Hi folks. I am market testing a possible new service to help homeowners decide whether to hire a home remodeling contractor. Basically it would help to eliminate a lot of the guesswork out of hiring a contractor. The value proposition is to provide an objective, data-driven way to validate a a contractor's claims on the type and quality of projects they have done.

The questions are meant for anyone who has either hired a home remodeling contractor in the past, or is planning to do it now or in the future. By "home remodeling" I am referring to any projects to enhance your home, whether it's a new kitchen, bathroom renovation, new deck, etc.

Would really appreciate your responses, in as much detail as possible please. I'd prefer 2-3 sentence responses rather than simple Yes/No answers. I'm trying to understand your decision process and the pain points you've experienced when hiring a contractor.

Here are the questions. If you can answer here that's great, or if you'd rather keep your responses private just email them to km AT vrble.com. Thanks!!

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Question 1. How do you find (or if in the past, how did you find) contractors to do home remodeling work for you? Please describe in as much detail as possible.

Example answer: "I ask around to my friends and family to get referrals. I've also used Angie's List and BBB information. Also, I talked to neighbors who hired bathroom/kitchen remodelers to find out who they hired and who I should stay away from."


Question 2. If you have used Angie's List or a similar service to find home remodelers, how satisfied are you with the reviews you found there? Was there any additional information about home remodeling contractors that you expected to see, but did not find on Angie's List?


Question 3. How would you evaluate whether to hire a potential home remodeling contractor? Are there any specific items that you look for? And are there any "red flag" items that would make you decide not to hire a home remodeling contractor?


Question 4. Would you use a service that gives you an objective assessment of a home remodeling contractor's experience and performance, based on public data, rather than recommendations or referrals? If so, what type of information would you expect to see to help you in evaluating a contractor?

Your concept is great, but I highly doubt anyone is going to pay for the actual value of what you propose. But I'll play along.

1. Referrals from friends and neighbors.

2. Never used, would trust about as much as yelp.

3. Due diligence into previous experience. Calling previous customers, ensuring adequate licensure and insurance.

4. No. You can't base this on public data, unfortunately. Contractor A might be a great contractor but not the right fit for a specific job.

Ultimately it's not just data that drives contractor choice. Sometimes having a contractor with a specific specialty (say, finish carpentry) might be important to someone completing an arts and crafts remodel with significant wood trim. It might be completely worthless for another customer.

I do wish you luck, would suggest you pair some other services (interior design maybe?) in order to have a better value proposition.