing the following roles to get your kitchen, bathroom, or room addition complete:  Architect, Designer, Structural Engineer, Plumber, Roofer, Installer, or General Contractor.  Design and Remodel firms are your one-stop-shop for getting a complete job done.

Now once you have decided to select a General Contractor or a Remodeling firm, you want to be sure to check your references.  There are so many places to check and so many reviews to look at.  Doing your homework here pays off in the peace of mind you want when making such an investment in your home, which is already your largest investment in most homeowner’s cases.

Below you will find 15 resources for Remodeling Firm reviews and verification:

1. Houzz enables the home improvement business to showcase their work through videos and images. Some of these are paid placements, but their reviews are not. In fact the reviews go through a human auditor at Houzz for authenticity check.  These are trustworthy and can be compared to the other firms you are shopping on Houzz.
2. The Guild Quality provides reviews specifically for the home improvement industry. Guild Quality invites all customers to participate in a survey.  This means you pay for GQ to survey your customers and provide you feedback.  This also means you can control which reviews make it to the public.  So know that the Guild Quality review should be compared with other review sites as well.
3. Qualified Remodeler Top 500: Qualified Remodeler Magazine awards the Top 500 most reputable remodeling firms across the United Sates every July. It’s quite the honor to be recognized nationally for work done locally and shows you are working with a reputable company.
4. Remodeling Magazine honors the nations’ Top 550 remodeling companies annually. This list includes the remodeling firms annual sales, number of jobs sold annually, as well as the firms on the list also show generosity, dedication, and ingenuity as reported by Remodeling Magazine.
5. The Big 50 is published annually by Remodeling Magazine and honors the nations’ 50 remodeling firms that are top of their game. This honor only comes once in a lifetime, so once honored by the Big 50, you are always considered a Big 50 remodeling firm.  Being on this list definitely differentiates a remodeling firm from the rest.  When you want to work with the best and most trusted, be sure to check out this list.
6. NKBA is the National Kitchen and Bath Association is a non-profit trade group that promotes professionalism is the kitchen and bath remodeling industry. Originally existing as a network of kitchen dealers, this group has now become the premiere association of designers, retailers, remodelers, manufacturers, installers, fabricators, distributors, and other industry professionals.  Membership in this organization shows a top-notch organization with access to the nations’ best in the industry.
7. NAHB is the National Association of Home Builders. This association ensures that home builders and remodelers in the US have access to continuing education, networking, access to niche experts, and advocacy in state and local government to reduce excessive regulations.
8. Job walks is another very clear way to see how your potential remodeling firm runs their jobs. Do they have zippered plastic sealing off the renovation area with HEPA filters and daily clean up?  Do they treat the space with respect and care as they transform it into your dream space?  A reputable firm should be happy to take you on a job walk.
9. The Better Business Bureau is an old reliable source. Though don’t let them fool you, they too take payment for certain statuses online. Specifically, to be BBB Accredited, you must pay an annual fee, but you can still show your ‘A+’ rating without paying. It just does not show accredited which can be misleading if you don’t know this.
10. Google Reviews are a newer generation of reviews that remodeling services use to get feedback. When pulling up a local service, you will see their listing on the right with business details as well as reviews near the bottom.  You can see the overall rating and expand to see all reviews with what customers are saying about them.
11. Facebook reviews are another great place to check out your prospective remodeling firm’s reputation. audience resonates with the remodeling age and demographic well.  This too, is another location where you can check reviews. You should check the remodelers page as well to be sure they are active and a brand you want to work with. Do they share pictures of jobs that have the detail or scope of the job you are hiring them for? You don’t want a handyman that does drywall patching to be doing structural work.  The Facebook page for your prospective remodeling firm will have reviews and can tell the story of how these folks will be to work with – what image are they displaying along with the reviews?
12. Yelp is the new generation review system and more popular for restaurants but nonetheless plenty of home remodelers and service providers has pages here for reviews. In fact, be weary if they do not; this could mean they changed business names when a page went horribly awry with poor reviews or not enough customers to get reviews. Yelp is just one more place to check when comparing companies.
13. There are 43 different licenses a contractor can have. Be sure to check the contractor for the proper licenses as you don’t want your plumber doing your roofing job.  You can find all licenses at cslb.ca.gov.  Be sure the license matches the business name, and this is just one more verification you can review prior to hiring your home remodeling firm or General Contractor.
14. Warranties are required by all remodelers to the tune of 1 year. Be sure that your firm offers a minimum of 1-year warranty.
15. Be sure your contractor or remodeling firm pulls your permits from the city. The person or firm that pulls these permits takes responsibility for the work being done.  This includes passing inspections.  Sea Pointe passes inspections on 1st inspection 99% of the time; this keeps your project on time and is a testament to our quality workmanship.

As you can see, there are plenty of resources to check out prior to hiring your remodeling firm or general contractor. Be sure to do your homework as this is a serious investment in your home.  You don’t want to become one of the victims of fraud, poor workmanship, or deception when renovating your home.