Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Construction Company
A first meeting with a construction company is an interview, and you are the one asking the questions. The answers you receive, and just as importantly the way they are given, tell you how the company really works. Confident, specific, documented answers are a good sign. Vague reassurances are not.
Here are twenty questions grouped by theme. Take them to your next meeting.
About the company
- What is your registered company name and CAC number? You should be contracting with an identifiable legal entity.
- Where is your office, and can I visit? A permanent address signals a permanent business.
- Who leads the company, and who will be responsible for my project? Names, not titles.
- Which registered professionals do you work with? Engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and builders in Nigeria have regulatory bodies (COREN, ARCON, QSRBN and CORBON).
About experience
- Can you show me projects similar to mine that you delivered yourselves? Ask for progress photographs as well as finished images.
- Can I speak to previous clients or visit completed buildings?
- What went wrong on a recent project, and how did you handle it? Every project has problems; how a contractor describes them is revealing.
About pricing
- Is your quotation itemised, and what is it based on? Drawings and a bill of quantities, ideally.
- What exactly is excluded? Exclusions are where surprises hide.
- Which items are provisional sums, and why?
- How long is the price valid, and how are material price changes handled?
- How are variations priced and approved? No variation should proceed without your written approval of the cost.
For more on comparing offers, see How to Assess Building Contractor Quotations.
About payments
- How is the payment schedule structured? Look for payments tied to verified stages of work, not dates or large upfront sums.
- Who inspects each stage before payment?
About supervision and quality
- Who will be on site every day?
- How do you check reinforcement and concrete before and during pours? Our quality control guide explains what good practice looks like.
- Where do you buy materials, and how do you verify their quality?
- How will I receive progress updates, and how often?
About safety and completion
- How do you manage safety on site? Protective equipment, scaffolding, excavations and working at height should all be planned.
- What happens at handover, and how do you deal with defects afterwards?
Reading the answers
Good contractors welcome these questions. They answer specifically, offer documents, and are honest about what they do not know yet, for example where the price depends on a soil test or a survey. Be cautious with anyone who avoids detail, pressures you to decide quickly or treats careful questions as an inconvenience.
This article provides general guidance only. Regulations, procedures and prices change; confirm current requirements with the relevant authorities and qualified professionals before acting.
