You know that feeling when you’re about to drop a huge chunk of money on something and your gut is telling you to slow down, but everything on the surface looks fine? That’s basically what it’s like hiring a contractor for a home renovation. And according to my guest on this episode, Garrett Hardy, that uneasy feeling is there for a reason.
Garrett is the author of Through Reno Mess: Contractor Proof Your Home and Budget and the founder of Reno Mess Tribe. He’s spent decades working on high-end residential design projects up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from luxury homes in Miami to massive 15,000-square-foot cottages in Muskoka (that’s Toronto’s version of cottage country, for those of us south of the border). He’s been on HGTV Canada’s Kitchen Equipped. He holds a degree in commercial interior design. And he’s seen just about every way a renovation can go sideways.
But this conversation isn’t about how to pick countertops or design your dream kitchen. It’s about the stuff nobody tells you before you sign that contract.
Why Hiring a Contractor Feels Like Speed Dating
One of the things Garrett said that really stuck with me is that hiring a contractor is basically speed dating with your life savings on the line. Think about it. You meet this person two or three times. Maybe they show you a project they did last year. Everyone’s on their best behavior. And then you sign over a massive check and hope for the best.
The problem is that most homeowners don’t know enough about the technical side of things to judge a contractor on anything other than look, feel, and price. Garrett compared it to buying a car. Most of us aren’t popping the hood and asking about the suspension. We’re picking the color we like and hoping the engine holds up.
And here’s the thing. This isn’t a new problem. Garrett asked his father, who is in his late seventies, if he could remember a time when the contractor-homeowner dynamic wasn’t this way. The answer was no. It’s always been like this. The barrier to entry is low. Anyone with a pickup truck and a hammer can call themselves a contractor. And the reviews and five-star ratings you see online? They might be from two years ago when that company had a completely different crew.
The Renovation Prenup
This is where things get really interesting. Garrett introduces what he calls the “renovation prenup” in his book. The name says it all. It’s a way to protect yourself financially if things go south mid-project.
Here’s the scenario most people find themselves in. You’re halfway through a renovation. You don’t love what’s being done. But the contractor already has your money, so you’ve lost the leverage to push back. By the end of the project, you’re disgruntled, they’re frustrated, and nobody’s happy.
The prenup concept is about building exit ramps into your contract. If the contractor won’t agree to a prenup clause, Garrett suggests breaking the project into phases instead. You finish phase one, evaluate, and then sign phase two. It might add a little time to the overall timeline, but you’re never in a position where someone has all your money and you have no recourse.
I’ll be honest, I had never heard of anyone doing this before. But it makes so much sense when you think about the amount of money people put on the line for these projects.
Contractor-Proof Your Next Reno
Garrett walked me through what it actually means to be a “contractor-proof” homeowner, and it starts way before you ever pick up the phone to get a quote.
First, take your Pinterest boards and HGTV ideas and turn them into something a contractor can actually understand. A clear bid package is going to get you a completely different response than calling someone up and asking them to come look at your project on a Saturday night.
Second, cast a wider net. Most people get three quotes and pick the middle price or the cheapest. Garrett recommends reaching out to 10 or 20 contractors and qualifying them before you even get to the quoting stage. One of his suggestions is to ask if they can get a reference letter from their bank. That alone might knock out 50% of the candidates, and the ones left standing are probably the ones you want to work with.
Third, and this was the real gold, make friends with the contractor’s current clients. If you can talk to a homeowner who is in the middle of a project with that contractor right now, you’ll learn more in one conversation than you would from a hundred online reviews. You’ll find out how they actually operate, whether they take random days off, how they communicate, and whether there are any cash flow issues rippling through their other projects.
The Buddhist Philosophy of Renovation
One of the things I didn’t expect going into this episode was a philosophical angle on home renovation. But Garrett’s book is actually written with a Buddhist philosophical perspective. The idea is that a renovation is a transformation, not just of your home, but of you as a person.
The book has a cast of characters that represent the stages you go through: the nervous newcomer, the hopeful homeowner, the people-pleasing planner, the scope-guarding scholar, the skeptical spender, the trusting dreamer, the truth talker, and eventually, the confident captain.
Garrett’s point is that if you go in prepared with the right checks and balances, you can actually enjoy the process instead of white-knuckling your way through it. The project is going to change you either way. You might as well be ready for it.
Red Flags and Real Talk
We also got into red flags. I joked that if a contractor is still using a pager, I’m out. Garrett took a more nuanced view (of course he did). It’s not about the specific technology. It’s about whether that contractor can keep up with the stream of information you need on a daily basis to feel informed and in control of your project.
The bigger red flags are things like a contractor who won’t agree to any form of prenup or phased contract, a contractor who pushes hard for a lot of capital upfront, or a contractor whose current clients aren’t willing to talk to you. Those are the signals that should make you pause.
Garrett also made a great point about how contractors aren’t all bad actors. A lot of them are genuinely trying to do good work, but they’re dealing with their own risks that they might not even be aware of. The business cycle, overhead pressure, crew fatigue from running too many projects at once. The A-plus drywall guy they sold you on might be operating at a C level by the time he gets to your job because he’s been pushed from project to project for six months straight.
My Own Contractor Adventures
I shared some of my own experiences on the show, and let me tell you, I am exactly the kind of person Garrett wrote this book for. I had a fence contractor drop a pallet of cement bags on my lawn in Philly and then tell me they wouldn’t be back for a week. In Philly. Where things don’t just sit on your lawn unattended.
We also went through a stretch where we replaced an old awning with a gazebo, had our air conditioning die in the middle of summer (living with one of those portable window units as a grown man was not my finest hour), and got a full HVAC replacement. All within about six months. I mainly went through Lowe’s for the bigger stuff because at least there’s a safety net if things go wrong. Garrett confirmed that’s a totally valid approach, and that the big box stores do handle full kitchen renos, though there’s usually one guy in the back office pulling his hair out managing it all.
Where to Find Garrett Hardy
If any of this resonated with you (and if you own a home, it probably did), here’s where you can connect with Garrett and check out his resources:
Website: www.RenoMessTribe.com
The Book: Through Reno Mess: Contractor Proof Your Home and Budget on Amazon (only about $10)
Free Mini Class: Living Through Reno Mess on Maven
Live Weekend Course: Contractor Proof on Maven. Use code medici for 25% off (that saves you $250, exclusive to Drink O’Clock listeners)
LinkedIn: Garrett Hardy on LinkedIn
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