Ask a Professional - June 2007

Does it matter what classification the contractor that I hire?

    At first glance you just want to get the work done just as long as he/she is a licensed contractor right? Well, not necessarily. Even though they may be technically qualified to perform the work, they may not be “legally” qualified. Let’s say for example that you hire someone to do concrete work but they can also install the drainage systems for your plumbing. They have a license that legally qualifies them to perform concrete but they lack the classification to perform plumbing. So what’s the harm? First, any work performed outside of the licensed contractors legal area would be scrutinized by their liability insurance carrier if something were to go wrong later. Second, what if one of their workers got hurt on the job and it was because of the plumbing work as opposed to their legal classification? That would open up a whole new can of worms. Moral of the story, check the contractors legal classification before starting the job. We’ll talk about insurance on our next discussion.