Hiring a Bathroom Remodeler in Naperville

A written contract and the state's consumer rights pamphlet for any job over $1,000, plus liability and property damage insurance. Those three duties sit with the company, not with you:

• A written contract for signature before it starts home repair or remodeling work for over $1,000.
• The "Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights" pamphlet for any contract over $1,000, with an acknowledgment form you and the contractor both sign and date.
• Insurance: public liability and property damage coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence of bodily injury, and $50,000 per occurrence for property damage. Ask for the certificate.

The Illinois Attorney General publishes the pamphlet, so you can read it before anyone brings it.

Plumbing and electrical work in Illinois must be done by state-licensed trades and usually needs a city permit. Ask the bathroom remodeling pro you're connected with who holds those licences. Ask for copies of the licence and registration cards of whoever does that part of the work. How we vet our pros describes what we check before a pro receives requests from this site. The Naperville permit guide shows what the city asks for at the permit stage.

The company's name, address and phone, the work, start and finish dates, the total cost and the payment schedule. The Illinois Attorney General tells homeowners to check that a home repair contract includes:

• the contractor's full name, address and telephone number
• a description of the work to be performed
• starting and estimated completion dates
• the total cost, including any charges for estimates
• the schedule and method of payment, including the down payment and final payment

The pamphlet adds: never sign a contract with blank spaces or one you don't fully understand.

Then lead paint rules can apply. Under the EPA's lead-safe renovation rule, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978 must hold lead-safe certification, and the EPA estimates that approximately three-quarters of US homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. The rule generally doesn't apply to homeowners working on their own homes. Naperville's housing is mostly newer, but Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn and Downers Grove have older stock, so ask about it there.

When your pick costs more than the allowance, you pay the difference. An allowance is a placeholder amount in a quote for something you haven't picked yet, such as tile or a vanity. If the quote has a $4,000 tile allowance and the tile you want costs $9,000, you owe the $5,000 difference. Making major selections before you sign keeps allowances small, so real numbers dominate the estimate. The cost guide shows typical tile and vanity price grades.

Door-to-door offers far below market price, a phone or post office box as the only contact, no proof of insurance, and pressure to sign today. The Illinois Attorney General's list includes:

• unsolicited door-to-door salespeople with no local connections offering work for substantially less than market price
• a company that lists only a telephone or post office box number
• a contractor who refuses to provide proof of insurance and references
• high-pressure sales tactics and prices that seem too good to be true

Yes, within limits. You have three business days from signing to cancel any contract if the sale is made at your home, and homeowners age 65 or older have up to 15 business days if they signed with an uninvited solicitor in the home. The contractor can't take that right away by starting work.