How to Choose a General Contractor for a Home Addition

A home addition is one of the largest single investments most homeowners make in their property — often $50,000 to $300,000+. The gap between a smooth project and a stalled, over-budget one usually traces back to decisions made before a single permit is pulled.

General contractor vs. specialty contractor

A general contractor manages the entire project — permits, subcontractors, scheduling, inspections — and is the right choice for anything involving multiple trades (framing, electrical, plumbing, roofing) working together, like an addition. A specialty contractor (a roofer, an electrician) is the right call for a single-trade job. Hiring a specialty contractor to manage a multi-trade addition — or trying to be your own GC — is one of the most common sources of budget overruns and schedule slips.

Verifying licensing and insurance — actually verifying it

• Ask for the license number and check it against your state's contractor licensing board database directly — don't just take a business card's word for it
• Request a certificate of insurance showing both general liability and workers' compensation, sent directly from the insurer or agent, not just described verbally
• Confirm the contractor pulls permits under their own license, not yours — a contractor asking you to pull permits yourself is a red flag

How a legitimate bid should be structured

A trustworthy bid itemizes labor, materials, permit fees, and a contingency allowance separately — not one lump sum. It should also specify:

• Payment schedule tied to project milestones, not large upfront deposits
• Start and estimated completion dates
• What happens if the scope changes mid-project (change order process)
• Warranty terms on both labor and materials

The permit and timeline reality

Permit approval for an addition typically takes 2–6 weeks depending on your municipality and project complexity, before construction even starts. Once underway, a mid-size addition usually runs 3–6 months. Contractors who promise dramatically faster timelines than this for comparable scope are worth a second look — either they're planning to skip steps, or the estimate isn't realistic.