How do I choose a garage building contractor?

Once you decide that you need a garage, barn, addition or shell home, there are a number of important considerations to make. How large or small do you want your accessory structure? What are you going to be using your garage or barn for? Do you want your building finished? Do you need additional wall height to accommodate a lift? Do you want it to have insulation and sheetrock? Do you need electrical service run to the building? What kind of electrical panel do you have in your home now? Does it have enough amperage to power your new garage, barn or accessory structure?

What things are important to know when you are hiring a building contractor? How important is experience in the field of garage construction? Does the longevity of the contractor – its years in business an important consideration? Do you want your building contractor to be a planner, or do you want to control your building process? Are you going to participate in the building of your garage, apartment, barn or shell home? Is reputation important to you? Does the company you are interested in have any awards or special recognition for its performance?

Residential building in general is governed by specific building codes that the State and Federal governments have mandated. A responsible builder keeps themselves informed of current and changing building and zoning codes.

Every 10 years, the State of VA reviews and makes appropriate changes to flood maps which changes the zoning requirements each landowner has when building. Protecting and preserving our watershed is very important. The unfortunate wash out of each property, slowly but surely, affects our natural resources. We must protect our natural resources or we won’t have them anymore. This slow change creates the need for protective measures for both the landowner and the community-at-large. Therefore, the placement of each garage, accessory building or barn changes over time. You certainly don’t want to construct a new building, only for it to flood a few years down the road. Our zoning and building officials keep track of erosion and settlement control for this reason.

As zoning changes, so does building. The way we build our foundations, even for a storage building, changes proportionately. A good building contractor wants to build a garage or barn to last a lifetime. An experienced garage builder will evaluate the topography of each property, and plan how to best do the foundation, whether using block or concrete and at what elevation. An experienced building contractor will make sure the sole plate for every building is above grade, or use the appropriate salt-treated studs to withstand water infiltration.

Call H.W. Enterprises, Inc. at 595-4562 or 696-1927 or at www.hwenterprisesinc.com to discuss your next project and the best, most effective way to build your garage, barn, shell home or addition. H.W. Enterprises, Inc. has 59 years of experience and success. What more could you want?