There are a few ways to search for and find a contractor to handle your home renovation project. Each method has its pros and cons. We break down the options below to help you find the right pro for the job.

Ask Friends for a Referral

It is vitally important to hire a contractor you trust. They have full access to your home, after all. Whether the job is small, like painting walls, or big, like renovating your kitchen, everything they do affects your most valuable, and valued, possession.

One of the best ways to find a trusted contractor is by asking those you trust for a referral. If your family or friends had a good experience with a local painter, plumber or handyman, that bodes well for you too.

There are drawbacks to this approach. First, it can be time-consuming. Second, your family or friends may have different standards or preferences to your own. Third, your home project may have different requirements the contractor may not be able to meet. And lastly, if something does go wrong, it could put your relationship at risk.

And there’s even a chance that you don’t know anyone that can refer you to the kind of pro you need!

Personal references are valuable when searching for help with a home improvement project. But to save time, you may want to consider these other options first.

Search for Contractors on Google

Looking for someone to come in and remodel your kitchen? Type “kitchen remodeling near me” into the old Google bot and voila! Literally hundreds or thousands of contractor’s websites at your fingertips.

But where should you start? Just click the results at the top of list and hope for the best? The ones on top are usually among the most popular, according to the search engine. Of course, “popular” doesn’t always mean “good,” never mind “right” or “best.”

Google, Bing and other search engines sort through a ton of information and present the most relevant based on your search. They’re great resources for doing research, but they provide you with very little guidance on what information is actually important.

Which means this approach could quickly become overwhelming. The equivalent of searching for a contractor in an infinite haystack. But you could start with a slightly smaller haystack…

Look Up Contractors in a Directory

It wasn’t all that long ago when a homeowner would crack open the Yellow Pages to find a local business. The Yellow Pages still exist, but in an online format. And while still popular, they have plenty of competition.

Yelp is the 5,000 pound gorilla of online directories. Millions of businesses, including home contractors, list their information on Yelp. You can also read contractor reviews written by other “Yelpers” to learn more about their experience with the business.

Other similar business directories include Foursquare, Nextdoor, Google Business and Facebook Pages.

Virtually every local option is listed and the businesses themselves usually keep their contact information and service offerings up-to-date. You can search by keywords and refine the results by price range and other filters.

But as with personal references and Google searches, looking for the right contractor in a directory can be problematic. First, despite their best efforts, directories can be rife with fake reviews. There’s no guarantee the reviewer singing the praises of the local roofer used their service. It’s also possible the reviewer was compensated for their kind words. Online reviews are written by complete strangers, after all.

Second, while often accurate, the plethora of directories makes it hard for a business to ensure they’re all updated. There’s nothing like carefully researching and selecting a contractor, only to learn they’re no longer in business. Lastly, the matching process is entirely one-way. You learn plenty about the contractor, but they know nothing about you and your project.

So what if you could tell someone about your specific project, and they could refer you to the contractors that are well-matched for the job?

Find a Contractor on HomeExpert

In many ways, matching services like HomeExpert combine the best of all these worlds.

Your search begins with you and your project. Unlike other methods, we can match you with multiple local pros that actually fit your needs.

Once we’ve narrowed down the list to refer you to contractors near you, we provide you with a directory (coming soon) for researching those contractors. You can learn more about their specific services, licenses and, yes, read reviews. But reviews match to specific projects, so you can feel secure they were written by homeowners with relevant experience working with that contractor.

In short, we make it easy to not only find a contractor for your home improvement project, but the right contractor.

But the best method for finding a painter, roofer or general contractor is a combination of all of the above.

Let us match you with contractors suitable for your specific project. Then do your research. Ask friends and family. Read online reviews, here and elsewhere. Visit the contractor’s website. Compare their services and estimates. And choose the right contractor to make your home improvement dreams a reality!