© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How to Speak Contractor

U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood

To many homeowners, the feeling of not knowing what you're talking about when dealing with a contractor is all too familiar.

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe sits down with home improvement expert Bill McAnally to decode the language of contractors. One thing to keep in mind, McAnally says, is that as the home owner, you are in control of the encounter.

"Ultimately, your say is the top thing," he says. "You're the one that's going to live there. The contractor, the subs, they're going to do their job... and then they're gone. But you're there for the next 30-40 years, hopefully, so it has to be done right the first time. I don't want to have people coming back repairing something and then charging me to repair something that they did wrong."

"So you want to be very assertive," he adds. "I want to be so happy at the end that I buy all [the workers] pizza. That's what I want this project to go like."

McAnally also answers listener questions about the home improvement projects in their lives.

Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa