The best ways to find general contractors near you are online directories and review sites, referrals from friends and neighbors, and free matching services that pre-vet contractors, like GreatBuildz. The key is to compare several licensed, insured options and check reviews and references before hiring. Here’s how to build a shortlist and vet contractors near you.
Finding reliable help for your home project can feel overwhelming. If you’ve ever searched “Find Top-Rated Contractors Near Me,” you’ve probably seen endless lists of professionals all claiming to be the best. But how do you actually choose the right one? Well, the truth is:
- In Los Angeles County alone, there are over 20,000 licensed general contractors, not including plumbers, electricians, or roofers.
- More than 50% of homeowners report a negative experience with their contractor after a renovation.
These numbers highlight an important truth: learning how to find top-rated contractors near me is important to starting off your project right.
Here at GreatBuildz, we speak with clients every day who are looking for the best general contractor for their remodel or construction project. GreatBuildz is a free service that connects homeowners in Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura & San Diego with reliable, pre-screened general contractors, then provides ongoing project support to ensure a stress-free experience.
How To Find Top-Rated General Contractors Near Me
A good way to find a reliable general contractor for your project is to ask friends, neighbors, or coworkers to recommend someone they’ve used and liked. You can also usually find a list of general contractors recommended on social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor.
Beware: if you ask for recommendations on these kinds of sites, you should only trust suggestions from your ‘real life’ friends. Other contacts on these sites are often biased (they’ll recommend their cousin who is a contractor, etc).
If you don’t get any quality suggestions from people you personally know and you need to find a list of general contractors elsewhere, start with services that do the most intensive contractor screening and offer personalized introductions to quality contractors (like GreatBuildz).
The worst option is just going online and sifting through a long list of general contractors on a review site. Because there are so many general contractors and because most of them seem to have a 4- or 5-star rating, there is really no way to tell the good ones from the bad ones at first glance.
The Best Ways to Find Top-Rated Contractors Near Me
Use Pre-Screened Contractor Services
Instead of sorting through endless listings, use a service like GreatBuildz that:
- Thoroughly vets contractors
- Matches you based on your project
- Provides ongoing support
This approach saves time and significantly increases your chances of success.
Avoid Blindly Choosing from Review Sites
Searching online without a filtering system often leads to:
- Decision fatigue
- Misleading rankings
- Hiring based on marketing, not merit
If your goal is to truly find top-rated contractors near me, you need more than just star ratings.
What Type of Contractor Is Right for You?
The best general contractor for you really depends on your project and budget. If you have a small project like flooring or painting, a small contractor might be a good fit for you.
These kinds of general contractors often have very few staff which keeps their overhead low. Therefore, they can be very cost-effective for customers with a project under $20,000.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you have a very large or major project like building a new home or major second-story addition ($400k+), you’ll probably prefer a large contractor.
Although a large contractor has substantial overhead and will therefore be more expensive, they will also have the manpower, resources, and management in place to keep a large project moving according to plan.
Finally, a medium-sized general contractor is ideal for most other home renovation projects like bath/kitchen remodels, additions, ADUs, pools, etc. A mid-sized contractor shouldn’t have a huge overhead but still will have the manpower and resources to take on multiple projects simultaneously. Usually, with a midsized contractor, the owner of the company manages all the projects so you will communicate with them directly.
If you want to determine the size of the contractor you’re considering, ask them how many staff they have and how many projects they take on at once. Also, if you notice they do lots of online or offline advertising, they are probably a large general contractor. Conversely, if the owner works alone or with just a few employees, they are a small contractor.
For a majority of home renovations, I suggest that medium-sized contractors are the exact right fit because they have appropriate manpower but not the tremendous overhead costs from marketing, etc. Here at GreatBuildz, we’ve screened and vetted a large number of contractors, and recommend only those that pass our 10-step screening process.
Let me share a few examples of the contractors on our list and why we think they are great.
Curtis is a good example of a ‘medium-sized’ contractor. He has one project manager, Cory, who is his ‘second in command’.
Curtis or Cory personally meet all potential clients and prepare the bids/estimates. They have a crew of employees who do a majority of construction work, and they can take on multiple large projects at one time. Curtis never has to advertise because he gets plenty of jobs from referrals from his previous clients.
He’s got nearly 20 years of experience in construction, has no complaints against his license, and carries both General Liability and Workers Comp insurance. Finally, he’s a terrific contractor because he truly cares about the project quality and his client’s needs.
Another example of a stellar GreatBuildz contractor is Chris, who is also a medium-sized contractor. Chris works together with his wife who helps their clients with project design and material selection. Chris also has a great deal of construction experience and never has to advertise. Past clients rave about Chris’s responsiveness, patience, and attention to detail.
Curtis and Chris are just two examples of the many, many exceptional contractors out there. The problem is it’s really hard to find the best ones when you’re looking at a list of hundreds or thousands of general contractors.
How to Identify a Top-Rated Contractor
1) They should be local or semi-local. If you hire a contractor from outside your area, you run the risk of project delays. You’ll likely find that contractors won’t want to come to your job as often if it’s a long drive for them.
2) They have lots of experience with your specific project. If a contractor mostly does bathrooms, you can expect they are extremely knowledgeable and efficient in remodeling another bathroom. But they may struggle a bit more if you want them to do your kitchen, etc.
3) They aren’t too busy to take on your project. If the contractor tells you they are swamped with work and can’t take on your project for a few months, don’t ask them to fit you in sooner…you will be disappointed in the result. You should either wait for them to free up or choose a different professional.
Final Thoughts: Find Top-Rated Contractors Near Me with Confidence
With thousands of options available, choosing the right contractor can feel daunting. But by focusing on trusted referrals, proper vetting, contractor size and proven experience, you can confidently find top-rated contractors near you without the stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find general contractors near me?
Start with online directories and review sites, ask friends and neighbors for referrals, and consider a free matching service that pre-screens contractors. Whichever route you use, compare several licensed, insured contractors and check their reviews and references before you hire.
How do I vet a general contractor?
Confirm the CSLB license and insurance, call references from similar projects, read recent reviews, and get detailed written bids. Pay attention to how responsive and transparent each contractor is, since that usually predicts how the project will go.
Is it better to use a contractor directory or a matching service?
Directories give you a long list to research yourself, while a matching service like GreatBuildz pre-screens contractors and hands you a few vetted options, which saves time. Either way, always compare bids and check references before choosing.
GreatBuildz is a free service that connects homeowners in Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura & San Diego with reliable, thoroughly screened general contractors and provides project support from start to finish. Call now (818.317.3567) to chat with a real person about your next renovation project or submit your project here.
